What makes Shabbos into Shabbos? It is told that when Rav JB Soloveitchick was showed AJ Heschel’s book, “The Sabbath”, he commented.  “Shabbos is ‘An Oasis in time? (Heschel’s poetic term, implying that Shabbos is unique space in time) — No, Shabbos is the 39 Melachos!”  Despite this very Lithuanian quip, the Shabbos is called holy, and how can we understand what that means in practical terms?  The Rav was alluding to the idea that, in the end, you can philosophize all you want, but you also have to keep the halachos and know what the 39 melachos are.  In this post, I am going to expand on this theme, to show how keeping the 39 proscribed forms of labor cuts to the heart of the holiness of Shabbos, and dare I say, Heschel and the Rav were saying the same thing, from two different sides of the coin.

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph quotes the verse in (Shemos 31:14) describing the sanctity of Shabbos:

“And you shall observe Shabbos, for it is sacred to you” 

The Sefas Emes (Ki Tisah 27) says that the holiness of Shabbos, which is beyond time, is really not for this world.  It is something that exists out of time and is meant to be experienced in the world of the souls.  This is why Chazal say that Shabbos asked God. “Who will be my mate?” Meaning, how is it possible to find a space for me in the temporal physical world?  God answered, “The Jewish people will be your mate.”  The extra neshama given to a Jew on Shabbos allows the Jew to somehow appreciate and experience an aspect of the infinite.

The cessation of work, which is defined in the practical observance of the 39 prohibited melachos, allow for a moment when a person can meditate on the infinite.  The human psyche has some capacity thorough imagination and emotion to envision a state of infinite completeness and oneness.  Taking time to be in that zone, without the distractions of needing to build or accomplish gives us a glimpse of the infinity and holiness of Shabbos (See Kedushas Levi Bo, and the upcoming Psychology of the Daf, Kesuvos 35.)

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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