It is written in the book of Exodus (31: 12-13): "And Gd said to Moses: Speak to the sons of Israel, if only you keep My Sabbaths, for it (Saturday) - a sign between me and you in all your generations. You to know that I - the Almighty, sanctify you. " Note here Saturday called the sign. But - mark for whom and about what?


Ancient Jewish thinker Rabbi Saadia Gaon explains that the Sabbath according to the peoples of the world the following: in front of you - a Jew, a son of the people who elected Supreme. Those. Jew can always learn from his behavior on the Sabbath. While in town, he is in this day of the week closes his shop; while on the road, stops to rest ...


Imagine a large commercial city, such as New York. It is known that it half-week turnover fell on the same day - Friday. And they say that Americans are "shopping" on Saturdays. It is not difficult to imagine the look of shopping districts on Friday afternoon: work in full swing, bringing up new products, wash the windows, everything is ready for tomorrow. Suddenly we notice the owner of a shop that behaves at least strange: instead of preparing for a big work day, at noon, he closes his shop and in a hurry to go home! One of two things: either unwell or Jew. There is no third…


Saturday - a kind of Jewish flag, that it highlights the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob out of all the peoples of the world. And allocates far more than kosher or national holidays.


Indeed, compliance with the laws of the Sabbath testifies to the Jewish essence in man. Stop on Saturday all kinds of labor activity - the only ritual prescriptions mentioned in the Torah in the Ten Commandments.


But how important the Sabbath in Judaism, is as great a lack of understanding of its meaning beyond the circle of studying Torah Jews. Sabbath laws cause people a lot of questions. Here are some of them:


- Why can not I turn on or turn off the light on the Sabbath? Is it hard work?


- Why does the Sabbath Jew, forced to walk? It's tedious, much more convenient to travel by car!


- Why do people have to be some established form of recreation? If someone likes to go to the synagogue - on health. But others prefer outdoor activities (hiking, playing sports), the third most liked to go to the sea, the fourth - to go to the theater. Why all this is forbidden on the Sabbath?


It is easy to see that these and many other questions are based on the same premise: Saturday - a day of rest. And if this is true, then they are, these questions are quite appropriate. But the fact of the matter is that the Sabbath - is not just a day off, not just a "weekend", when we can have fun, disconnected from our professional activities to while relaxing your body and soul, with restored strength to start a new hard working week. There is no doubt, on the seventh day, you can, among other things and relax, but except for that was given to us on Saturday?


Let us return to the Torah passage, with which we began. Saturday it is called a sign. Many commentators do not agree with the Torah of Rabbi Saadia Gaon treats the Sabbath as a sign of the peoples of the world that the one who observes, - a Jew. Then what this sign is the evidence? As commentators have written that the world was created in six days. It is written in the book of Genesis: "And was completed heaven and earth with all their army. And Gd completed on the seventh day His work, which was engaged in, and stopped all the work done on the seventh day. And Gd blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on that day stopped all His work which, to build, do it. "


Stop it, like the Creator, the work on the seventh day of the week, the man indicates that this world was once created, it has a Master, the Creator. In other words, the world does not exist because it is subject to the eternal and immutable laws of nature. It was created by the Upper Force for a specific purpose, and it gives a sense of the entire Creation. Thus, the Sabbath rest - nothing more than an act of faith!


However, in the Creator of the world believe, millions of people on the ground, it is difficult not to acknowledge the role of the Creator, but the knowledge that the world is not accidental that it was created, has no effect on their daily lives. This consciousness, however, manifested in visiting temples, prayers and liturgies. But a Jew is intended to express their faith in action. Jewish child, not to disrupt the flower on the Sabbath, even if he really wants to disrupt it demonstrates the Creator more than dozens of thick tomes religious philosophers.


So we come to the first conclusion. Sabbath rest - not the way to rest at the weekend, and the evidence to all men that the world was created, and it has a purpose.


However, the Jewish Sabbath rest shows the creation of the world, not only to those who surround him, but first of all to himself. And again the question: to testify in front of him - what does it mean?


The French writer Albert Camus said: "There is a gap between the theoretical, imaginary knowledge and knowledge of the real. This gap allows easy to get along with the ideas, able to turn the ordinary life, if these ideas have been experienced by the truth. " Even those who believe in Vsederzhatelya can live as if He is not. Man feels the ability to transform the world in which he lives, to subdue and put themselves at the service of the forces of nature. Feeling the power over nature, he forgets his origin and begins to imagine himself a master mipa. "A man walks like a vast host of their country," - sung in the famous song of the 30s. Still, after he learned to launch rockets to the moon, overlap and start reversing the river, let the nuclear genie out of the bottle. What is not a boss!


No doubt, the desire to obey the forces of nature - within reasonable limits, of course - is not contrary to the Creator's plan. On the contrary, Gd commanded just created the first man (Genesis 1:28): "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and master it." The only problem is that, while mastering and conquering the world, people tend to forget who sent it to these gains.


The story about a king who sent the military general to pacify the rebellious province. The army was preparing to march, and the king began attending doubt. he knew from history that commanders often enough to get used to the role of conquerors that were unable to transfer power over the conquered lands of their sovereigns, and therefore declared themselves independent rulers of new provinces. And although the general seemed to proven and reliable, yet at the heart of the king was troubled. For a long time he solved this problem and finally figured it out. When the general came to the audience, to get final instructions, the king said: "I command you once a week, no matter how difficult the situation has developed not at the front, throwing all - staff and officers, absolutely everything! - and come to my palace with a report on the progress of the campaign. "


king calculation was simple: the danger lies in the fact that on the front of the general feeling that kind of power that gradually starts to forget his master. Forgets that in fact he is only a soldier, even with braid and epaulettes, but still one of the soldiers sent to perform the task of a king. That is, theoretically, it is, of course, on this clue, because once gave an oath, exactly the same as the rest of the soldiers, but all the same, really feeling its power in the army, considers himself master of the situation, the lord. Several times a month to stop fighting, to visit the royal palace, - for him it will be enough to the true state of affairs was strengthened in his real knowledge and a sense of power eclipsed understanding of their role in the lord, the king, in which he will fight.


So we - once a week should suspend its "conquest", to give twenty-four hours of our rule of manifestations of nature, to leave her alone. We are not owners of the earth! Six days later we conquered nature by putting its power into his service. But on the seventh day we do not interfere in the natural course of events, not to change the world, but only again and again experience the pleasure of serving the real owner.


By the way, who said that you can not work on the Sabbath? Can! After Saturday - not a day. For example, a person can work as a waiter in a hotel, covering and cleaning tables at least twenty-four hours Saturday and while it does not break. Or work as a watchman, educator, teacher ... work is not prohibited on the Sabbath! You can not only exercise their power over nature.


However, let's be clear terms. There is a common job, but there are some prohibited actions on the Sabbath. At last in the Torah have a common name - Melachim (plural - melahot). Only for lack of a better term, this equivalent is usually translated as work. In fact, the word Melachim can be seen as the female form of the concept malachite, which means angel, a messenger of the Most High. It has its own logic: people sent by the Creator to master and conquer the world. So, the very act by which he performs his appointment through, and must be stopped on Saturday - regardless of whether they are associated with heavy effort or not.


Rav Moshe Pantelyatt