44 | AUGUST 19 • 2021

SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH

W

e are influenced by the com-
pany that we keep. Friends
have an especially profound
influence on how we feel, think and
behave — even how we identify.
A 2013 study published in Psychological
Science, and a 2014 study published in the
Journal of Consumer Research,
show that friends greatly
influence the choices we
make. Another recent study
shows that people with close
friends are likely to live
longer, and that friendships
reduce blood pressure, heart
rate and cholesterol.
But, in this week’s parshah, we read
about a friend of a different kind —
though one no less influential: Shabbos.
“The Children of Israel shall observe
the Shabbat, to make the Shabbat an
eternal covenant for their generations.”
(Shemot 31:16)
The Midrash describes Shabbos as the
eternal companion of the Jewish people.
And the relationship between the Jewish
people and Shabbos has indeed endured
for thousands of years. It has spanned
continents and historical eras. Wherever

we have gone, Shabbos has accompanied
us every step of the journey — and, like
a good friend, it has positively impacted
us. It helped us discover, and become,
our best selves. It has defined our very
identity.
How has Shabbos sustained generations
of Jews through every imaginable circum-
stance? What is the secret power of this
God-given gift, and how has it been able
to exert such influence on us?
When we keep Shabbos, we proclaim
some of the most important principles of
our faith. Every Friday night, as we gather
around our Shabbos tables and recite the
ancient words of the Kiddush prayer, we
declare that God created the world, and
bear witness to the fact that the beauty
and sheer engineering brilliance of the
universe is His work; we declare that God
took us out of Egypt and bear witness to
the fact that He is interested in human
affairs and that He guides history; and
that He wants us to live in accordance
with the moral and spiritual principles
which He revealed to us.
These basic tenets of Jewish faith are
deeply transformative. They are the pil-
lars that guide us as communities, and as

individuals, in our daily lives. They frame
our worldview as Jews and give us com-
fort and conviction. They make us who
we are.
The Ramban explains that this connec-
tion between Shabbos and faith in God is
also the connection between Shabbos —
the fourth of the Ten Commandments —
and the first three commandments, which
detail our relationship with our Creator in
more explicit terms. The first command-
ment is about the existence of God. The
second commandment is about not wor-
shipping other gods, and the third com-
mandment is about giving appropriate
respect to God. Shabbos, which declares
God as the Creator of the world, says the
Ramban, is their logical extension.
Practically speaking, how does Shabbos
connect us to faith? The Ramban explains
the twofold process alluded to in the two
words the Torah references to observing
Shabbos. We are commanded to “remem-
ber” Shabbos (zachor) and to “observe”
Shabbos (shamor).
He says, based on the Talmud, that
“remembering” Shabbos means being
cognizant of Shabbos even during the
days of the week, as well as on Shabbos

How Shabbat
Changes Us

Chief Rabbi
Warren
Goldstein