Shabbat is not new to us in Parashat Ki Sisa. Klal Yisrael had already encountered it at the mon, and it appears again in Parashat Mishpatim. Yet in Parashat Ki Sisa, something profoundly new is added. The Torah reframes Shabbat — not merely as a mitzvah to observe, but as a covenant, a worldview, and a defining mark of Jewish identity. Here, Shabbat is illuminated in a way we may never have fully heard before. Our member Rabbi Paul Bloom explains.
“Shabtotai”
— The Plural Mystery
The Torah states:
אַךְ
אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרו
“However, My Sabbaths you shall keep.” (Shemot 31:13)
Why the plural — Shabtotai?
The Ramban: Love and Awe
Nachmanides (Ramban) explains that the duality reflects Shamor
and Zachor — the two formulations of Shabbat in the Aseret HaDibrot.
●
In the Book
of Exodus, it says זָכוֹר — Remember.
●
In the Book
of Deuteronomy, it says שָׁמוֹר — Guard.
These two expressions represent two modes of relationship with
HaKadosh Baruch Hu:
●
Shamor —
restraint, reverence, yirah.
●
Zachor —
celebration, sanctification, ahavah.
Shabbat is not one-dimensional. It is the fusion of awe and love,
discipline and delight. It teaches us that our connection to Hashem must
contain both boundaries and embrace.That is the first dimension of “Shabtotai.”
The Kli Yakar: Beginning and End
Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (Kli Yakar) offers a
different perspective. Shabbat represents two cosmic poles:
- Ma’aseh Bereishit — Creation,
the beginning of time.
- Geulah Acharonah — The ultimate
redemption, the end of history.
Every Shabbat, we stand at the axis of time. We connect to:
●
The
origin of existence — Hashem as Creator.
●
The
destiny of existence — Hashem as Redeemer.
The dual korbanot of Shabbat — the two lambs — reflect this
duality. Shabbat gathers the arc of history into a single sacred day. To keep Shabbat
is to know where we came from and where we are going. That is the second
meaning of “Shabbtotai.”
“Lada’at”
— Shabbat as a Way of Knowing
The Torah continues:
לָדַעַת
כִּי אֲנִי ה' מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם
“To know that I am Hashem Who sanctifies you.” (Shemot 31:13)
Shabbat is not merely observance. It creates da’at — a
consciousness, a mindset. It reshapes how we understand our existence, our
relationship with Hashem and our place in the world
Rashi: A Sign to the Nations
To the partners, this was incomprehensible. They had no value that
overrode career, money, or prestige. They could not imagine a commitment so
absolute. He likely did not get the job. But he carried something they could
not understand — a covenant. That is lada’at. That is what Shabbat does.
It engraves into a Jew the awareness that there is something greater than
professional success, greater than public acclaim. Shabbat declares: we belong
to Hashem.
Mishkan and Shabbat — A Deliberate
Reversal
The structure of the parshiyot surrounding the Mishkan reveals
something extraordinary. In Terumah through Ki Tisa, we find six chapters of
Hashem instructing Moshe privately about the Mishkan and six parallel chapters
of Moshe relaying those instructions to the people. But there is one striking
difference. When Hashem
Speaks to Moshe. The Mishkan details come first, with Shabbat at the end
(in Ki Tisa). But when
Moshe Speaks to the People (Vayakhel), Shabbat comes first, followed by
the Mishkan.
Why reverse the order? The Kli Yakar explains beautifully. When
Hashem speaks, He first emphasizes the Mishkan — the kavod of Klal
Yisrael, the dwelling of the Shechinah among them. Then He concludes with Shabbat
— do not forget the honor of Heaven. But when Moshe speaks to Klal Yisrael, he
reverses it. He begins with Shabbat since, before we build, before we create, before
we demonstrate national glory. first comes Kavod Shamayim. This reflects
a broader Torah principle: in our speech and orientation, we begin with Hashem.
This idea is echoed in a remarkable Gemara in Berachot (6a). There
the Gemara asks: What is written in Hashem’s tefillin? Of course, this is
metaphor — but the answer is stunning: “Who is like Your people Israel, one
nation in the world?” Our tefillin proclaim Hashem’s unity: “Hashem Echad.”
Hashem’s “tefillin” proclaim Israel’s uniqueness. It is a reciprocal covenant —
ani l’dodi v’dodi li.
And so too with Yom Tov: the Torah calls it Chag HaMatzot —
emphasizing what we did. We call it Pesach — emphasizing what Hashem did. We
begin with praise of Heaven. Moshe therefore teaches Shabbat first.
Shabbat as Brit — More Than a Mitzvah
In Ki Tisa, Shabbat is called
אוֹת הִוא
לְעוֹלָם
“It is an eternal sign.”
Not merely a mitzvah, but a Brit, a covenant. The Mishkan may
symbolize Divine Presence among us. But Shabbat symbolizes something deeper: an
unbreakable bond between Hashem and His people. The Mishkan can be destroyed. Shabbat
cannot.
The Dual Vision of Shabbat
We now see how the strands converge:
●
Ramban —
Love and Awe.
●
Kli Yakar
— Beginning and End.
●
Rashi — A
sign to the nations.
●
The
structure of the Mishkan — Kavod Shamayim before Kavod Yisrael.
●
The
Gemara in Berachot — Reciprocal uniqueness.
All point to the same truth: Shabbat teaches us who we are. It
connects creation with redemption, love with reverence, Heaven with earth, Israel
with Hashem. What is more, it also gives us da’at — the inner clarity to
live by that knowledge.
Conclusion: Shabbat as Identity
Shabbat is not merely about refraining from melachah. It is
about standing in sacred time and knowing where history began, where history is
heading and to whom we belong.
Every week, Shabbat gathers the arc of existence into a single day
and whispers: You are part of something eternal. That is why it is plural. That
is why it is a covenant. That is why it is unforgettable.
