Shabbat - Heart of Wisdom

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Mended Wings–The Teaching Ministry ofDr. Doug Wheelerhas numerous informative and provocativeresources, includingBooklets and BooksBenching and the Early Christian MealMenorah–A Picture of Christian LifeHebrew Bible Study MethodologyAudio TapesThe Prayer ShawlThe Salt CovenantMatza, the Four Cups and the AfikominDR. WHEELER IS ALSO AVAILABLE FORHEBREW SEMINARS AND OTHER MINISTRY.For complete details, write:Mended Wings1902 Industrial Dr., Pocahontas, AR 72455or Phone (870) 892-1800TheSabbathreminds usthat it wasGod whotook theinitiative togive menand womenthe restwhich theydid notdeserve,enablingthem toenjoy acommunionwhich theyhad notsought.The Sabbath is also thesign of the absolute in thatit embodies the graciousact of a God of love,what the psalmist celebratesas hesed of God. 16The Sabbath reminds usthat we are nothing but theoutcome of divine generosity.In fact, the gift of theSabbath was given neitheras an answer nor as a rewardfor human work.The Sabbath reminds usthat it was God who tookthe initiative to give menand women the rest whichthey did not deserve, enablingthem to enjoy acommunion which theyhad not sought. In practice,the Sabbath is also apedagogy of hesed in thatit teaches us the value ofnon-action in relation to God; in abstaining fromwork on the Sabbath, we demonstrate our totaldependence on God. What we have is not theresult of our work or our effort, but is understoodas a gift from God. It is the hesed whichcauses the psalmist to burst out in song: “Let yourface shine on your servant, save me in your unfailinglove [hesed!].” 17 It is at the heart of the Sabbaththat the law and the grace, traditionallyopposed by the Christian tradition, find reconciliation.In observing the fourth commandment,the believer does not exclude the grace of God.Quite the opposite, it is by observing the law ofGod that the believer expresses his faith that hissalvation depends entirely on the grace of God.Finally, the Sabbath is sign of the absolute in thatit testifies of God himself, the One who is absolutely“Other.” Henceforth, the Sabbath is called the“day of the Lord.” 18 It is the day which the Lordhas made, 19 the sign of God. 20 The day of Sabbathis therefore a time intrinsically sacred, which stirs upin us the deepest respect and the necessity of observingthe day chosen by God and not this otherdecreed by human tradition. The Sabbath is morethan a day of rest and recreation at the end of theweek; it is the concrete expression of our faith inGod, the sign that our values depend on God.A SIGN OF LOVEIt is a sign between God and his people. 22 However,the human “doing” is but an answer to thedivine “doing.” As well as being the expressionof God’s love toward mankind, the Sabbath is,on the human level, an expression of love forGod. This understanding of the Sabbath as ananswer clearly suggests that humans, not God,should be the ones to adapt. The Sabbath exhortsus to abstain from doing our own will: “If youkeep your feet from breaking the Sabbath andfrom doing as you please on my holy day, . . . ifyou honor it by not going your own way and notdoing as you please or speaking idle words . . . .” 23The Sabbath becomes also an act which confrontsthe reality of life and not a disembodied “spiritual”truth. The believer who observes the Sabbath engagesin an experience which obliges him/her tomeet with God where he is. In this encounter thebeliever silhouettes self against an indifferent worldoccupied otherwise and elsewhere.The human’s encounter with God does not,however, exclude encounters with others. On thecontrary, the human’s communion with God isfulfilled only through one’s communion with others.This social dimension of the Sabbath is alreadyimplied in the story of the Creation, whichrelates man and woman to the first adoration. Itis even more explicit in the Decalogue, where allthe family members, the slave, and the strangerare invited to enjoy in this day the same privilegesof liberty and rest as the Israelites. The Sabbath isthe day when we remember that the other is anequal and deserves our respect. It is also the daywhen in the family gathering the arts of listeningand dialoguing can be cultivated.The way the Sabbath is situated in the literarystructure of the Decalogue confirms its preoccupationwith both God and mankind. The text ofthe Sabbath is located at the center of theDecalogue, geometrically and thematically speaking.24 As far as the geometry is concerned, wenotice that the fourth commandment is comprisedof 55 words (in Hebrew) and is situated between67 words (first three commandments) and 41words (last six commandments). The commandmentof the Sabbath comprises, then, approximatelyhalf the words of the whole Decalogue(55/108) and occupies its center. Thematically, wenotice that the first three commandments are concernedwith the relation between God and man,whereas the last six commandments involve therelation between humans. The Sabbath functions,then, as a bridge between the two series of commandmentsand is concerned with relations betweenGod and humans as well as between humans.Sign of God’s love for us, but also sign of ourlove for Him, the Sabbath is the sign that the verticalrelation does not exclude the horizontal rela-And yet, the Sabbath finds no existence outsideof the human person, for the Sabbath is notonly a “deed” of God for humans; it is also a“deed” of humans for God. 21 The Sabbath issanctified inasmuch as two partners are involved.14 RESTORE!
tion, but that they are interdependent.A SIGN OF LIFEThe Sabbath celebrates Creation and thus impliesa positive appreciation of life. The senses,the food, and the beauty are well received andfully enjoyed. In the second century, the GnosticMarcion, who despised the human body and creation,rejected the Old Testament and its GodYHWH, the God of Creation, claiming that ithad been replaced by the God of the New Testament,the God of salvation. The spiritual domainhas since then been valorized over the physical one,the despicable flesh. This dualism has affectedChristian anthropology. The soul, the spirit, hasbeen distinguished from the body. Along the linesof Platonism, salvation has then been understoodas a deliverance from the body. And the ideal ofexistence has been described essentially as a spiritualeffort outside and sometimes against the body.Since Marcion, many Christian theologians haveopposed salvation to Creation. One of the mostinteresting symptoms of this dualistic mentality maywell be detected in the Christian shift from theSabbath memorial of Creation to the Sunday memorialof salvation. Sabbathkeeping expresses,then, a religious philosophy that says yes to Creationand the senses and involves the body in the“spiritual” process of salvation, affirming by thatsame token the unity of the human person.Sign of the past and the future, the Sabbathtears us from our present to rekindle our memoryand set our hope ablaze. Sign of the absolute andof love, the Sabbath teaches us to open ourselvesto others–to man and to God.If humans have lost the meaning of the Sabbath,it is because they have lost their roots and perspectives.Today, the Sabbath is no more a sign of theglorious event of Creation nor of the extraordinaryhope of a recreation. People are comfortably settledhere below, even in their Sabbath, which has shriveledup into a mere “weekend” or an obscure ritual.If humans have lost the sense of the Sabbath,it is because they are unable to open up to others.It must be noticed that the three monotheismsthat issued from the Bible–Judaism, Christianity,and Islam–all observe a different Sabbath, asthough to avoid any possible encounter with theother–maybe also to avoid stumbling upon God.From the depths of ages to our time, the Sabbathis a sign to the Jew and to the Christian. Evenmore, the Sabbath is the sign that comes betweenthe Jew and the Christian. The Sabbath is one of thefirstelements which determined and even maintainedthe open wound of their separation.Separated by time, the Jews and the Christianshave lost sight of each other. What betterway for them to meet again than to consent,together, to worship at the same time as indicatedby the God of Abraham, Israel, and alsoof Paul. The Sabbath would then become thesign of a miracle: sign that we remembered,sign that God is more than a tradition that isdead, sign of life, sign of hope in somethingelse–like a tree in the wilderness.1Abraham Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Men(New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951/1995), p. 111.2Exodus 20:8.3Bible quotations are from the New King James Versionunless otherwise noted.4Deuteronomy 5:15.52 Chronicles 36:21.6Exodus 15:8; Deuteronomy 4:32-33; Isaiah 43:15-17; 44:24.7Matthew 12:9-14; Luke 14:1-6; John 5:1-6; 9:1-38.8Luke 13:16.9Isaiah 58:13-14.10Genesis 2:2.11Exodus 40:33-38.122 Chronicles 5:14; 2 Chronicles 7:12.13Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14.14Leviticus 23:2-4.15Exodus 16.16Psalm 33:5, 22; 36:7; 57:10; 63:3; 108:4, etc.17Psalm 31:16, NIV.18Exodus 20:10; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:14.19Genesis 2:1-3.20Exodus 31:15.21Deuteronomy 5:17.22Exodus 31:17.23Isaiah 58:13-14, NIV.24This median position of the Sabbath in the Decaloguetakes on a particular meaning in the light of the ancient MiddleEastern documents. The seal which engaged the partners ofthe alliance was in fact apposed at the center itself of the tablet(see Meredith G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King, The CovenantStructure of Deuteronomy: Studies and Commentary (Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 1963), pp. 18, 19.SHABBAT SHALOMA Magazine Promoting the Peace of God’sShabbatShabbat Shalom is an attractive journal withinteresting and challenging information about thebiblical Sabbath. It also features scholarly articlesthat promote Jewish-Christian relations and analyzethe roots of Christian faith in the soil of Judaism.For complete information about this excellentresource, write:Shabbat Shalom55 W. Oak Ridge Dr., Hagerstown, MD 21740What betterway forJews andChristiansto meetagain thanto consent,together, toworship atthe sametime asindicatedby the GodofAbraham,Israel, andalso ofPaul.Dr. Jacques B. Doukhan, a nativeof Algeria, is professor of Hebrewand Old Testament Exegesis atthe Seventh-Day Adventist Seminaryand director of the Instituteof Jewish-Christian Studies atAndrews University.A strong advocateof Jewish-Christian relations,he is editor of L’Olivier andShabbat Shalom (Jewish-Christiandialogue magazines).Jacques, his wife Lilianne, andtheir daughter live in BerrienSprings, Michigan.SHABBAT ISSUE 15
Page 4 and 5: SHOFARSOUNDSThoughts fromthe Editor
Page 6 and 7: Shabbat:The Person, the Day,and the
Page 9 and 10: or singing Proverbs 31’s acclamat
Page 12 and 13: Sabbath: APalace in TimeBY JACQUES
Page 16 and 17: RENEWING THE HEBREW FOUNDATIONS OF
Page 18 and 19: Now you can access insightful, chal
Page 21 and 22: was that Shabbat was both blessed a
Page 23 and 24: LORD; let us shout aloud to the Roc
Page 25 and 26: he will do for his people.In Hebrew
Page 27 and 28: Isaiah through the sabbatical year:
Page 29 and 30: form of shmita observance in Israel
Page 31 and 32: yourself out, look back, see what y
Page 33 and 34: time in synagogue praying, Shabbat
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