“Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it. Work during the six weekdays and do all your tasks. But keep the seventh day a Sabbath for God your Lord; do not work on that day, neither you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maidservant, your animal, nor the stranger in your gates. Because God created heaven and earth, the seas and all that they contain, in six days, and He rested on the seventh day. God therefore blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.” (Exodus 20:8–11)
Why is it that the Torah first says we should sanctify the Sabbath, and then ends by saying it is God who sanctifies the day?
We learn the following in the Talmud (Shabbath 10b) on the verse (Exodus 31:13) “Speak to the Children of Israel, saying, ‘Only observe My Sabbaths, because they are a sign between Me and you for all generations, so that you know that I, God, am sanctifying you.’ ” “The Holy Blessed One said to Moses, ‘I have a precious gift in My treasure house. It is called “Sabbath,” and it is my desire to give it to the Jewish people. Go and inform them.’ From this, R. Simeon b. Gamliel deduced: If one gives a loaf to a child, he must inform the child’s mother. But did not R. Hama b. R. Hanina teach: If one makes a gift to his neighbor, he need not inform him, as deduced from Scripture (Exodus 34:29): ‘And Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone by reason of His speaking with him?’ There is no real difficulty. R. Hana refers to a gift that will be revealed anyway, while R. Simeon refers to one that is not likely to be revealed. But surely, the Sabbath is a matter that stood to be revealed. Why then did God have to inform them? Yes, the Sabbath would be revealed, but its rewards were not obvious. And so, God told Moses, ‘Go and inform them . . .’ ”
We need to understand why the Talmud says, “If one gives a loaf to a child, he must inform the child’s mother.” Why does it not say, “He must inform the child’s parents”? Perhaps because it is usually the mother who bakes the loaf and gives it to the child, and so it is she who benefits from the giving of the loaf. But that is not entirely true, since it is usually the father who earns the money to buy the ingredients for the loaf, and so he benefits even more from the gift of the loaf to the child. Why then do we inform the mother, who may only have toiled to bake the loaf?
The intention of the teaching could be as follows. It is not only when you give your own bread to a child that you must inform both parents, because both benefit from the gift—the father by not having to pay for bread, and the mother by not having to bake it and feed it to the child. But even if you feed the child with the bread his mother provided, and it is only of benefit to the mother in that she is spared the small task of having to feed the child herself, it is still necessary to inform her. The proof of this teaching is the Sabbath itself. It is well known that while still in Egypt, Moses begged Pharaoh to give the Jewish people a day on which to rest and that Pharaoh granted the request. This is why in the Sabbath morning liturgy we say, “Let Moses rejoice in the gift of his portion” (since it was because of Moses that the Jewish people observed the Sabbath while still in Egypt). If this is so, then even though the Sabbath exists because it is the day on which God rested, nevertheless when God gave it to the Jewish people, it was as if He was giving them something that they already possessed. As a result of the efforts of our teacher Moses, they already observed the Sabbath while still in Egypt, and yet God told Moses to “go and inform them.” From this we learn that even if one feeds a child with a loaf that already belongs to him, one must still inform his mother of the gift.
It is noteworthy that in the Talmud quoted above, God says, “I have a precious gift in My treasure house,” while the Torah itself is called “a hidden treasure.” In the Talmud (Shabbath 88b) we learn: “When Moses ascended on high, the ministering angels said to the Holy Blessed One, ‘Sovereign of the Universe, what business has one born of woman amongst us?’ God answered, ‘He has come to receive the Torah.’ They said to Him, ‘That hidden treasure, which was hoarded nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the world was created, You desire to give to flesh and blood?’ ” The angels did not say, “hoarded in Your treasure house.” They simply said “hoarded.” Obviously, “the treasure house” of the Holy Blessed One is far beyond our comprehension.
However, what may be within reach of our limited understanding is as follows. Perhaps, when speaking of something in a treasure house, the thing itself is perceivable, and cannot be seen only because it is hidden inside the treasure house. This is comparable to a house whose walls conceal its contents. When, on the other hand, we talk of a “hidden treasure,” we do not mean that it is concealed in a treasure house. We mean that the thing itself is invisible, and not simply concealed from view. It is hidden because it is so much beyond our ability to perceive it, and even though nothing hides it from view, we are still unable to see it.
This was the chief argument of the angels, when they called the Torah “the hidden treasure” and not the precious object “in a treasure house.” “Look,” they said, “The Torah is right here in front of us and yet we are unable to perceive it, because it is so lofty and its Light so tremendous. How can You be contemplating giving it to flesh and blood?” The Talmud goes on to say that in response, the Holy Blessed One said to Moses, “Give them a rebuttal.” Moses replied, “Sovereign of the Universe, I am afraid that they will consume me with their fiery breath.” God said to him, “Hold on to My Throne of Glory, and give them a rebuttal.” This in itself was their answer: that the Jew, who exists in the temporal world below—this human, who was so contemptible in their eyes that they must refer to him as “born of woman”—was yet grasping the very Throne of Glory, far above them. The angels exist in Yetzirah, the universe of Formation, while the Throne of Glory is in Briyah, the universe of Creation.
The fact is that, like the Torah, the Jew exists right in front of everyone and yet cannot be perceived, because he is as exalted as the Throne of Glory and his Light is so tremendous. The very angels see him without comprehending him at all. Even the person himself does not perceive his own essence. Moses was afraid of being consumed by the angels; he obviously had no idea that he was so much greater than they were. Although there is no real basis for comparison, nonetheless, when Gentiles look at a Jew and see someone contemptible, it is because they cannot perceive the actual Jew. It is precisely because Jews are a “hidden treasure” and not hidden in a treasure house, because they are simply beyond perception and due to their greatness impossible to grasp, that they are the only proper receivers of the Torah, which is itself a “hidden treasure.”
Of the Sabbath, God said to Moses, “I have a precious gift in My treasure house. It is called ‘Sabbath,’ and it is my desire to give it to the Jewish people. Go and inform them.” The Talmud concludes that God was telling Moses to inform the Jewish people about the rewards of the Sabbath. What was the purpose of the information? We are all, thank God, Jews, and so each one of us must have been informed by God. Each, at his own particular level, must know what God meant when he said, “Go and inform them of its rewards,” as the Talmud concluded. The purpose is to be aware, to know that “I, God, am sanctifying you.”
In the Tanya (Epistle 23), R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi explains the difference between Divine Inspiration and Divine Reward. “Divine Inspiration means that a tremendous light comes to rest upon the Jew—a light much greater than the person himself can grasp, and far greater than that which could actually enter into him. A Divine Reward, however, is Divine Light that has been restricted and limited to the amount the person is capable of absorbing.”
According to what we have said above, it is appropriate that the Jewish people receive the Torah, which, because of its great light, is a hidden treasure. This is because the Jewish people are also hidden, and cannot be grasped, because of their great light and exalted status. While the Torah can rest upon them, at the level of Divine Inspiration, the Jew can actually grasp the light of the Sabbath, because, as we said above, it is “a precious gift in My treasure house”—something that can be perceived and grasped when not concealed behind walls. Through the Sabbath, God constricted that part of the Torah that He desired to channel and give to the Jewish people. In this way it could penetrate right into their being, into their essence, under the guise of “I have a precious gift in my treasure house, called the Sabbath.” God did not give away the entire Torah in heaven, but only that portion that could be received by the Jewish people. He drew it down and constricted it from the level of a “hidden treasure” to the level of “a precious gift in a treasure house,” as He did with the Sabbath. The Torah was thus reduced from Divine Inspiration to the level of a Divine Reward, whereby it could enter into the Jewish people.
As the Talmud says (Shabbath 86b), “Everyone agrees that the Torah was given on the Sabbath.” If it had not been given on the Sabbath, the Torah would have remained at the level of Divine Inspiration. Because the Torah was given on the Sabbath, however, the Jewish people connected with it at the level of a Divine Reward, about which God said, “Go and inform them.” Torah is an inferior variety of Divine Wisdom, as we know from the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 17:5): “R. Hanina b. Yitzchak said that there are three inferior, premature, unripe varieties. Sleep is a variety of death, dreams are a variety of prophecy, and the Sabbath is a variety of the World to Come. R. Abin added another two. The globe of the sun is a variety of Divine Light, and Torah is a variety of Divine Wisdom.” Divine Wisdom is inspirational, and so God gave the Jewish people the lesser variety, at the level of “Go and inform them.”
Why the Torah was given specifically on the Sabbath, we cannot know. But with our limited perspective, perhaps it is possible to suggest as follows. The Sabbath is both the sephirah of Binah (Understanding) and the sephirah of Malkhut (Sovereignty). The sephirah of Malkhut is also known as K’nesseth Yisrael (Congregation of Israel). When the Torah is given on the Sabbath, therefore, the Light is reduced and constricted within bounds, according to the capacity of each individual Jew to receive it.
Another reason could be that during the Six Days of Creation, God worked in the world, and what then was missing? Rest. With the Sabbath came rest, as Rashi explains (Genesis 2:2). What is “rest” in human terms? It is the restoration of a person’s soul, a process that happens inside him. A similar change from external to internal processes occurs in the spiritual world. During the six days of the week, the holiness that is drawn down is external to the person, in the form of Divine Inspiration, but on the Sabbath, the holiness is internal. Because the Sabbath was the day on which the Torah was given, the Torah can be drawn inward even during the six days of the week, depending only upon how much we connect the Sabbath with the weekdays. In the lyrics of the Sabbath hymn “God I Desire” by R. Aaron the Great of Karlin, we sing, “Save me from behind, from parting with the Sabbath, not to lock out of Sabbath, the six days.”
Each person apprehends the Torah at the levels of p’shat (meaning), remez (allegory), d’rush (homily), and sod (mystery), according to his particular mindset. Regarding these four layers of Torah understanding, the Holy Blessed One had no need to tell Moses, “Go and inform them.” The whole Torah was given for Moses to tell to the Jewish people—and not only to tell it, but also to lay it out like a table set before them, as Rashi explains on the verse (Exodus 21:1) “These are the laws that you must set before them”: “Like a table properly set and laid.” “Go and inform them,” therefore, means that it was Moses’ duty to help them perceive and experience what was otherwise impossible to grasp: the Light of the Hidden Treasure and the Divine Inspiration that surrounded them.
Every Jew experiences an exalted state from time to time, whether during prayer, on Sabbath, during the Festivals, or at other particularly uplifting times. He may not know why he experiences this exaltation at that time. Indeed, it is forbidden to reflect upon causes and reasons while it is happening, because introspection and intellectualizing actually undermine the exaltation. Nevertheless, it is felt. It is a connection between the levels of Divine Inspiration and the Divine Reward of “Go and inform them,” which informs their innermost and essential selves.
This does not only apply in times of exaltation. We need to bear in mind that although, generally speaking, arrogance is a most destructive character defect—the Talmud (Sotah 5a) describes God saying, “I and he cannot live in one world”—nonetheless, a person must never see himself as hollow or contemptible. For when someone considers himself hollow and contemptible, he behaves in a hollow and contemptible way. A person needs to feel that he is a Jew, a chasid, and a God worshipper, for that feeling is a spark, a flash of the Light of Divine Inspiration penetrating him. Even though he is lowly in his own estimation, always seeing his own faults, nevertheless he feels within himself that he is a Jew and a chasid, at the level of (II Chronicles 17:6) “And his heart grew haughty in the ways of God.” Not only does this not cause him to act arrogantly; on the contrary, it humbles him in his own eyes, so that he is always looking at his own faults and character defects. It is obvious that anyone feeling hollow and contemptible, God forbid, thinks that only the most grievous sins are forbidden him. When he finds himself innocent of such grievous sins, he is already arrogant and proud. This is not the case with someone who feels himself to be a chasid and God worshipper, for whom even a trace of a trace of evil is intolerable. Not only that, but such a person knows just how easy it is to fall into the very deepest pit, God forbid, and his heart is always broken inside him.
Thus, the terrible sufferings, may the Merciful One protect us, aside from the fact that they are evil in themselves, are also destructive in that they cause people’s spirits to fall, preventing them from feeling their own greatness and nobility. We must strengthen ourselves, even in this suffering. We must each be like a captured prince, who, even though tortured, is nonetheless a tortured prince. God will have mercy, and rescue us immediately and forthwith.
“Go and inform them . . . so that you know that I, God, am sanctifying you.” With this knowing, a person is aware that he is a chasid. This knowing is part of God’s knowing, and with it, the person knows. It is a well-known teaching of Maimonides, of blessed memory, and taught by the kabbalists, that God’s omniscience is with His self-knowledge. We have previously discussed how God knows of a person’s piety and worship through His self-knowledge. A person’s piety and worship are actually God’s, because God is the one who gives the desire and the strength, the mind and the heart, to worship. When God gives part of His knowledge to someone, and with it knows the person’s worship, then the person sees that the worship was not his, and that everything is God’s. Then he understands that he of himself does nothing, and regards only his faults as his own—because they are his own; he made them—and so his heart falls and his spirit breaks.
It is well known that in Egypt it was the sephirah of Da’at (Knowing) that was in exile. The letters of the Hebrew name Pharaoh—peh, resh, ayin, heh—can be inverted to read ha’oref which, translated, means the back of the neck, opposite the face, the occiput, which prevents da’at (knowing) from expanding. In this our current exile, it is the Da’at of the lower sephirot—the Midoth (Characteristics) as opposed to the Mochin (Mentalities)—that are in exile. The task is to bring Da’at out of exile. That is why it is written (Exodus 2:25), “And God saw the Children of Israel, and God knew.” The people were brought out of Egypt “. . . so that you know that I, God, am sanctifying you.” Of the coming of the Messiah, it is said (Isaiah 11:9), “. . . and the world will be filled with knowledge of God.”
Although they suppress Da’at (Knowing), God forbid, nonetheless all our sufferings now, as in Egypt, have a purpose. Their purpose is to crush and remove “common knowledge,” with which man thinks that he knows, and upon which he relies, while in the words of the verse (Ecclesiastes 1:18), “He adds knowledge, he adds pain.” Their purpose is to beat it and eradicate it, so that afterwards God’s knowing can be revealed inside each person, and in the entire world.
“Remember the Sabbath to sanctify it. . . . God therefore blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.” Why does the Torah say first that we should sanctify the Sabbath, and end by saying that it is God who sanctifies the day? If we remember the Sabbath and sanctify it, then we will know that it is really God who sanctifies it. It is not our doing, but “. . . so that you know that I, God, am sanctifying you.” We will know that God sanctifies it, and we will feel God’s holiness within us.