Read Time: 15 Minutes

Ha’Shabbat or The Sabbath has been described and categorized in three different ways:

(1) as a prophetic rehearsal of the Kingdom of God;
(2) as a divine, covenant appointment with our amazing Creator; and
(3) as a foretaste of the eternal peace that is to come.

Each of these are awesome in their own light. And together, well it makes for a weekly trifecta!

For those that are unaware of the magnificence of Shabbat, below is a brief introduction with seven ways to get into _Shabbat Mode._For my Shabbat experts, I hope you will glean a few tidbits of wisdom that you can apply on a weekly basis for a more spiritually fulfilling Shabbat.

Shabbat or the Sabbath is the seventh or final day of each week, representative of the final day of Creation on Day 7. In the simplest terms, we are commanded to keep it holy (Exodus 20, Leviticus 23).

Yeshua or Jesus kept the Shabbat and taught us more ways to sanctify it (Mark 1, Luke 13-14).

In the most spiritual terms, it is a day of deep love and wisdom, one where our Creator seeks to covenant with us.

No matter how deep you want to get, Shabbat is an incredible, glorious day. It is a gift to mankind. And should we choose to accept, we will reap its abundance and blessings.

SHABBAT. MODE. ENGAGED!

“Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

1. SEPARATE THE DAY AS HOLY

Did you know the Hebrew word for holy (Kedosh or קדש) most literally means set apart?

So when God commands us to “Keep the Sabbath Holy,” one of the literal takeaways is to separate the day from other days in the week. One of the ways in which we do this (as commanded) is to refrain from work. We will discuss this in a point below, but in terms of separation, this means that we should seek to create boundaries.

But how do you create boundaries around a day?

You could just block your schedule, lock your doors, shut off your phone and cut everyone in the world off. But of course, this would take all the joy out of the Sabbath! And remember that God loves us, and tells us repeatedly to rejoice! In fact, that is another section below!

So let’s think more in terms of how we separate birthdays. (That is unless you are my brother who decided all birthdays are cancelled LOL). But in all seriousness, what do we do on birthdays?

Well in many cases it starts with a celebratory remark or text from family, or for that matter people you haven’t heard from in a year. Perhaps it’s a bookface post, you get the point. And what do we say in place of “Happy Birthday”? We say “Shabbat Shalom”, “Good Shabbas”, or something like that.

I think this is one of the easiest ways to separate the day and that’s why it’s so popular!

Next, what else is done on birthdays? Don’t we light candles, decorate, sing songs, etc.?

This is all stuff we can do to separate the day. The birthday analogy really fits because we treat birthdays special as we should the Shabbat!

So as we approach Shabbat this week, think about how you can make it a holy birthday party. You will see this theme of joy woven throughout and it is really important to keep it in mind as we discuss each element. And while we think tend to think of being holy as solemn only, we need to remember that God is our Father. And just like any good Father, He wants us to take things serious, but also to celebrate wins, rejoice and most importantly love the time we get to spend with Him and His creation.

There are many other ways to separate the day and each of these topics below are in fact a way to separate in and of themselves. And I fully anticipate deeper dives into each of these areas and Shabbat as a whole in future studies.

So for now, as the Sabbath approaches, “Shabbat Shalom!” And Shabbat MODE ENGAGE!

““If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight in Adonai — I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya‘akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.””

‭‭Yesha ‘yahu (Isa)‬ ‭58‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CJB‬‬

“Rejoice in union with the Lord always! I will say it again: rejoice!”

‭‭Philippians (Php)‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭CJB‬‬

2. CEASE

Although we should all concerned about not working on Shabbat, the most literal translation of Shabbat is ‘to cease.’ But what does ceasing in general, or even ceasing from our labors even mean?

I think about it in a modern day, western context with a “cease and desist” letter. When you receive one of those, you are supposed to stop what you are doing immediately. You are not to pass go, not to collect $200, etc. Hopefully you are all old enough to get that reference. If not, google it.

Anyways, in simplest terms, it means to stop. But it godly terms and more specifically Hebraic, abstract terms, it is far deeper (of course). 🙂

Take a second to read the first scripture that discusses Shabbat…

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce. (A: iv, S: ii)”

‭‭B’resheet (Gen)‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭CJB‬‬

Did you notice that last line? It never jumped out for me until recently. “So that it itself could produce.” While there are many different analogies here, two immediately come to mind. One is farming of course, and the second like it is raising children.

When you plant a seed and water it, what would happen if you continued to till the ground, pour more and more water, and add more and more dirt (i.e. continue farming). Well I think it’s obvious even if you aren’t a farmer – it wouldn’t grow, needless to say.

Well the same goes for children. If you never stop parenting them, or if you always solve their problems from them, they will never learn on their own. They will never truly grow.

There’s an interesting example from Tom Brady in one of his most recent speeches from the Fortune Global Forum (see Tom Brady calls out problem with modern parenting). Essentially, he says that by not letting kids fail, we are doing them a disservice in the long run. He attributes a lot of his success from learning from the failures and discomfort that comes along with that. I can certainly second that. Most of my learning and development has come through my own failures and shortcomings. And I thank my parents for giving me those experiences!

The point being here, if you never actually cease from your work, from your creation (whatever that is), it will never grow. So not only is this a covenant day and prophetic rehearsal, but God is providing us with deep wisdom on creation. In order for it to prosper, you have to rest. You have to take a break. You have to cease.

And while you are at it, He says, you should spend time delighting in Him and His word. For creation is a beautiful thing. But what good is it if you don’t stop to smell the roses, or stop and think about all that has been done. So stop and think about all HE has done. Amazing isn’t it…

3. DELIGHT

I’m writing this section on a Friday as Shabbat approaches. And I can tell you that I am so excited for Shabbat. Not just because I don’t have to work, or rather, that I am commanded to cease from work. But more specifically because it brings me so much peace and joy when I spend time with our Creator in the day itself.

And while there are certainly things and activities we enjoy on Shabbat, I’m not talking about the physical joy that comes from the material world (although also not knocking it). I’m talking about the spiritual delight we should experience deep down in our soul. This is something that is hard to explain, since we typically speak about things in the physical sense.

When we get together on Shabbat and fellowship, there is a certain joy we receive from conversation, biblical discussion / discourse, and laughter about stories, events, etc.

Likewise, when we are tasting the wine or delicious food that is typically associated with a potluck-type meal after the morning services, this is literally called oneg or delight, from the Isaiah verse above.

But this delight runs deeper. The sages each connect the physical to the spiritual here. The Midrash Rabbah connects our delight to the foretaste of the world to come. And just think about how exciting that is for a moment. God gives us ‘tastings’ on Shabbat to represent exactly that. He is metaphorically saying, ‘try this.’ How good does that taste, spiritually of course?!

I don’t know about you, but I love a tasting – food, wine, beer, cheese – you name it. And when I think about Shabbat in this light, it makes so much sense. He gives us the physical as a precursor and explanatory basis for the spiritual. We don’t truly understand manna, but we understand challah. We can see it, touch it, and taste it today. And while we can’t fully comprehend the magnitude of sacrifice of Yeshua’s blood, we can taste the wine, we can study the Word that magnifies His WORD, and we can discuss it deeply to savor in the spirit!

“Trust in Adonai, and do good; settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness. Then you will delight yourself in Adonai, and he will give you your heart’s desire.”

‭‭Tehillim (Psa)‬ ‭37‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭CJB‬‬

“Their delight is in Adonai’s Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night.”

‭‭Tehillim (Psa)‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭CJB‬‬

“Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah; I will observe it with all my heart. Guide me on the path of your mitzvot, for I take pleasure in it. Bend my heart toward your instructions and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; with your ways, give me life.”

‭‭Tehillim (Psa)‬ ‭119‬:‭34‬-‭37‬ ‭CJB‬‬

4. TIME IN NATURE (ADMIRE THE CREATION)

Adonai finished His creation on the seventh day and He rested. He said several times, this is good! And as discussed above, when you stop or cease, you allow your creation to grow. It is like when we sleep. Our bodies repair themselves and we support our body’s natural biological processes required for growth. Even if we can’t SEE these things they are happening. Talk about an unconscious act of faith!

And speaking of the natural. God’s creation exists in the natural. And if he saw that it was good, in that it serves a purpose, would it surprise you to know that being in this creation is actually healthy for us? And would it not fit into the puzzle of rest in that we spend time with His creation to admire His handiwork? Everything will eventually serve His purpose. So let’s seek to understand that further…

There is a Japanese concept called forest bathing, which is of course the extreme example of “spending time in nature,” but it involves immersing oneself in a forest. And immersion in most anything godly can be a really good and healthy thing. Think of immersion in His word, or immersion in living waters or a Mikvah (where Christians derive the concept of baptism).

According to the Cleveland Clinic, in an article entitled “Forest Bathing: What It Is and Its Potential Benefits”:

_“One 2007 study showed that forest therapy reduces cortisol, a stress hormone. Research conducted in 2010 found that people who walked in the forest twice a day for two hours (so, four hours of walking a day) had greater levels of cancer-killing proteins and immune cells.

In 2011, yet another study found that forest therapy was beneficial. It reported that shinrin-yoku had a positive impact on blood pressure and adiponectin, a protein that helps regulate blood sugar levels. But a more recent study casts doubt on some of those findings. It found that forest bathing didn’t necessarily have an impact on blood pressure, but it did reduce depression in a significant way.”

God’s love story and covenant journey that is the Bible is packed with life wisdom like this if we are willing and able to search for it. His will is for us to be healthy lights unto the world, so wouldn’t it make sense that obedience to His commands like keeping the Sabbath holy would serve to benefit our health as well?

Again, like we discussed above, stop and smell the roses. It’s good for you. 🙂

Don’t realize the power of appreciating nature yet? Take it from the resident Psalmist David (a man after God’s own heart):

“Adonai’s trees are satisfied — the cedars of the L’vanon, which he has planted. In them sparrows build their nests, while storks live in the fir trees. For the wild goats there are the high mountains, while the coneys find refuge in the rocks. You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set. You bring darkness, and it is night, the time when all forest animals prowl. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, they slink away and lie down to rest in their dens; while people go out to their work, laboring on till evening. What variety there is in your works, Adonai! How many of them there are! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creations. Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small.”

‭‭Tehillim (Psa)‬ ‭104‬:‭16‬-‭25‬ ‭CJB‬‬

5. FAMILY GAME DAY (Fellowship at its finest)

While you won’t find Family Game Day anywhere in the scripture, I imagine that our Creator God loves this, especially on Shabbat, as it combines multiple godly facets around time and space, and it is a modern application to many different aspects of fellowship.

For starters, family game nights (or days) involve family, fellowship, fun, joy and lots of laughter (especially if you are my family). We are told many times to our honor our father and mother. This is not only one of the 10 commandments, but it is the first commandment with a promise! When we spend time with our parents, it is a form of honor as we are building a deeper relationship and saying ‘we love you enough to give our time and create space for this joy’. And recall, that things are first expressed in the physical, meaning there is a deeper meaning and metaphor here when we spend time with parents, brothers, sisters, spouses, sons and daughters alike. Even if your parents are not there, you are teaching your family some deep, godly messages without even knowing it!

“Children, what you should do in union with the Lord is obey your parents, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” — this is the first commandment that embodies a promise — “so that it may go well with you, and you may live long in the Land.””

‭‭Ephesians (Eph)‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭CJB‬‬

Fun and joy both of course fit hand in hand with our delight section above. And if you don’t get loads of fun and joy out of games, I don’t know what to say. Perhaps refer to the post on Chukat or engraving. 🙂

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s book The Sabbath paints an awesome image related to time and space of Shabbat:

“The seventh day is a palace in time which we build. It is made of soul, of joy, and reticence.”

— The Sabbath, p. 15

This idea of building a palace reminds me of many game days, both in the physical and the spiritual sense. And a family that builds together, stays together. While we are not creating physical castles in most cases, the concept of building deeper spiritual connections through fellowship further serves to glorify our Architect in Heaven!

“In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you. Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also.”

‭‭Yochanan (Jhn)‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭CJB‬‬

6. INTIMACY

The very first intimate encounter between man and wife was with Adam and Eve. While it was not necessarily on the Sabbath, it could have been. And although you may never have realized this, this intimate encounter is the very next sentence after man was driven out of the Garden (Gen. 4:1).

Perhaps this was the very first step to try to return to the Garden state. It was to follow the idea of God saying “be fruitful and multiply,” coupled with the most sacred act of love any man could commit with a woman. It is the physical or literal idea of two becoming one again!

Another little known fact is that the verb used in Hebrew in this verse is the Hebrew word yada (יָדַ֖ע ) or “to know.” It is based on the idea that this is the deepest way we can know someone. That is where the concept from which becoming “intimately aware” is derived.

The whole Word of God is a love story, one of redemption, where we are the bride and Yeshua is our Bridegroom. While this is a somewhat complicated topic to be covered in another post, on a high level, this metaphor should make sense from a place of love and redemption. And in order to restore the marriage covenant after the divorce, one must die and be reborn. See where this is going…

So in a sense, through intimacy – both in the physical and spiritual sense – we are honoring God, honoring the Sabbath, and fulfilling our marital duties. We are obeying His command to be fruitful and multiply, we are performing the most sacred act on the most sacred of days, and all the while we are also realizing joy and delight on the day which He called us to call it a delight.

Finally, isn’t Shabbat all about growth and life? God saw that it was good; and as discussed above, He allowed his creation to grow and prosper.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce. (A: iv, S: ii)”

‭‭B’resheet (Gen)‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭CJB‬‬

7. SPEND TIME IN THE WORD

Last but absolutely not least, we should spend time with Him in His WORD on Shabbat. This is perhaps one of the most important and underlying themes if you reflect back to our talk on the Garden.

When we spend time in His word, more so than on any other ‘normal’ day, we separate and consecrate the Shabbat as holy.

When we cease and desist from what we are doing, what we are reading, what we are watching, and focus on Him and His Word, we honor Shabbat.

When we delight in His scripture and our time with Him, our Creator, we sanctify Shabbat. And He will make us ride on the heights of the land, to delight and revelations of which we have never dreamed.

When we bask in his glory, and spend time in His creation, not only are we blessed with good health, but we say thank you God for all that you have done. We say ‘Modeh Ani’, grateful I am before you, living and eternal king.

When we spend time with our family and friends, bonding over this sacred day and time set aside each week, He smiles on our fellowship from the Heavens.

When we are intimate with our spouses, we model the intimacy that He desires, for us to truly know Him. We are obeying one of the first, great commands – be fruitful and multiply!

And each of these requires us to be obedient to the Word in some way or another. And when we are obedient to the word, it is as if we are studying it, but this time in practice, picking up little bread crumbs of wisdom as we go…

Takeaways to make a way…

1. Everything is a cycle, including our week and weekly rest!
2. Rejoice, rejoice – especially on Shabbat!
3. Find peace and comfort in ceasing from your normal toils
4. Find fellowship and virtue in spending time with others
5. Find freedom and value in spending time in nature (His creation)
6. Find love and knowledge in intimacy with your spouse
7. Rest in the glory and beauty of scripture (His WORD)

Further Study with your Buddy…

For further reading on Obedience and the godly paradox, read LOL (Love -> Obedience -> Love

To help understand further neurological processes and how to rewire our brains and our logic, read: The Chukat Concept

Learn how to develop a Seek First Mindset: God’s Plan Part 2: SEEK FIRST the Kingdom of God

Questions for Reflection…

1. What does your weekly cycle and Shabbat look like?
2. What is one area you can apply to your Shabbat this week?
3. What was one bread crumb of wisdom you learned? How can you apply it?
4. What do you find most delightful about Shabbat?
5. How can you call His day a delight?
6. When was the last time you had a family game day (or night)? How did it feel?
7. What part of scripture can you immerse yourself in this Shabbat?