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Shabbat
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy G-d: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 20:8-11 ASV
Shabbat (Sabbath) is one of the best known and least understood of all Jewish observances. People think of it as a day filled with restrictions or as a day of prayer like Christian Sunday. Shabbat is a precious gift from G-d, a time when we set aside all of our weekday concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits. Shabbat is the most important service and it is the only observance instituted in the Ten Commandments.
Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment. In modern America, we take the five-day work-week for granted that we forget that in ancient times, a day of rest was a radical concept.
Shabbat involves two interrelated commandments:
To remember (zakhor) and to observe (shamor) Shabbat.
They are:
Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it – Exodus 20:8
By resting on the seventh day and sanctifying it, we remember and acknowledge that G-d is the creator of heaven and earth and all living things. Shabbat frees us from our weekday concerns, from our deadlines and schedules and commitments.
Observe the Sabbath day to sanctify it – Deuteronomy 5:12
Materialism
The Torah prohibits work but does not mean precisely the same thing as the English word. The kind of work prohibited is creative or exercise control or dominion over your environment. The quintessential example of this type of work is the work of creating the universe, which G-d ceased from on the seventh day.
Keeping Sabbath by not performing normal work duties shows that you believe G-d will provide for your material needs. Not keeping the weekly Sabbath demonstrates that you believe more in your abilities than you do in G-d's provision. Keeping and observing the weekly Sabbath is one of the most important steps that a person can take to bring them selves into submission to G-d's will. It proves (or disproves) that you hold G-d and His Holy name to be more important than the material things that this world worships. He is more important than any additional income that could have come from working on that day. He is more important than the payment for the vacation house, the big-screen television, or any other material thing the modern world tells us to desire.
Sabbath was given to the children of Israel as a sign that they were no longer slaves. Freed me can choose to nourish their families spiritually and intellectually. They can study the Torah and the rest of the Bible. They can rest their bodies and cultivate ties between the family members and G-d. These are the deeds that send ripples out through eternity. Ripples that return in immeasurable blessing and fulfillment.
Havdalah is a traditional series of blessings that welcomes the Sabbath as a bride. It allows time for thanking G-d for His provision and the day's rest. It is performed just prior to sunset on Friday.
Our Havdalah liturgy is available here.
Kiddish is a traditional service performed at the end of the Sabbath. It gives time to reflect on the day of refreshment. It allows us to separate the Sabbath from the rest of the week.
Our Kiddish liturgy is available here.
Six days of labor and one of rest. Not some protestant spiritualized rest that allows you to maintain physical slavery and cultivates a materialistic mindset. Sabbath is a weekly reminder that it is G-d that provides. This submission can seem so incredibly difficult when you start to observe G-d's instruction. Take it one step at a time. Meet with other believers in houses or congregations on Sabbath. Make one change in how you practice Sabbath each week. In no time you will find things like shopping on Sabbath or even traveling long distances to be something that you wouldn't consider doing.