The Transcendence Of The Sabbath By Abraham Joshua Heschel

In his book titled The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel outlines the transcendence of the Sabbath in terms of the personal relationship between Jews and God. Heschel wrote on how the Sabbath stands as a testament to time for the Jewish people, in that they would be able to withdraw themselves from their secular lives, one day a week, to further appreciate the world God has created. He specifically holds an issue with the increasingly materialistic sense of society and memorably notes how things do not hold any significance to any moment, but rather the moment that brings significance to a thing. To take Heshel’s idea regarding significance and to directly relate it to the Sabbath would thus mean that to light candles before the Sabbath or to …show more content…
It is the dynamic relationship between the rituals, shared by most practicing Jews, alike alongside the mystical influences, in relation to the myths accompanying the Sabbath, that have led Heschel to formulate a unique perspective as to why the seventh day should be treated as a sanctuary in time by all Jews alike. Heschel is most concerned with the concepts of time and space in regards to the Sabbath as well as the midrashim that label the Sabbath as a precursor to the days of messiah. Noting how while nearly everything in the world deals with space and the accumulation of things of that nature, the Sabbath’s focus is rather on time. Heschel expands on this idea claiming that while other creation stories hold a significance on the site of creation, in Judaism, rather than emphasizing site, there is an overarching importance placed on time. He expands on this idea by further connecting how the concepts of space, time, and God are related by going so far as to say that “time is God’s gift to the world of space” (Heschel, p. 100). Heschel’s fixation on the concept of time in relation to the Sabbath can be better explained through understanding what God, according to the Bible, specifically did after having created the world. Not one of God’s other creations, Adam, the world itself, or light were given the same level of recognition as the seventh day received; for it was the seventh day that was deemed sanctified at the end of creation. As previously mentioned, another belief that Heschel holds surrounding the Sabbath is that the holy day serves as a reminder to Jews of what the Messianic world is to be. And if a Jew cannot sanctify the Sabbath, Heschel notes, then that person “will be unable to enjoy the taste of eternity in the world to come” (Heschel, p. 74). Thus