Reasons for Shabbat

Found 7 Search results

  1. The Ten Dibrot

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    What are the differences between the Ten Commandments in Yitro and the Ten Commandments in Va'ethanan? This lesson focuses on the differences in the mitzva of Shabbat, while noting the dual nature of Shabbat as a commemoration of the creation and a commemoration of the Exodus.

  2. The Ten Dibrot (audio)

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman | 13 minutes

    This shiur compares the Ten Commandments as they appear in Devarim with their form in Sefer Shemot. Most significantly, there appears to be an entirely different explanation for the commandment of Shabbat. Is Moshe in his "repetition" deviating from the original commandments from the Revelation at Sinai? Why is he quoting from parashat Mishpatim instead of from parashat Yitro? What is the purpose of the disparity between Shemot and Devarim?

  3. The Abominations of their Fathers

    Part 1

    Dr. Tova Ganzel

    This chapter illustrates the cyclical process of history going back to the slavery in Egypt: Am Yisrael violates God’s laws and as a result is deemed unworthy of redemption – even survival. But nonetheless the nation is restored to its land to prevent God’s Name from being desecrated in the eyes of the nations. The desecration of God’s Name lies not only in the actual transgression of His laws, but also by how this betrayal is perceived by the nations. Thus the repair of this desecration – the sanctification of God’s Name – must likewise also be “before the nations”: through the ingathering of Am Yisrael from the places to which they have been scattered.

    The commandment of Shabbat enjoys a place of honor in Sefer Yehezkel. What makes Yehezkel’s attitude towards Shabbat special is not that he mentions more often than the other prophets, but that he views Shabbat as a sign and symbol – not of the Creation of the world - but of the special sanctity of Israel.

    The testimony offered by the Shabbat that “I am the Lord your God” – is a concept unique to Yehezkel; there is no parallel to it elsewhere in the Torah. This accentuates the importance of Shabbat: through its observance, the nation not only expresses its sanctity, but also testifies to and calls to consciousness the fact that the Lord is their God. Conversely, the breach of Shabbat is testimony to the distance between the nation and their God.  This ultimately led to the defiling of the Temple and its Destruction.

  4. Shabbat and Teshuva

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  5. Awe of Parents and Shabbat Observance: Appreciation and and Optimism

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  6. The Ten Commandments: Twelve Prohibitions

    Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

    How many prohibitions are there in the Ten Commandments? Most people mistakenly believe that there are seven prohibitions. We explore the idea that there are six prohibitions in the first and second tablets, making up twelve. We explore the significance of the "six" and "twelve" numerical structures here and elsewhere in the Torah, and examine the differences between the first and second Tablets.

  7. How Tefilat Shabbat Illuminates the Meaning of Vayechulu and Veshamru

    Rabbi David Fohrman | Hour and 16 minutes

    Two of the best known pieces of Biblical text that deal with the idea of Shabbat are the “Vayechulu” passage in Breishit, and the “Veshamru” passage in Exodus. We say them every week as part of the texts of Kiddush Friday night and Shabbat day. And yet a great many puzzles haunt us about these texts. Why would an all powerful God need to rest? If God finished creating everything at the end of the Sixth Day, why does Vayechulu also tell us that He ‘finished’ on the Seventh Day? ~~In this talk, Rabbi David Fohrman makes the case that the amidah of the Sabbath prayers contains text that is designed as a commentary on these two crucial texts - and that this ‘prayer-commentary’ opens up our understanding of both Shabbat, and the Biblical texts that describe it, in profound ways.