Shabbat-The Day That Makes Is Free

The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Torah. It is found in Parshat Yitro in the Book of Shemot, and again in Parshat Va’etchanan in the Book of Devarim.

There are some differences in the texts in each Parsha. The most glaring difference comes in the description of Shabbat.

In Yitro we are told to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. The reason being that G-d, who does not need rest, created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, so we must rest on the seventh day.

In Va’etchanan it’s written that we are to observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy. We are to remember that we were slaves in Egypt so that we be free men. If we properly observe Shabbat, we demonstrate our freedom.

The double message here is that on the one hand we are to acknowledge that Hashem is the creator of the universe, and we need rest from our daily weekday activities.

We also learn that we are not truly free men, unless we shut things down one day a week. Otherwise, we become prisoners to the technological world, our jobs, or other mundane activities.

These two ideas mentioned about Shabbat, demonstrate the specialness of that day. As the famous saying goes, “More than the Jewish people kept Shabbat, Shabbat kept the Jewish people.”