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Shiurim
USCJ EC Staff Meeting Shiur - October 2006
On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God rested from all the work of creation that He had done.
- Genesis 2:2-3
Questions for Discussion:
- The Hebrew name used by Jews for the seventh day is Shabbat from the verb lish-bote, to rest, which appears twice in the passage above (enlarged in different conjugations). What does this tell us about what's important about the seventh day for Jews?
- The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Torah, in Exodus 20:2-14 and in Deuteronomy 5:6-18. The fourth commandment begins "Remember the day of Shabbat and keep it holy." (In Deuteronomy it says "Observe the day of Shabbat and keep it holy.") In Exodus 31:17 we are told "on the seventh day God ceased/rested from work and was refreshed." Why is Shabbat so important that observing it is one of the Ten Commandments? What are some ways we might be refreshed by Shabbat? What are some things you know of that people are supposed to do or not do on Shabbat? How do those things meet the Shabbat values of resting or being refreshed?
- How do you remember or observe Shabbat? (Please remember that Shabbat observance, like most of Jewish life, is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Every Jew celebrates or remembers Shabbat differently. There is no right or wrong if a person is actively making choices about how to observe Shabbat.) If you observe a Sabbath that is not the day of Shabbat, what does your observance of the "day of rest" consist of? We all know that we are too busy. How does your Shabbat or Sabbath help you become refreshed? If it doesn't, what changes might you make in your life to incorporate a holy rest into your routine? (Think small changes to start with!
- We celebrate Shabbat because God rested on the seventh day of creation. That rest was holy (and needed) because of all the creating that God did on the preceding six days. It is impossible to understand the holiness of Shabbat rest without first exploring the phenomenon of creation (found in the first chapter of Genesis). How can you help your children to better understand creation so as to enhance their understanding and love of Shabbat? How will that look different for two-year-olds than it does for four-year-olds?
Printable version
Maxine Segal Handelman
Consultant for Early Childhood Education,
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
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