ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף בראשית 2:3

(1) The first principle to be appreciated in order to hold a true belief in the creation of the universe ex nihilo, a belief upon which all the other dogmas of faith are based, is the belief in the ability of the Creator to exercise His will upon all creatures in all spheres of the universe, and His ability to create new facts in heaven and on earth for the benefit of His followers, or to the detriment of His enemies. (as explained in connection with the story of the creation and the deluge) We are exhorted to observe the Sabbath by refraining from activity since in this way we testify to the fact that creation commenced from an absolute void. (4) One could ask that since chidush, a new creation is essentially an activity, should it not best be remembered by our observing the six days of creation (the work week) as a memorial to that fact, since that is when the activity took place? When we examine the concept of rest more closely, we realise that what best testifies to the concept of creation ex nihilo, is that from which He has already rested ever since; only that kind of creative activity is not ongoing. This excludes evolutionary changes that start from somewhere rather than from nowhere, and are going on forever. Therefore the Torah writes on the occasion of the very first Sabbath, "for on that day He desisted from all His work which He had created to be carried out in an ongoing fashion i.e. la-assot.” (Genesis 2,3) This is to counter the idea prevalent among some Jews that the story of creation is compatible with the view of kadmut ha-olam, the primacy of matter. This is dealt with in chapter 4. (2) In order to reinforce our appreciation of the special Providence that guides the fortunes of our people through all the miracles G-d has performed, He arranged a second New Year for calculating months and festivals, and handed us the key to this as explained in chapter thirty seven. This is what our sages had in maind when they instituted kiddush, the sanctification of the Sabbath. First we recite: "a memorial to the work of creation," then we follow by reciting "the first of the holy convocations, a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt." The reason that these two remembrances could not be combined in one single phrase is that the Sabbath reminds us of chidush ha-olam, creation ex nihilo which is the foundation that all moadim, festivals have to be based on. These moadim testify to the complete freedom with which G-d conducts history. Had He not created ex nihilo, the moadim could not testify to that fact. The essence of the Sabbath legislation then is to implant in our hearts the belief in chidush ha-olam, from which flows the belief in G-d’s unimpaired Omnipotence. The festivals remind us that G-d’s potential power was in fact translated into practice. Both of these facts are remembered by abstaining from work on the Sabbath, as we will demonstrate in detail. Abstention from work by any person usually consists of two parts. A) The quiet and respite experienced by the person who is prohibited to work. B) The non performance of the labour which would normally have been performed. If one looks only at the first part, it seems that as long as the work that one abstains from could be performed automatically, mechanically, or without causing fatigue to the person performing it, there would be no objection to such work being performed on the Sabbath. On the other hand, if we look only at the second aspect, the fact that the work does not get performed, i.e. consideration of the labourer's fatigue or otherwise, does not concern us. Work prohibition on the Sabbath demonstrates that G-d is concerned with both aspects. On the one hand the Torah writes (Exodus 20,9) "six days you shall labour and do all your work;" on the other hand the Torah writes "the seventh day is a day of rest to the Lord your G-d, you must not do any work etc....because G-d did...and He rested on the seventh day." The repetition of "you must not do any work," clearly shows that the "rest," or "physical fatigue" factor is not the only criterion in the Sabbath observance. The major objective to be achieved by the respite resulting from work abstention, is the chance to reflect on the meaning of the day, and on the revelation in which G-d demonstrated His freedom. Since the word zechirah, remembrance can be applied to matters involving action, whereas the word shemirah suggests matters involving inaction, he Torah uses zechirah when it emphasises respite, i.e. remember to rest!. When the Torah wishes to emphasize abstention from work per se, it uses the word shemirah, "be careful not to do any work!"(see Talmud Berachot 20) The Torah's wording then corresponds to the two objectives of the Sabbath legislation. In the first instance, the Torah writes zachor, reminding us of the need to rest, since it will enable us to appreciate that He blessed the day by instituting rest as a corollary to creation ex nihilo. On the second set of tablets, when the major objective is abstention from work, cessation thereof, the term shamor is appropriate. So is the reminder that we were not able to cease work while enslaved in Egypt. For this reason the Torah adds in that instance "in order that your servant rests just like you," a comment not found on the first set of tablets recorded in Parshat Yitro. In response to the freedom G-d had displayed in practicing hashgachah peratit, personal guidance of the Jews' fates in Egypt, we are told "Therefore the Lord your G-d commanded you to keep the Sabbath day." This is going a step beyond the injunction in Yitro which merely said "therefore G-d blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it." Since the major significance lies in the menuchah-nefishah-shavat aspect, the men of the great assembly when referring to the Sabbath in our prayers, always call it "this day of rest," not just "Sabbath," since that latter word combines rest and non-activity in equal measure. By this little addition of "this day of rest," we know that this is the major factor. Therefore, on the first tablets it says "He rested" on the seventh day, to counter the non believers in creation ex nihilo. Similarly, Onkelos translates Leviticus 25,5, "it shall be a year of Shabbaton for the land," as "a year of idleness, abstention from work." But the words “shabbat shabbaton lashem,” he translates as "a day of restfulness" (ibid verse 4) Since we have established rest and relaxation as being associated with the word zachor, and the abstention from work with the word shamor, and it is clear that abstention from work will lead to rest and relaxation, our sages said that these two terms were uttered simultaneously. (Psalms 62, 12) "One thing the Lord has spoken, I have heard the dual meaning." This refers to the total of textual variants between the first and the second sets of tablets. This also answers the question raised by Maimonides that belief in creation ex nihilo depends on the ability to perform changes, and the ability to perform changes in nature depends in turn on the ability to create ex nihilo. To illustrate: Reuben gave Shimon a dollar to fulfil the mitzvah of tzedakah. He also wanted to express his compassion with Shimon in this way. If we remove one of the two reasons, the mitzvah was fulfilled although some element of it had been lacking. In the first set of tablets there is a causal relationship between the reason for the mitzvah and the mitzvah itself. Without the zechirah remembrance, the mitzvah becomes meaningless; in the second set of tablets (ten commandments) the reason merely becomes subordinate, i.e. "therefore G-d commanded you to do." The mitzvah will be fulfilled, la-assot by its very performance, regardless of the reason associated with it.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, ad to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." (Genesis 1:28-30)