TWO GIANTS OF THE LAW - THE OLD AND THE NEW
After the destruction of the Temple and the loss of the land, the only thing that remained between Jews and despair was a book, a scroll – the Torah (Pentateuch). From there, the eternal ten commandments were established. One of the most revolutionary laws amongst the commandments, is keeping the Sabbath. It is probably true to say that the Jew has survived over two thousand years of persecution and humiliation largely because he had the Sabbath. It was one factor that not only made him survive, but kept him alive, both spiritually and morally. Without the Sabbath, the Jew would have vanished. The well-known idiom penned by a secular Israeli writer, Ahad Ha'am, goes, “ more than the Jews have kept Shabbat , Shabbat has kept the Jews. ” As long as Judaism exists as a vibrant, vital force, the Sabbath is its most outstanding ritual practice. This commandment benefits not only the Jews. The creation of the seventh day for rest and cessation of labour, enables everyone to ref...