בֵּינִ֗י וּבֵין֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל א֥וֹת הִ֖וא לְעֹלָ֑ם כִּי־שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים עָשָׂ֤ה יְהוָה֙ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבַיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י שָׁבַ֖ת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ (ס)
Itulah tanda antara Aku dan orang Israel untuk selama-lamanya, sebab dalam enam hari Yang Mahakekal menjadikan langit dan bumi, dan pada hari ketujuh Ia berhenti dan beristirahat.
Devarim Rabbah
“The Lord said to me: See, I have begun delivering before you Siḥon and his land; begin taking possession of his land” (Deuteronomy 2:31).
“The Lord said to me: See, I have begun…” – halakha: If a person of Israel is walking on the road on the day before Shabbat and it begins getting dark, and he has money or something else in his hand, what must he do? So taught the Sages: One for whom it became dark [while he was traveling] on the road gives his purse to a gentile. Why is it permitted for him to give it to a gentile? Rabbi Levi said: When the descendants of Noah were commanded, they were commanded regarding only seven matters, and Shabbat is not one of them. That is why they permitted him to give it to a gentile.
Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: An idolater who observed Shabbat before he accepted circumcision upon himself incurs liability to be put to death. Why? Because they were not commanded [to observe] it. What did you see that led you to say that an idolater who observed Shabbat incurs liability to be put to death? Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbbi Yoḥanan said: The way of the world is that when a king and a noblewoman are sitting and conversing with one another, one who comes and inserts himself between them, does he not incur liability to be put to death? So, the Shabbat is between Israel and the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Between Me and the children of Israel [it is a sign forever]” (Exodus 31:17). That is why any idolater who comes and inserts himself between them, before he accepted circumcision upon himself, incurs liability to be put to death. The Rabbis say: Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, given that idolaters were not commanded regarding Shabbat, if they observe it, will You lift Your countenance to them?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Do you fear this matter, as you live, even were they to fulfill all the mitzvot in the Torah, I will topple them before you.’ From where is this derived? From what we read regarding the matter: “See, I have begun delivering before you.”
“The Lord said to me: See, I have begun…” – halakha: If a person of Israel is walking on the road on the day before Shabbat and it begins getting dark, and he has money or something else in his hand, what must he do? So taught the Sages: One for whom it became dark [while he was traveling] on the road gives his purse to a gentile. Why is it permitted for him to give it to a gentile? Rabbi Levi said: When the descendants of Noah were commanded, they were commanded regarding only seven matters, and Shabbat is not one of them. That is why they permitted him to give it to a gentile.
Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: An idolater who observed Shabbat before he accepted circumcision upon himself incurs liability to be put to death. Why? Because they were not commanded [to observe] it. What did you see that led you to say that an idolater who observed Shabbat incurs liability to be put to death? Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbbi Yoḥanan said: The way of the world is that when a king and a noblewoman are sitting and conversing with one another, one who comes and inserts himself between them, does he not incur liability to be put to death? So, the Shabbat is between Israel and the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Between Me and the children of Israel [it is a sign forever]” (Exodus 31:17). That is why any idolater who comes and inserts himself between them, before he accepted circumcision upon himself, incurs liability to be put to death. The Rabbis say: Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, given that idolaters were not commanded regarding Shabbat, if they observe it, will You lift Your countenance to them?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Do you fear this matter, as you live, even were they to fulfill all the mitzvot in the Torah, I will topple them before you.’ From where is this derived? From what we read regarding the matter: “See, I have begun delivering before you.”
Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael
"Between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign forever": and not between Me and the peoples of the world.
Pesikta DeRav Kahana
Rabbi Yonah of Botzrah opened: "When God judges, this one He brings low, and that one He raises up" (Ps. 75:8). A matrona inquired of Rabbi Yosei bar Chalafta. She said to him, "In how many days did the Holy One Blessed be He create the universe?" He said to her, "In six days, as it is written, 'For in six days Hashem created, etc.' (Ex. 31:17)." She said to him, "And what has He been sitting and doing from that time?" He said to her, "Matchmaking couples -- the daughter of so-and-so to so-and-so, the wife of so-and-so to so-and-so, the property of so-and-so to so-and-so." She said, "Is that all? Even I am able to do that. I have many slaves and many maidservants, yet in a very short time (sha'ah kalah) I can match them all up." He said to her, "This may appear easy (kalah) in your eyes, but before the Holy One Blessed be He, it is as difficult as parting the Sea of Reeds." Rabbi Yosei bar Chalafta took leave of her, and he went on his way. What did she do? She took a thousand slaves and a thousand maidservants, and stood them in row after row, and said, "This man shall marry this woman, this woman shall marry this man," and thus she matched them all up in one night. In the morning she came to them. This one's head was wounded, that one's eye was knocked out, and another's leg was broken. This one said, "I don't want her as a wife," and that one said, "I don't want him [as a husband]." She sent [a messenger] and had Rabbi Yosei bar Chalafta brought to her. She said to him, "Truly, your (pl.) Torah is fine and praiseworthy. Regarding everything that you said to me, you spoke well." He said to her, "And did I not say thus to you -- 'This may appear easy in your eyes, but before the Holy One Blessed be He, it is as difficult as parting the Sea of Reeds'? What does the Holy One Blessed be He do? He matches them against their will and not to their liking (i.e., He knows what's best for couples even if they don't yet realize it themselves). Thus it is written, 'God settles individuals in a home; He removes prisoners bakosharot*בכושרות, typically translated as "into prosperity".' What is 'bakosharot'? With crying (bechi) and singing (shirot)." Said Rabbi Berachya, [rather,] in this language, Rabbi Yosei bar Chalfta responded to her (i.e., to the question of what God has been doing since the Creation): "The Holy One Blessed be He sits and makes ladders. He causes this one to ascend, and that one to descend -- 'This one He brings low, and that one raises up' (Ps. 75:8)." Rabbi Yonah of Botrzrah and our Rabbis: Our Rabbis interpret that verse as referring to Aaron. With the word "this" (hazeh) he was brought low: "And I cast it into the fire and this (hazeh) calf emerged" (Ex. 32:24). And with the word "this" he was raised up: "This (zeh) is the offering of Aaron and his sons" (Lev. 6:13). Rabbi Yonah of Botzrah interprets that verse as referring to Israel. With the word "this" they were brought low, and with the word "this" they were raised up: With the word "this" they were brought low -- "For this (zeh) man Moses[, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him]" (Ex. 32:1). And with the word "this" they were raised up -- "[When you take a census [etc.],] this (zeh) they shall give [... half a shekel as an elevation-offering to Hashem]" (Ex. 30:12-13).