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

