Comentario sobre Génesis 2:3

ויברך … ויקדש AND GOD BLESSED … AND HE SANCTIFIED — He blessed it through the Manna, that on all other days of the week there should fall for them (the Israelites) an Omer for each person, whereas on the sixth day there should fall twice as much of that bread. So, too, He sanctified it through the Manna, that it should not fall at all on the Sabbath (Genesis Rabbah 11:2). This verse is written here with reference to what would happen in the future.

AND G-D BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY AND HE SANCTIFIED IT. He blessed it through the Manna. [On all other days of the week there fell one portion per person, whereas on the sixth day — the eve of the Sabbath — a double portion fell.] And He sanctified it through the Manna [by not having it fall on the Sabbath]. And the verse is written here with reference to the future. Thus are the words of Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi] as quoted from Bereshith Rabbah.²⁴¹11:2. In the name of the Gaon Rav Saadia²⁴²Mentioned in Ibn Ezra here. they have said that the blessing and sanctification refer to those who observe the Sabbath, meaning that they will be blessed and sanctified. However, from the intimation of the verse it does not appear that it refers to something which will happen in the future.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the blessing signifies additional well-being, that on the seventh day there is a renewal of procreative strength in the body, and in the soul, a greater capacity in the functioning of the reasoning power. And He sanctified it by not working on it as He did on the other days. Now Ibn Ezra’s interpretation is correct to those who believe in it for this additional well-being he speaks of is not perceptible to human senses.
The truth is that the blessing on the Sabbath day is the fountain of blessings and constitutes the foundation of the world. And He sanctified it that it draw its sanctity from the Sanctuary on high. If you will understand this comment of mine you will grasp what the Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah²⁴³11:9. concerning the Sabbath: [“Why did He bless the Sabbath? It is] because it has no partner,”²⁴⁴“Because it has no…” (l’phi sh’e) is a direct quote from the Midrash there. (See Theodore’s ed. of Bereshith Rabbah, p. 95, variants.) In the printed edition of the Midrash, the word l’phi (because) is missing. and that which they have further related [that G-d said to the Sabbath]: “The congregation of Israel will be thy partner.” And then you will comprehend that on the Sabbath there is truly an extra soul.

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי , when the seventh day arrived, G’d had already created and placed in position all the needs of His creatures, including their food supply, so that it turned out that the Sabbath day was blessed with everything good. (compare author’s comment on Exodus 20,10) [I assume that this comment is based on the fact that if G’d had not created anything on that day, and especially, seeing the comment is written completely out of context, it must have referred to something which had occurred previously. Ed.]

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי, this refers not only to the first Sabbath but to all subsequent Sabbath days. G’d endowed every Sabbath with this blessing so that it would more readily accommodate the additional “soul” He grants Jews on that day. Job 33,30 describes this phenomenon as לאור באור החיים, “designed that he may bask in the light of life.” Our sages (Beytzah 16) state that the words שבת וינפש in Exodus 31,17 refer to the loss of this additional soul at the end of the Sabbath.

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי. G'd blessed the seventh day. We need to know the exact nature of this blessing which the Torah does not spell out in this instance. Our sages (Mechilta Exodus 20,3) suggested that the blessing was the fact that while the Jewish people were in the desert an extra portion of manna descended on Fridays and they did not have to pick it up on the Sabbath. Such allusions are, of course, not the plain meaning of the verse. The plain meaning of the verse has nothing to do with isolated events two and half millenia in the future.

Just as holy objects may not be used for one's personal gain, so also Shabat is holy and may not be used for one's livelihood or any other personal profit. The reason for this is that God rested on that day. The first two reasons mentioned above are not relevant, only the third. (See H.D. on "Remember the Sabbath day" (Shemot 20:8-11) and "Observe the Sabbath" (Shemot 31:16-17) where I explain that the reason in each case is precisely suited to the subject.)

ויברך, this refers to the addition of something beneficial. The seventh day is distinguished by the fact that it enjoys additional good, i.e. additional Divine blessings. These consist of the fact that the Jew is afforded an opportunity to study Torah in a quiet unhurried setting, allowing him to derive the maximum benefit from such study. G’d extended this blessing at the time when He commanded the Jewish people to observe this day as a day of “rest” by sanctifying that day.

ויברך ויקדש, “He blessed and sanctified.” Rashi explains that the words ויברך ויקדשrefer to the manna. During the weekdays one omer of manna per person fell from the heavens, and on the Sabbath eve twice the amount, so that the Sabbath was sanctified by no manna descending. Rav Saadyah gaon explains that the blessing and sanctity are granted to those who observe the Sabbath in accordance with halachah. Ibn Ezra explains the blessing bestowed on the Sabbath as additional strength granted to the bodies to enable them to procreate and the additional mental and spiritual dimension known as נשמה יתירה, “additional soul,” which Jews enjoy on that day.

He blessed it through the manna... but on the sixth dayou might ask: Why is this a blessing? It would be a blessing if there was more on Shabbos than during the week, yet Shabbos had only an omer per person like the other days. An answer is: The manna that fell each day was a blessing, for it is written, “and sanctified it,” [meaning] that Shabbos was sanctified and no manna fell then. Nonetheless it had the blessing of the manna, for the sixth day was doubly blessed. Thus, “He blessed it” means that the blessing was not interrupted on Shabbos. (Re’m) An additional answer is: “He blessed it through the manna” means the manna did not spoil. On other days, leftover manna would spoil by the next day, as it is written (Shemos 16:20), “Some men left some over until morning. It became wormy and putrid.” However, if people would eat only a half omer [on Friday], and leave an omer and a half for Shabbos, it would not spoil. This is Shabbos’ additional blessing. (Maharshal) It seems, [as an additional answer,] that the blessing [of Shabbos] was the manna’s increasing and sufficing for three meals, while the other days the manna yielded enough for only two meals. (Divrei Dovid) It is amazing that in recounting the world’s Creation, it would say “blessed” and “sanctified” just because of the short time — forty years — that the manna came down. Thus it seems that this teaching means as follows: Hashem sanctified the Shabbos as a day that we may not do anything for material needs, such as work and business, nor even walk and speak in the same manner as he does during the week. Thus, due to our evil inclination which will tell us, “What shall we eat... we will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!” (Vayikra 25:20) the Torah first tells us: “Elohim blessed the seventh day.” I.e., Hashem doubled the blessing on the sixth day so that the day of Shabbos may then be sanctified, and no work need be done. Otherwise a person might think he will lack bread, and be unable to restrain himself in the face of monetary loss. And this blessing and sanctity was not only with the manna. But each Shabbos, Hashem proclaims: “Borrow on Me [i.e., on My credit] and I will pay” (Beitzah 16b), involving blessing and sanctity. The manna was mentioned because we saw with our own eyes its great miracle of “The one who had taken less, was not lacking” (Shemos 16:18). And since there was no one to keep Shabbos at the time of Creation, for the mitzvah had not yet been given, Rashi commented, “This verse is written with reference to the future,” meaning when the Jews will keep Shabbos, not only in the time of the manna. (Nachalas Yaakov)

ברך, segnen, wie oben bei der Tier- und Menschen-Schöpfung. Gott stattete den siebten Tag mit der Kraft des Gedeihens, der Blüte, der Vermehrung, der immer reicheren Fülle des von ihm zu Erzeugenden, mit der Kraft der Erreichung seiner hohen Bestimmung an dem Menschen aus, ויקדש אותו: und stellte ihn hoch und heilig, unantastbar ewig und unvergänglich hin. קדש drückt die völlige, von keinem Gegensatz mehr erreichbare Entschiedenheit, das Absolute, aus. Daher קדוש: die völlige, von keiner Trübung mehr erreichbare Hingebung an alles Gute und Edle, jener sittliche Zustand, in welchem gar kein Kampf mehr mit dem Sinnlichen vorhanden ist, und קדש die entgegengesetzte völlige Hingebung an das Sinnliche, in welchem der Widerstand der besseren sittlichen Natur völlig erloschen. (Vgl. כבוד: der Eindruck des geistigen Gehalts, und כבד des materiellen; שלום: die innere geistige Harmonie, und שלם: die materielle Ganzheit.) Daher ist קדוש auch das gegen alle Vergänglichkeit Geschützte. Das absolut Reine ist auch das absolut Ewige, והיה הנשאר בציון והנותר בירושלם קדוש יאמר לו כל הכתוב לחיים בירושלם (Jes. 4,3) מה קדוש לעולם קיים אף הם לעולם קיימים Sanhedrin 92, a.) (Der Gegensatz): חלל ,חול, das Getödtete, der Vergänglichkeit Verfallene.)

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי, “G-d blessed the seventh day.”[If I understand the author correctly, he does not understand the word ויברך here as in the immediate past, but as description of the state of the universe on that day as a result of its Creator having blessed it previously. Ed.] On this day the world was in a state of perfection full of everything positive, and fully satisfied. Compare Deuteronomy 5,14: אשר ברכך ה' אלוקיך תתן לו, “that the Lord your G-d has blessed you with, give him of it.” (the departing servant). This is also what we recite regularly in our prayers: “You have blessed it more than any other days.”

[...] "from all His work that God created to do/make." The explanation of this is that "to do/make" refers to the future. That is that the Holy-One-blessed-be-He renews every day anew the work of creation. And the renewal of the work of creation on the Sabbath day is prepared on the day before and on the Sabbath He refrains from that too; and that is the meaning of what is said "from all."

אשר ברא אלהים לעשות WHICH GOD IN CREATING HAD MADE — The work which should have been done on the Sabbath He did in the double work which He executed on the sixth day, as it is explained in Genesis Rabbah 11:9.

The plain meaning is that certain things in Creation were not yet complete. It was God's intention to create those things and then do the changes later. However, a deeper explanation of the word "to do" is that "doing" sometimes implies bringing an object to its ultimate purpose. This stage is the true "creation" of something because without its purpose it cannot be said to exist. (See also Bereshit 39:22 and 41:34.) Now the purpose of Creation is God's glory as Isaiah (43:7) says: "Everyone that is called by My name, and whom I created for My glory, I formed him, yea I made him." I have explained in Bamidbar (14:21) on the verse "However, as surely as I live, and as the glory of the Lord fills the earth" that God truly lives when Creation achieves its purpose and the world is filled with His glory. This goal is reached, however, only when God makes changes in Creation, either temporarily or permanently, which reveal Him as the Creator and Sustainer of the world. God causes those changes which are needed in each hour of need. All this is included in the words "His work that God created to do." God's personal Providence continues to create changes which bring the world to its ultimate perfection- being filled with His glory. See also the Introduction to H.D. (d) where I explain that man is commanded to bring glory to God by releasing the forces of nature contained in all things.

ויקדש אותו, the day was to be sacred in the sense that it is set apart from other days precisely because the Jewish people treat it as such. In other words, its sanctity is due to the way the Jewish people relate to it. This day constitutes a visible sign linking G’d and His people, i.e. that they, just as He, are holy through observing the Sabbath which by itself is testimony to the fact that G’d created the universe. It is a statement aimed at all of mankind announcing that the existence of the universe did not precede the existence of G’d. A researcher has stated that there is a fish in the ocean which does not swim on the Sabbath, spending the entire day resting near the beach or near a rock.
Our sages (Sanhedrin 65) describe the river Sambatyon as carrying huge stone down from the mountain every day of the week except on the Sabbath. This is why it is called Sabbatyon. They report further (Bereshit Rabbah Albeck edition pages 92-93) that the hostile Roman governor Turnusrufus asked Rabbi Akiva (in a sarcastic manner) how the Sabbath was different from the other days of the week. He answered: “what makes one warrior greater than another warrior?” Thereupon he told him that G’d had made it such. Turnusrufus enquired how Rabbi Akiva could prove this. Rabbi Akiva then told him about the strange phenomenon of the river Sambatyon resting on that day and not hurling stones down from the mountain. This simply proves that G’d, the Creator, has equipped His creatures with a sign indicating to them that the universe is the product of His creative activity, and had not preceded His existence. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 11,1) also explain the sequence of ויברך...ויקדש in our verse in this fashion when they say ברכו וקדשו במן, “He blessed it and sanctified it by means of the manna,” i.e. by the fact that on that day the manna did not descend from the celestial regions, seeing that G’d already provided a double portion on the previous day.

ויקדש אותו, “He sanctified it.” This day is not slated for work being performed as are the six working days.

The work which was to have been done on Shabbos Rashi knows this] because לעשות implies [doing in] the future. Otherwise it should have written, “Which Elohim had created and made.”

The fact is that this present world can function only on the basis of an adequate supply of life-sustaining food and drink. All man's physical needs are attained only through toil and a great deal of effort on his part. Such activities are of a very mundane nature. Inasmuch as G'd wanted to sanctify the Sabbath, He first bestowed a blessing on that day so that it should not be devoid of anything. Although the amenities of this "lower" world are not normally attained through asceticism, withdrawal into the four walls of the Torah academy, etc., but through preocccupation with the profane and the mundane, G'd provided His blessing so that not only would there be no lack of the physical comforts but an abundance. This abundance is expressed by the halachah requiring us to have two whole loaves of bread when reciting the benediction over the Sabbath meal, to eat at least three meals on that day, and to enjoy delicacies not eaten on the days of the week. One might have expected the blessing to be of a purely spiritual nature. By not mentioning a spiritual kind of blessing, the Torah alludes to the Sabbath having been endowed by G'd with blessings of a physical nature. This is also what the Zohar meant when it speaks about the abundance of all the six days of creation being channelled into the Sabbath.

WHICH G-D IN CREATING HAD MADE. The work which should have been done on the Sabbath, He did in the double work which He executed on the sixth day, as it is explained in Bereshith Rabbah.²⁴⁵11:10. So says Rashi.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, however, explained simply that His work refers to the roots of all species to which He gave the power to make [i.e., to produce] after their own kind. [Thus the verse would translate: which G-d had created in order to make it.]
To me, the explanation appears to be that He rested from all His work which He created out of nothing; to make from it all the works mentioned on the six days. Thus the verse is stating that G-d rested from creating and forming — from the creation He created on the first day, and from the formation He formed on the rest of the days. And it is possible that the word la’asoth (to make) is connected with the expression above in the verse, that in it He rested from all His work which He created from making, [thus making the word la’asoth to be understood as mila’asoth (from making)]. So also are the verses: Until he ceased ‘lispor’²⁴⁶Genesis 41:49. (to count), which means milispor (until he left off counting); And they ceased ‘livnoth’ (to build) the city,²⁴⁷Ibid., 11:8. which means milivnoth; Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount;²⁴⁸Exodus 19:12. Aloth (going up) should be understood as me’aloth (from going up). And they departed not ‘mitzvath’ (the commandment of the king,²⁴⁹II Chronicles 8:15. which should be understood as mimitzvath (from the commandment); and thus in many other cases.
Know that in the word la’asoth (to make, to do) is also included a hint that the six days of creation represent all the days of the world, i.e., that its existence will be six thousand years. For this reason the Rabbis have said:²⁵⁰Bereshith Rabbah 19:14. It is noteworthy here that Ramban’s explanation of the history of the world in terms of the six days of Creation was regarded with approval by many later authors. Bachya ben Asher (see my edition, I, pp. 54-6) and Menachem Ricanti copied it verbatim. Surprisingly it found its way into Egypt, and was wholly incorporated into the Midrash Rabbi David Hanagid, (Book of Exodus, pp. 201-2, ed. by A. Katz), grandson of Maimonides. “A day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is a thousand years.” Thus on the first two days the world was all water, and nothing was perfected during them. They allude to the first two thousand years when there was no one to call on the name of the Eternal. And so the Rabbis said:²⁵¹Avodah Zarah 9a. “The first two thousand years there was desolation.” However, there was the creation of light on the first day corresponding to the thousand years of Adam who was the light of the world²⁵²Yerushalmi Shabbath 2, 6: “The first man was the light [literally: the candle] of the world.” and who recognized his Creator. Perhaps Enosh did not worship idols²⁵³See further, 4:26, Rashi. until the death of the first man.
On the second day G-d said, ‘Let there be a firmament… and let it divide,’²⁵⁴Above, 1:6. for on that “day” [i.e., the second thousand-year period] Noah and his sons — the righteous ones —²⁵⁵See Note 225 above. were separated from the wicked, who were punished in water.
On the third day, the dry land appeared; plants and trees began growing, and fruits ripened. This corresponds to the third thousand-year period which begins when Abraham was forty-eight years old,²⁵⁶In Avodah Zarah 9a it appears that Abraham, at the end of the first 2000 years, was 52 years old. for then he began to call the name of the Eternal. A righteous shoot²⁵⁷Jeremiah 23:5. did then spring forth in the world for he attracted many people to know the Eternal, just as the Rabbis interpreted the verse: And the souls that they had gotten in Haran²⁵⁸Genesis 12:5. “These are the converts which they converted.” (Bereshith Rabbah 39:21.) — and he commanded his household and his children after him, and they shall keep the way of the Eternal, to do righteousness and judgment.²⁵⁹Ibid., 18:19. This course continued until his descendants received the Torah on Sinai and the House of G-d was also built on that “day,” and then all commandments — which are “the fruits” of the world — were affirmed.
Know that from the time twilight falls it is already considered as the following day. Therefore, the subject of every “day” begins somewhat before it, just as Abraham was born at the end of the second thousand years. And you will see similar examples for each and every day.
On the fourth day the luminaries — the large and the small and the stars — were created. Its “day,” in the fourth thousand-year period, began seventy-two years after the First Sanctuary was built and continued until one hundred seventy-two years after the destruction of the Second Sanctuary. Now on this “day,” the children of Israel had light,²⁶⁰Exodus 10:23. for the glory of the Eternal filled the house of the Eternal,²⁶¹I Kings 8:11. and the light of Israel became the fire upon the altar in the Sanctuary, resting there like a lion²⁶²So in Yoma 21b. Maharsha explains there the symbolism of the lion and the dog, that the first Sanctuary was built by King Solomon who was of the tribe of Judah, likened to a lion (see Genesis 49:9), while the second Sanctuary was built by the government of the Persians, symbolized by the dog (see Rosh Hashanah 4 a). consuming the offerings. Afterwards their light diminished and they were exiled to Babylon just as the light of the moon disappears before the birth of the new moon. Then the moon shone for them all the days of the Second Sanctuary, and the fire upon the altar rested on it like a dog.²⁶²So in Yoma 21b. Maharsha explains there the symbolism of the lion and the dog, that the first Sanctuary was built by King Solomon who was of the tribe of Judah, likened to a lion (see Genesis 49:9), while the second Sanctuary was built by the government of the Persians, symbolized by the dog (see Rosh Hashanah 4 a). And then the two luminaries disappeared towards eventide and the Sanctuary was destroyed.
On the fifth day the waters swarmed with living creatures and fowl flying above the earth. This was a reference to the fifth thousand-year period which began one hundred seventy-two years after the destruction of the Second Sanctuary since, during this millennium, the nations will have dominion, and man will be made as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them; they take up all of them with the angle, catch them in their net and gather in their drag,²⁶³Habakkuk 1:14-15. and no one seeks the Eternal.
On the sixth day in the morning, G-d said: ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.’²⁶⁴Above 1:24. Their creation took place before sunrise, even as it is written, The sun ariseth, they withdraw, and crouch in their dens.²⁶⁵Psalms 104:22. Then man was created in the image of G-d, and this is the time of his dominion, as it is written, Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening.²⁶⁶Ibid., Verse 23. All this is an indication of the sixth thousand-year period in the beginning of which the “beasts,” symbolizing the kingdoms that knew not the Eternal,²⁶⁷Judges 2:10. will rule, but after a tenth thereof — in the proportion of the time from the first sparklings of the sun to the beginning of the day²⁶⁸In Pesachim 94a it is so explained that the time from the beginning of the day to the first sparklings of the sun is one tenth of the day. — the redeemer will come, as it is said concerning him, And his throne is as the sun before Me.²⁶⁹Psalms 89:37. This is the son of David, who was formed in the image of G-d, as it is written, And behold, there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient One of days, and he was brought near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.²⁷⁰Daniel 7:13-14., This will take place one hundred eighteen years after the completion of five thousand years,²⁷¹This corresponds to the year 1358 C.E. See my biography of Ramban, p. 141, for further discussion of this matter. that the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Daniel might be accomplished:²⁷²See Ezra 1:1. And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the detestable thing that causeth appalment set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.²⁷³Daniel 12:11. Yamim here means “years.” Thus 172 years after the destruction of the Second Temple, the fifth millennium began. Add this to the 118 years after the beginning of the sixth millennium, and you have 1290 years, as mentioned in the verse.
It would appear from the change of days — from the swarms of the waters and the fowl created on the fifth day to the beasts of the earth created on the sixth day — that in the beginning of the sixth thousand-year period a new ruling kingdom will arise, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly,²⁷⁴Ibid., 7:7. Rambam refers here to rise of Islam. and approaching the truth more than the preceding ones.
The seventh day which is the Sabbath alludes to the World to Come, “which will be wholly a Sabbath and will bring rest for life everlasting.”²⁷⁵Tamid VII, 4.
And may G-d guard us during all the days and set our portion with His servants, the blameless ones.

Gott segnete also den siebenten Tag und heiligte ihn, gab ihm die Kraft, die geistige und sittliche Erziehung des Menschengeschlechtes zu vollbringen und stellte diese Erziehung als das absolut Siegreiche, gegen alle Trübung und Vergänglichkeit unantastbar Gesicherte hin. Warum? "Weil er ja mit diesem Erziehungsmittel der Menschheit von allem seinem Werke aufgehört hatte", weil es das Letzte und seine Bestimmung ja das Ziel der ganzen geschaffenen Erdwelt ist, und Gott ja diese Erdwelt von vorn herein ins Dasein gerufen hatte, um dieses Ziel herbeizuführen. Wäre der Mensch unfrei wie die übrigen Geschöpfe, es wäre das Gotteswerk mit dem sechsten Tage abgeschlossen. Weil aber der Mensch frei geschaffen und diese ihn selbst über die Engel erhebende Freiheit notwendig auch die Möglichkeit des Irrtums und der Verirrung bedingt, der Mensch vielmehr zur freien Anerkenntniß des Wahren und freien Übung des Guten erst heranerzogen werden soll: so ist nun freilich Gottes Werk in der Natur geschlossen, allein sein Wirken in der Geschichte des Menschen und die Fortgestaltung der natürlichen Verhältnisse für dieses Erziehungsmittel seines Waltens in der Menschheit hat eben damit begonnen: ב׳ר יא׳) ממלאכת עולמו שבת ממלאכת צדיקים ורשעים לא שבת). Diese Erziehung des Menschengeschlechtes zu seiner geistigen und sittlichen Adamshöhe war aber dem Sabbat anvertraut, die ganze Folgegeschichte der göttlichen Waltungen und Offenbarungen haben gar keinen anderen Inhalt, als den Sabbat zum Siege zu führen und ihm — wie das die Weisen tief sinnig ausdrücken — immer mehr בני זוג, immer mehr ihm sich vermählende Träger zu schaffen. Darum segnete er ihn und heiligte ihn, und die Bürgschaft für die unabweisbare Erreichung dieses geistigen und sittlichen Zieles des Sabbats liegt darin, dass: אשר ברא א׳ לעשות ,dass Gott diese Welt nicht nur für dieses Ziel gestaltet, sondern sie, Stoff und Kraft derselben, für dieses Ziel geschaffen. Diese Wiederholung des אשר ברא am Schlusse der Sabbaturkunde und der Schöpfungsgeschichte ist der Granitfels, auf welchem das Ganze ruht. Derselbe Gott, der das geistig und sittlich freie Ziel der Menschheit gesetzt, derselbe Gott hat ja für dieses Ziel die ganze stoffliche, sinnliche und geistige Welt — ש מאין׳ — frei ins Dasein gerufen. Es kann somit in dieser ganzen Welt nichts sein, was diesem freien, geistigen und sittlichen Menschenziele hindernd in den Weg träte, ja was nicht ganz eigentlich diesem Ziel entspräche und seine Erreichung förderte. Diese allmälige Gewinnung des Menschen für das Wahre und Gute war von vornherein Gottes Absicht. Darum ist die Verwirklichung dieses Zieles das einzige, dem der Sieg unverlierbar sicher und gewiß ist. Die freie Erschaffung der Welt durch Gott aus nichts (הידוש העול) ist nicht nur der Grundstein aller menschlichen Wahrheit, sie ist auch und mehr noch der Grundstein aller menschlichen Sittlichkeit.

ויקדש אותו “He sanctified it;” according to Rashi, this refers to the fact that the manna would not descend to earth on that day. [Maybe Rashi means that the Sabbath rest is observed also in the celestial regions. Ed.] If you were to counter that on festival days the manna did not descend either, as we read in Exodus 6,26: וביום השביעי לא יהיה בו , and our sages in the Mechilta, (according to Rashi) claim that this verse was written only in order to include the day of Atonement and the other Festivals as days on which no manna descended, we have to remember that the festivals are frequently also referred to as Sabbaths, so that there was no need for a special verse to include those days as days on which the manna would not descend. A different exegesis of these words: the meaning of “He sanctified it,” is that no creative activity was to be performed on that day, seeing that the Creator Himself had abstained from carrying out such an activity on that day. The idea that a day known as שבת must be sanctified even if it is not the seventh day of the week, is demonstrated when the Torah in Leviticus 23,3 calls that day שבת שבתון, before adding that this is the reason that no work may be performed on it. The day of Atonement is also called שבת שבתון (Leviticus 16,31) although most of the time it does not occur on the seventh day of the week. It makes sense therefore that because it is also a שבת שבתון, the rules about work prohibition are identical to those occurring every week on the seventh day.

"That God created to do/make." To do/make from then on. He created them in the six days of creation, so that from then on every species would make its descendants, according to what they are.

אשר ברא אלוקים לעשות, “which G’d had created to be developed further.” According to Rashi the meaning is that work (of a creative nature) originally intended to be carried out only on the seventh day, was moved forward so that G’d performed it already on the sixth day. According to Ibn Ezra the verse tells us that G’d enabled the various creatures, including plants, to be able to procreate and ensure their continued existence on earth Nachmanides holds that as of this day G’d desisted from any creative activity which was known as בריאה, i.e. creating matter out of no tangible raw material, יש מאין, “ex nihilo.” The meaning of the additional word לעשות, is that G’d did not even put finishing touches to phenomena He had already created in their primitive state. Nachmanides adds that we should know that the expression ששת ימים does not only refer to the six days of creation in a literal sense, but to the entire projected length of time this universe is to endure, i.e. 6000 years. This is why our sages described the length of a “day” in terms of G’d’s calendar as equivalent to 1000 years of our calendar. During the first two days the universe consisted completely of water. These “days” are an allusion to the 2000 years described by our sages a tohu, a degree of chaos, seeing that nothing had been completed during these two “days.” Seeing that during these 2000 years no one proclaimed the name of the Living G’d, our sages described this era as תהו. The first day during which light had been created is basically the period of close to 1000 years during which Adam lived, It is quite possible that even Enosh did not turn to idolatry until Adam had died. The second day which saw the creation of the heavens, etc. also produced a Noach who, with his sons, was righteous, whereas the rest of mankind was doomed to destruction during that millennium. Mankind was destroyed by water, another sign that this was the dominating influence during that era. The third day, i.e. also the third millennium, saw the emergence of an Avraham who was 48 years of age at the beginning of that millennium. Avraham was the first human being who succeeded in attracting many people to worship G’d as the only deity. He had begun converting people years before G’d told him to leave Charan and to move to what was then the land of Canaan. It was also the millennium during the middle of which Torah was revealed to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. It is important to remember that with the onset of dusk after sunset the following day has already begun. [Avraham’s being born in the year1952 after the creation of Adam is considered as if he had been born during dusk of the second “day,” a stage preparatory to the third day (millennium).] Observance of the commandments of the Torah is equivalent of “the World having produced its fruit.” The fourth day, (or millennium) during which the sun and moon were created also produced the first Temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem. (72 years into the third millennium). This millennium lasted until 172 years after the destruction of the first Temple. The day the Temple was consecrated was a day of light when heavenly fire descended to consume thousands of sacrifices. The glory of G’d filled the Temple and the heavenly fire was reposing on the altar as does a lion that has eaten his fill. In other words, Israel’s light shone forth at that time as did the sun when placed in orbit for the first time. From that time on Israel’s glory diminished fairly steadily culminating in exile of the people and the subsequent minor rally during which the second Temple was built, a period which can be best compared to the kind of night during which the moon is the only source of light available. The fifth day which produced most of the living creatures of the water and the birds of the sky, is symbolized by the fifth millennium, commencing 172 years after the destruction of the second Temple. This was an era to which the verse in Chabakuk 1,14-15 can be compared. The prophet there writes: ותעשה אדם כדגי הים כרמש לא מושל בו. כולה בחכה העלה יגורהו בחרמו ויאספהו במכמרתו עלכן ישמח ויגל. “You have made mankind like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler. He has fished them all up with a line, pulled them up in his trawl and gathered them in his net. That is why he rejoices and is glad.” [The prophet complains about the apparent absence of G’d’s providence during this millennium when human beings were treated as if they were fish in the sea with no value to their lives. Ed.] This era did not produce men of caliber who sought the nearness of their Creator. (Isaiah 31,1) On the morning of the sixth day the earth produced various land-based mammals, all of this occurring prior to sunrise as alluded to in Psalms 104, 22 תזרח השמש יאספון ואל מעונתם ירבצון, “by the time the sun rises they came home and crouch in their dens.” Following this, man was created in the image of G’d on the sixth day (sixth millennium) Then commenced the period of man’s dominance as described in the subsequent verse in Psalms 104,23יצא אדם לפעלו ולעבודתו עדי ערב, “man then goes to his work, to his labour until the evening.” David describes the sixth millennium during the early part of which the “animals” roam the world more or less unimpeded. These “animals” are humans who do not know their Creator, and therefore are hardly better than animals. After man’s creation, described as part of sunrise, will come the redeemer, scion of the house of David, who has been made in the image of the Lord of whom it has been written: (Daniel 7,13) וארו עםי ענני שמיא כבר אנש אתה הוא ועד עתיק יומיא מטה וקדמוהי הקרבוהי ולה יהיב שלטן ויקר ומלכו, “and behold with the clouds of heaven, one like a man came; he came up to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him before Him. He gave him dominion, glory and kingship, peoples nations and languages.” [although our author is quoting Nachmanides he has left out several sentences, perhaps he did not have the updated text that we have nowadays thanks to Rabbi Chavell.] It would seem from the Torah’s terminology which uses the same words to describe two different scenarios, i.e. days and millennia, that at the beginning of the sixth millennium an especially powerful and violent nation will emerge, a nation and religion which will be more monotheistic than previous ones. [reference to Islam. Ed.] The seventh day is the Sabbath, which in terms of millennia describes the future known as עולם הבא, an idyllic state involving מנוחה rest in a positive sense, something which the sages speak about. Some commentators see in the word לעשות the opposite of עשה, i.e. something G’d had done already, a reference to the spiritually negative forces in the universe, the מזיקים, the potential for which G’d had created. The phenomena have not been equipped with a body, hence the word לעשות describes them in their incomplete state. Still other commentators see in the word לעשות instructions to existing phenomena such as earth, water, etc., [in other words “nature” Ed.] to continue the process as it no longer involved anything basically new. From now on man would be the product of his parents, a reproduction of the ongoing process here called לעשות. In the Midrash the wordלעשות is understood to refer to something G’d had deliberately omitted to create at the time, i.e. the רוח צפוני the north wind. This wind would be put to use when it is time to judge the idolaters in the future. G’d will challenge them by saying to them that if there is any substance to their deities, He challenges them to produce the north wind which He had left in reserve for their expertise. If they would prove unable to produce this north wind, they would be convicted of having worshipped totally useless phenomena as deities. The reason why the Torah does not conclude with the words ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר יום שביעי, “it was evening and morning the seventh day,” is that the Jewish people would honour the Sabbath by commencing it before the end of the sixth day, thus lending it an extra measure of sanctity.

כי בו שבת, for on it He rested, etc. Here too we must explore exactly what the Torah had in mind. We fall back on what we wrote earlier, that the world had lacked the ingredients which assured it of permanence until the Sabbath came into existence. Assuming that this was so, we must ask what had enabled the world to continue up until the Sabbath? Since the world obviously was able to carry on without the נפש it received on the Sabbath, why would its continued existence have been endangered only then?

"That God created to do/make." These are the ten things that were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the letters, [7] the writing, [8] the tablets, [9] the grave of Moses and [10] the ram of Abraham, our father. [...] For all these God created to do miracles and mighty deeds. [...]

כי בו שבת, the word שבת when applied to G-d, cannot mean “He rested,” in the sense this term is commonly used, as we have it on the authority of Isaiah 40,28 that G-d never “grows faint or weary;” seeing that He did not have to exert Himself when creating the universe, why should He have been tired so that would have to “rest?” The word has to be understood as G-d having put a temporary stop to an activity. We find a similar term used when the regular descent on weekdays of the manna came to a halt after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, (Joshua 5,12) before they commenced eating from the produce of the land of Canaan. Both events are reported there as having occurred on the same day. We also find the verb שבת used in the sense of an interruption Job 32,1 when Job’s friends interrupted their arguing with Job for three days out of their respect for his righteousness. An even better proof is Genesis 8,22, where G-d assures Noach after the deluge that the regular phenomenon of day and night following one another will never again be suspended, i.e. יום ולילה לא ישבתו, “day and night will occur without interruption.” Neither day nor night will take “a break from their routine.”

We find that G'd has revealed the answer to this question in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20,11) where the Torah writes: כי ששת ימים עשה השם את השמים ואת הארץ This means that at the time G'd created the universe He invested it with only enough power to endure six days for reasons known only to Himself and some kabbalists. G'd created one day which would be able to invest the world with staying power for another six days. If G'd had not created the Sabbath, the Tohu Vavohu preceding those six days would have returned and G'd would have had to start the process of creation ex nihilo all over again. Due to the infusion of the "soul" of the Sabbath the universe was placed on a more permanent basis, enabled to renew its batteries, so to speak. The words ובו שבת, mean that by means of this special day, the Sabbath, He was able to rest from all His work. The work referred to is that which only G'd could perform namely to create ex nihilo, something out of nothing. Had it not been for the Sabbath and its נפש, G'd would have had to repeat the process of בריאה, creation. The word עשה refers only to תיקון, improvement, repair. G'd rested from both aspects of creative activity.

מכל מלאכתו אשר עשה, “from all His work;” a reference to the functioning henceforth of the earth and its inhabitants, i.e. living creatures developing and multiplying, trees producing fruit, etc. An alternative exegesis of the phrase; the word: לעשות at the end of this verse refers to the continuity of this process for as long as earth would exist. This would be the Torah’s, i.e. G-d’s answer, to the heretics who claim that G-d performs His activities on the Sabbath seeing that He allows it to rain and bring about the growing and ripening of trees and crops on that day. This is utter nonsense, as these processes had all been part of the directive given by G-d when these phenomena or creatures were first created. The Torah here states categorically that G-d does nothing of the sort. Proof of this is that the fact that manna which, because G-d had not created it, i.e. it had not descended to earth during the first six days of the universe, was also not allowed to descend on the Sabbath, and it also had never been seen until after the Jewish people had left Egypt; all this refutes the theory that G-d “works” on the Sabbath. Yet another exegesis of our verse: the emphasis in our verse is on the expression אשר ברא לעשות, instead of אשר עשה; we are told here that the various types of destructive forces with which the earth seems to abound at time, were only “created,” i.e. were only made possible by G-d, but were not developed into finished products, i.e. powered by Him. G-d did not have time to completely fashion those destructive forces until dusk on the sixth day when it had already turned dark, as Midrash Tanchuma (ancient version) tells us on B’reshit 17. According to this exegesis our verse refers only to the constructive phenomena that G-d had created while it was still daylight on the sixth day. The reason that the Torah, at the end of its report on G-d’s “activity” on the seventh day does not conclude with the words: “it was evening it was morning,” is that there had been no evening; the entire Sabbath had been a day bathed in full light. (B’reshit Rabbah,11,2.)

When viewed in this light we can understand the statement of our sages that by reciting the benediction over wine on the Sabbath one becomes a partner to G'd in His creation of the universe (Shabbat 119). At first glance these words appear very forced. Who has ever heard of man becoming a retroactive partner in G'd's handiwork, something that He had long since completed? Besides, the act of reciting this paragraph from the Torah does not appear to be such a world-shaking effort that it would qualify us to become G'd's "partners!" What is the source of the statement in the Talmud? If the sages meant that the reward for reciting Kiddush is so great, should it not be awarded in public such as longevity, wealth, and physical prowess being granted to Sabbath-observers?

When we keep in mind my explanation thus far, it will be seen that the Talmud's statement is indeed most appropriate. In view of the fact that the Sabbath provides a secure existence for the six days following it after which another Sabbath repeats the same function, it follows that the very existence of the Sabbath equates with the existence of the universe. Unless there are people who observe the Sabbath there is no Sabbath, i.e. its existence has lost its meaning. Our rabbis have legislated that when one's life is in danger unless one desecrates a law of the Sabbath, one should desecrate a single Sabbath in order to remain alive and observe many subsequent Sabbaths. Assuming that there were no other Sabbath-observers at the time, what good would it do for the person whose life was in to skip the one Sabbath? The world would disintegrate before he would have a chance to observe another Sabbath! It follows that only Sabbath-observers keep the universe going. Therefore the Sabbath-observers have become G'd's "partners" by ensuring that G'd's universe survives for another six days. Observing the Sabbath means to preserve its holiness according to all its laws and customs. Ever since the creation of man the world did not lack at least one person who observed the Sabbath. Adam did so, his son Sheth, and many righteous people after him. Whenever one righteous person died, G'd had already arranged for another righteous person to be born. This chain of individual Sabbath-observers continued through Methusela, Noach, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., until the Jewish people introduced collective Sabbath-observance. According to our sages, The Israelites observed the Sabbath even while in exile in Egypt (Shemot Rabbah 1,32). The word בהבראם, when they were created, is the reminder that whatever the earth or the waters produced was possible only due to the act of creation G'd performed on the day they were created themselves.

When we wrote earlier (2,1) that the spherical world is kept in balance and thus in existence due to the desire of the respective creatures to cleave to the light which surrounds this sphere provided by the Creator, this does not contradict what we have written. Were it not for the Sabbath, no creature would have had sufficient intelligence and desire to want to cleave to the Creator. On that day they were provided with the potential to produce what they produced subsequently.