The Sabbath Power That Holds the World Together
“He rested, and He was refreshed.” A Hard Question The Torah says: “Whoever breaks the Sabbath shall surely be put to death.” The penalty for breaking the Sabbath is death. If it is done on purpose, that death is by stoning. Any thinking person has to wonder about this. Why is the Torah so strict here? Many serious sins carry no death penalty from a court. Yet here, for doing work on the Sabbath, the Torah says right away: “shall surely be put to death.” At first it seems like a punishment for the sake of honor. It looks like a decree from above that we cannot understand with our minds. But the truth is that this is not a punishment at all. The Force That Holds Everything Together Listen, my friend. Scientists have noticed a simple and amazing fact. Every atom is made of tiny particles that push each other away with enormous force. This is true of every atom in your body, in the earth and in the sky. By the laws of physics, every atom “should” fly apart at every moment. But it does not fly apart. Why not? Because of the strong nuclear force. It is the most powerful force in nature. It holds the particles in the center of the atom together and keeps them from breaking apart. This is not a question of “who is watching over” the particles. This is simply how reality works. Take that force away, and the whole physical world would crumble. Now for the lesson. The Secret of the Sabbath: The Nuclear Force of Creation Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, the classic book of Hasidic thought, writes about this in the part of the Tanya called “The Gate of Unity and Faith.” He teaches that the world cannot exist on its own, not even for one moment. At every moment, Hashem creates the world from nothing, exactly as He did on the very first day. He writes: “If the Creator’s power were to leave what He created, it would go back to being truly nothing at all.” This is the idea that creation never stops. Hashem did not create the world once and then leave it. He creates it and gives it life at every moment. About this our Sages teach in the Midrash: “On the Sabbath, Hashem gave an extra soul to the world.” Not only to people. To the world. The Sabbath is the time when the divine power that creates the world and gives it life shines in a special, concentrated way. The Sabbath is the spiritual “nuclear force” of creation. It is the power that holds everything together and keeps the world from falling back into chaos and emptiness. A New Reading of “He Rested and Was Refreshed” Now we reach the heart of the whole matter. The Torah says: “He rested, and He was refreshed.” Rashi, the great Bible commentator, explains that the Hebrew word for “was refreshed” comes from the word for “soul.” This means that on the Sabbath, so to speak, Hashem rested from His work. Exactly then, He “was refreshed”: He gave soul and vitality to the world. He did not only rest. His very stopping from work is itself the act of giving life. When Hashem holds back and steps back from creating, He makes room for the inner power of the soul to shine. This is the new idea. The word “refreshed” has its root in the word “soul.” Hashem stops creating, and in that very pause He breathes new soul and new vitality into all of creation. Not a Punishment, but a Result Now we can clearly understand why “whoever breaks it shall surely be put to death.” This is not a punishment from outside at all. In the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman explains what the Torah means by “being cut off.” It means being cut off from the source of life, the divine soul pulling away. After everything we have said, this becomes bright and clear. A person who breaks the Sabbath pushes away the “refreshing” that the Sabbath brings, the soul and divine vitality it gives. He is not being punished. He is cutting himself off from the source of his own existence. It is like someone who presses a button that removes the nuclear force from an atom. There is no anger here and no revenge. There is simply a falling apart. This is how spiritual reality works. Break the Sabbath, and you have emptied yourself of the one power that holds you whole.
Putting It into Practice
You are a young married man or a working man with a family. You know what it feels like to go through the whole week feeling that you are about to “fall apart.” There is the pressure of making a living, the worries, the constant rushing. And then the Sabbath arrives. Do not think of the Sabbath as “one more obligation.” Think of it this way: this is the moment when Hashem breathes the “refreshing” into you. He gives you soul, inner togetherness, and the power that will hold you whole for all six days of the coming week. Keep the Sabbath, not out of fear, but because you know: this is the source. This is what holds you together.
Questions and answers
Q: Why is the Torah so strict that whoever breaks the Sabbath shall be put to death?
Rabbi Landau answers: The Torah says: “Whoever breaks the Sabbath shall surely be put to death.” The penalty for breaking the Sabbath is death. If it is done on purpose, that death is by stoning. Any thinking person has to wonder about this. Why is the Torah so strict here? Many serious sins carry no death penalty from a court. Yet here, for doing work on the Sabbath, the Torah says right away: “shall surely be put to death.” At first it seems like a punishment for the sake of honor. It looks like a decree from above that we cannot understand with our minds. But the truth is that this is not a punishment at all.
Q: What does the strong nuclear force holding atoms together teach about the Sabbath?
Rabbi Landau answers: Listen, my friend. Scientists have noticed a simple and amazing fact. Every atom is made of tiny particles that push each other away with enormous force. This is true of every atom in your body, in the earth and in the sky. By the laws of physics, every atom “should” fly apart at every moment. But it does not fly apart. Why not? Because of the strong nuclear force. It is the most powerful force in nature. It holds the particles in the center of the atom together and keeps them from breaking apart. This is not a question of “who is watching over” the particles. This is simply how reality works. Take that force away, and the whole physical world would crumble.
Q: What does Rashi's explanation of "He rested, and He was refreshed" teach about the Sabbath?
Rabbi Landau answers: Now we reach the heart of the whole matter. The Torah says: “He rested, and He was refreshed.” Rashi, the great Bible commentator, explains that the Hebrew word for “was refreshed” comes from the word for “soul.” This means that on the Sabbath, so to speak, Hashem rested from His work. Exactly then, He “was refreshed”: He gave soul and vitality to the world. He did not only rest. His very stopping from work is itself the act of giving life. When Hashem holds back and steps back from creating, He makes room for the inner power of the soul to shine. This is the new idea.
Q: Why is the death penalty for breaking the Sabbath a result rather than a punishment, according to the Tanya?
Rabbi Landau answers: Now we can clearly understand why “whoever breaks it shall surely be put to death.” This is not a punishment from outside at all. In the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman explains what the Torah means by “being cut off.” It means being cut off from the source of life, the divine soul pulling away. After everything we have said, this becomes bright and clear. A person who breaks the Sabbath pushes away the “refreshing” that the Sabbath brings, the soul and divine vitality it gives. He is not being punished. He is cutting himself off from the source of his own existence. It is like someone who presses a button that removes the nuclear force from an atom.
Q: How should a busy working man think about the Sabbath after a week of pressure?
Rabbi Landau answers: You are a young married man or a working man with a family. You know what it feels like to go through the whole week feeling that you are about to “fall apart.” There is the pressure of making a living, the worries, the constant rushing. And then the Sabbath arrives. Do not think of the Sabbath as “one more obligation.” Think of it this way: this is the moment when Hashem breathes the “refreshing” into you. He gives you soul, inner togetherness, and the power that will hold you whole for all six days of the coming week. Keep the Sabbath, not out of fear, but because you know: this is the source. This is what holds you together.