Modern Masters: Shabbat- Reclaiming Sacred time | Rabbi Sam Shor | November 6th 2025

Today is uh Ara Shabas Kimat, right? We're almost in the air shabas zone. And actually this week, this Shabbat is is the Shabbat that's designated as the home base, if you will, for the International Shabas Project. I don't know if people are familiar with this beautiful program that was started by the chief rabbi Warren Goldstein, chief rabbi of South Africa a number of years ago where they encourage Jews across denominations to focus together and celebrate Shabbat together and they emphasize um the idea of Shabbat as an eternal Jewish value. So given that this is a class in Jewish thought, I thought we could explore together today this idea of Shabbat as an eternal Jewish value. And I just want to mention that today is also the art site of my of my uncle, Mr. Harold Shore of Basy and we're gonna ask that our limu today be dedicated in the continued aliat for my uncle Harold. Okay, with that as an introduction and with this idea of Shabbat is an international the international Shabas project, Shabbat is an eternal Jewish universal Jewish value. We're going to take a deep dive into exploring the concept of Shabas, Shabas kesh, and we're going to specifically talk about Shabbat as as an opportunity for us to reclaim sacred time. So I want to begin with a beautiful quote that um is attributed to the late Israeli Prime Minister Manakim Bean of Blessed Memory. And this is actually during a a this is a quote from a very difficult time in his uh premiership where there was a debate um about continuing to allow LL airlines to operate on Shabas and Yonto. You know, today we take it for granted doesn't fly, but it's really that that um fought that battle, okay, to to ensure that there would not be Shabis on behalf of Israel's national airline with the exception being when there's an emergency and they send LL planes to rescue Jews around the world. We know circumstance where that's where that's been the case. But the general policy that I allow does not fly on Shabbat Yanov. And during a a very very um tumultuous debate in the Knesset, Manakan gave one of his many many famous speeches and this is just a short snippet from the famous speech he made advocating that LL Airlines should be closed for business on Shabas. And listen what he says. It is not necessary to be an observant Jew to appreciate the full historic and sacred aura that enshrines this perfect gift called Shabbat. Its pro prohibitions are not arbitrary. They provide insulation against corrosive everydayness. They build fences against invasions by the profane and they enrich the soul by creating a space for sacred time. In a word, one need not be pious to accept the cherished principle of Shabbat. one merely needs to be a proud Jew. With these beautiful words of introduction, I want to take a uh uh like I said, we're gonna take a a very uh extensive look at the concept of Shabas Kesh and the significance of Shabas Kesh as sacred time. >> So, we're going to begin, believe it or not, with a very interesting medish, a medish related to Cayenne. Everyone knows the story of Kayen and He right? Kyo Ken commits the first act of whether you want to call it murder, whether you want to call it manslaughter. Okay, the first assault uh in human history and that there's a death of his brother results is the result of that assault. And of course, he's punished. He has to wander the world. He's not going to be able to stay put in Gaden. His punishment is he's meant to wander and not have a place of rest um and wander the world endlessly. So this is the medish talking about um what happened after Cenne was banished to wander. Okay, this is text number two on our sheets and cen went forth from be in front of God. Where did he go? What does it mean he went forth? Okay. What happened after he was banished? Pagabo Adarish. When he was banished, he began wandering who does he meet? Who does he run into? His father who of course was also banished. Adam were banished from Ghana as well. Right? So he runs into his father. He runs out and he says to him says to him, "Okay, what was your judgment?" must have heard or or witnessed or at this point maybe Ken started telling him why I'm wandering and asked him I so what so new how did Hashem judge you what was your judgment he said to Adami I expressed remorse by the way it's not clear in the you can make an argument and it's a it's a big makus we can look at cen another time big makus we showed him whether ken is is remorseful or not. It's a big debate amongst the but he says I expressed remorse and did chuva and repented and Hashem therefore was what? Made a made a was lenient with me made a compromise with me. So what's response hits and smacks himself in the head right and he says this is the power of chuva and I didn't even know it from that experience of running into his son who says who said I did chuva and hashem was lenient with me immediately Adam went and he compi comprised the words of mismoir the mismo that we say on shabas kesh according to this medish okay the msirat that we say every shabas who composed it according to this medish was what was the circumstance that composed this psalm of shabas because he learned from his son that what that he could have done chuva and that hashem accepts the chuva and therefore so the obvious question to be asked is it's a beautiful idea but if Adam learned about chuva and was so moved that he learned about chuva why did he compose a psalm about shabas okay you could suggest there there are far that say the word shabas is an acronym for shabbatu that on shabas is opportunity for us to do chuva but but the fundamental question is why of all the things he could have comp comprised all the things he could have composed why specifically the psalm of shab So the son of if you take a look at text number three then the first of our modern masters we're going to learn from this morning the sonbi died in the year 2000. So he's pretty much a contemporary master and this is his comments on this whole story of the of the of the based on this medish of ken going out and then meeting his father and this whole discussion. Okay. when when k is banished. Okay, the pa tells us that Hashem gave him an oath, an insignia, right? So what was that insignia shabbakeshanik says already? We know that shabas is called what is that shabas itself is seen as an insignia, a sign between Hashem and the Jewish people. So when it says that Hashem placed a an insignia upon Cenne, what's it a reference to? That Hashem gave Cen Shabas, which is also called an Oben Shabas. Even though all the rest of the week, throughout the week, he's wandering aimlessly. He has no place to go. He's wandering the the earth aimlessly. Shabases. But when Shamas comes, it's an opportunity for him metaphysically to come back to his source and to come back to his creator. Okay? All week long he's wandering the earth aimlessly. But then Shabas comes and metaphysically he's transformed and brought back to his source. And based on this these beautiful words Now we can understand our medish when says to his father, I did chuva and hem made a compromise with me. He was lenient with me. The met it's truly that hem made a compromise with him. Okay. All week long he's what? Destined. He's doomed to wander aimlessly across the across the land, across the earth. He's stuck in the physical world realm. He's wandering aimlessly in the physicality. But when Shabas comes when Shabas comes metaphysically, he's he returns and he's brought back to his creator, to his source. And that's why as soon as Adam realize and learn the power of Shabases, it's an opportunity for us to re-engage and come close to Hashem, even if we've been wandering aimlessly all week long. That even after such a great transgression as what Cen did, okay? And even though he's been wandering all week long that Hashem still leaves open the opportunity on Shabas for him to come back and return to his source and immediately Adam was so moved by that by that recognition that he went out and composed this is the psalm the psalm of Shabas it's good for us to give thanks to Hashem. So Shabbat based on this idea, the first principle I want to talk about in terms of Shabbas, Shabbat is a weekly opportunity to recalibrate ourselves spiritually. It's a spiritual reset. All week long, we may be wandering. We may aimlessly wandering like the median become Shabas kesh and we're metaphysically brought back to our source. Shabas is a is a weekly opportunity for renewal to experience sacred time to come back to our source. Okay. So that's the first idea. Now let's uh we know so if you turn your page over we know the we're told that we should remember the first remember the Sabbath day and sanctify and make it holy. Six days shall you do productive activity and do all your work and on the seventh day it should be a Sabbath to to the Lord your God. You should do no ma anyone in your homes, your children, anyone in your homes, your your animals, your the strangers staying amongst your um within your gates. Okay, so obviously the obvious question is what does it mean to sanctify Shabas? We can say oh it's reciting kdish. Okay, that's very nice. But how do we experience holiness via this vehicle that we call shabas kotes? This concept we call shabas kotes. So I'm going to fast forward a few a few parios later in in schmos. Okay. What happens after the given mosher comes down and what's going on in the encampment when he comes down the of the of the golden calf right. So after okay, Mosherenu gathers the Jewish people together and Hashem instructs them instructs them you know Mosha advocates give them another chance and Hashem instructs him what what he should do. Okay, what is that second chance based upon? Take a look at text number five called and Moshe gathered together the entire community of the house of Israel and he said to them, These are things that Hashem has instructed us that we shall do. And again, what is what is the message after after a transgression of public? What is the what of the big 10 the ten commandments that the moshenu decides or hashem instructs mosh raenu to kazer to review with them it's not vodar it's not the prohibition against idolatry but what the instruction to keep shabas and then it doesn't end there then adds a you should kindle no flames in any of your homes any of your dwelling places on the Sabbath day. So there was a great book written in the 1980s by Rabbi Arya called if you were God and it plays out various scenarios. It's like a philosophical work where it plays out various scenarios that if you were a god and and there was and there was a a scenario where people were stranded on a desert island, how would you help them find their way to safety? Something like that. But uh I'm gonna ask the question if you were God. Okay, if you were the Jewish people immediately after hearing the Aseras, okay, that they go and build an ael, they build a golden calf and they worship this this golden ago, this golden idol. Which of the big 10 hos of the dibbros would you choose to have Mosherenu review with them? I think all of us would say that our natural inclination would be what? to review. I'm the Lord your God who took you forth from the land of Egypt. Do not make have any other gods before me. Clear? So why why here in this circumstance? Yes. >> So I my I feel that Shabas was giving to us to show us what good Naden is like. >> Yes sir. And therefore he says, you know, I'm going to show you I'm not I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to show you how good I how much I love you. I >> see that's consistent with the other majest. Okay. The me that's very consistent with the message at least of how the sarbi learned our our first maj. I'm not going to take out my wrath on you. I'm going to have compassion for you. I'm going to share my love. And the vehicle to to experience that love even with all the consequences of your mistakes that you've made up till now is what? Shabas kesh. Okay. So we're going to come back to these questions. I want to now look at a a very interesting jump to text number six. Okay. If only the Jewish people would fully keep two Shabbat, they'd immediately be redeemed. So that you could ask a million questions on this Gomorrah. Does it mean any two random Shabbat? Does it mean that every single Jew has to fully observe? What if they don't know better? Okay. What is the message here that if as if if the Jewish people would only keep two Shabbat, they'd immediately experience redemption. Okay. So, we're going to learn a number of texts from various umic masters and other masters of Jewish thought that are going to address this gamarra. And we're going to see hopefully if I do my job correctly, we're going to see that there are many profound messages that the sages find encrypted in this gamar. So take a look. We're going to start text number seven. We're going to start with the hodes. of course is the and the ps the rebby the was last week I actually gave a ash on a Friday night and mishkim on a Friday night uh and we in his memory we learned a lot of his Torah but um um this piece in a kadesh Okay, the there's this is the the kadesh are the collections of the various writings that this rebi the last three years of his life when he was ku incarcerated in the wars ghetto and it's basically the transcripts of the various trashot sermons clandestine classes that he gave during those three years in the wars ghetto and they were buried in milk cans afterwards is an amazing story for another time in terms of how they found how they found these these transcripts so we're just going to learn um one short piece from what the Rebi said on in the year of tough this is text number seven and he's going to talk about argamara how do we understand argamara okay okay the uh the perish the interpretation at least in my opinion is Shabbat. The first Shabbat is what? Shabbat. Okay, we're talking about what are the two Shabbat the speaking about. So the first Shabas is what? Shabas itself. And the second is what? The Shabas that we bring into the rest of the week that we bring forth the from Shabas into the rest of our week. What does this teach us? He says that we have to realize that we have an opportunity to bring forth the kaduca, the holiness that we feel on Shabas, that closeness to that we feel on Shabas, that closeness with one another that we feel on Shabas, we have an opportunity to bring that into the rest of our week. And so the slimmer says the garra is teaching us if only we keep two shabat we'd experience redemption. We could redeem our weak says the says the the the psi if what if we take forth the kadusha we feel and experience that we feel on shabas and bring that into the week as well. By the way that's part of the idea of why we light a havdala candle. Right? What's the significance of the havdala candle? The idea is we're bringing the light of Shabas into the week. So it's the same idea. So that's a beautiful idea. >> Another continuation to that is that every day you want reshabas. >> We're all it's all connected to Shabas. Good. >> But so this is a beautiful idea, but I'm going to ask you very simply. What if I don't feel what if I'm in the zone on Shabas, but then come Sunday, I don't feel that same connection to Hashem. tacless. Okay, it's a beautiful concept, but how do we how do we feel that? How do we feel that injection that spiritual how do we maintain that spiritual fervor that we can experience on Shabas? So we're actually going to learn another piece of the ps that's the rebi right now this is from a safer the safer that he was you know now he's famously known as the age kesh he's known for the safer we just learned from the drus that he that he gave during the three years in the war ghetto but before he was incarcerated in the war was ghetto he was known for a different safer a cer that he published in his lifetime and that's the which means literally the handbook for students he was is a renowned educator and um young sidetic boys will come from all over Poland to his as educational institution in Warsaw known as um it was a yeshiva Taurus Taurus Mosh I think it was called in Warsaw and um and this is what he writes in about this sabara by the way is work that he wrote as a handbook for basically pre-bar mitzvah age and postbar mitzvah age students and it's a it's a spiritual handbook in terms of the work we need to do to grow spiritually and evolve and mature spiritually and when we see that the expectations that the rebi had for his talum who were 11 12 13 14 15 years old okay challenge us as adults it gives us a little bit of a a glimpse into the tador how the generations had maybe fallen behind. But this is what the Rebi says in okay about the same garra. So look at this text number eight on our sheets. Okay. And this is possible what's alluded to in the gam. So he's going to explain what he feels is being alluded to. Shabbat shra if a person doesn't feel that in influx of kadusha okay during the week from the shabas he just experienced in the past okay for to this point up to this point. So you want you want to know what the the remedy is you want to you want to know how you do it how you build that momentum you got to keep at it. Okay. Shabas comes around every single week. Every single week, we're giving the opportunity what to feel that connection and build that connection. Let that connection become stronger within us. So even if it doesn't work the first time, he says, "Okay, it's the Shabas project where hopefully we're encouraging people to experience Shabas for the first time." Even if that energy doesn't carry forth into your week after the first Shabas, well, in a few more days, we're going to have another opportunity. Every week we have that opportunity. And therefore, if it didn't really work this week, so keep another shabas and hopefully that'll build some momentum and then you'll start to see that some of that will indeed seep into and penetrate the rest of your week and then you'll begin to see yourself immersed in the treasury of holiness until what you feel that redemption that's being alluded to in the gamarra. So shabas recurs each week says the ps rabbi each week there's an injection infusion of holiness that we can bring into our entire week then build that momentum and transform and redeem our existence. Okay. So that's the piece that's the reb piece. We're now going to go back about um a century and a half to the beginning of the 18th century to the bad. The bad is a great master who makes aliat in the early 1800s. And the bad says here something beautiful also talking about our same gamal shabati. If only the Jewish people would would keep two shabat as it's meant as it's meant to be kept they'll immediately be redeemed. So what are the two shabat? Shabbat represents what? A sacred period of time, a time where we're immersed in holiness. And so what are the two Shabbat tote, so to speak, that that the Garra is talking about that if we allow that holiness that we experience on Shabas to transform both our thoughts, the way we think, and the way we speak. Okay, it's one thing to be immersed in that sacred time for 25 hours on Shabas, but we have to bring from that experience of those 25 hours. Okay, it has to transform who we are. And if we're able to do that and we're able to transform both our thought to focus on things that are holy and the way we speak to speak with holiness, then we'll experience we'll experience redemption. Then you'll be able to immediately be redeemed and enter into that space that we call holiness like and he says amen and may it be Hashan's will that we succeed. Amen. So thought and speech okay when Shabas trans transforms our thought and our speech and elevates our consciousness that can bring holiness to our lives to every single moment of our lives and that's so to speak redeeming our weak redeeming our lives. Okay, we're now going to learn from the is >> helps that also. >> Yeah, kind of chski zatal said the quickest way to Jew's heart is through his stomach. Right. So, so the great 18 17th century makubal cobalist from Prague says the following. What he's going to talk about the the idea of not kindling any fires on Shabas. Okay. So look what he says here. It's a beautiful idea. That's the P, right? Oh. So what does it mean? And all of a sudden in the midst of of this you should remember shabas the doesn't say don't kindle any flames it's only here after after the so how do we understand this so says the the says the it's not only referring to don't physically light any fires but what no don't light any fires of arguments or controversy or anger on shabas because those things are a Jew should never ever ever enter into those areas. is where we have makus, we have disagreement and we have kas, we have anger and certainly not on shabas which is a sacred day where the flames of gahim don't burn shabas we saw we saw even from our medish that that cen who's doomed to wander aimlessly come shabas he's brought back to ganeden so how could it be that on shabas a juke he allow himself to experience anger or strife for disunityity so he says Shabbat and if a person gets angry on Shabas or causes a disagreement of controversy on Shabas, God forbid that in what he could, God forbid cause the flames of Ghanim to come upon them. So says the okay says you shall kindle no flames, no fires on this day of Shabas. It's not just talking about physically lighting a fire. It's talking about what? Avoiding >> makus and avoiding the rage, the flame of rage, of getting angry. Shabas is a time of unity, of aus, of calmness, of feeling at one with Hashem and feeling at one with one another. And therefore, therefore says the schlakadosh we when the Torah tells us don't kindle any flames on Shabas. No anger, no controversy, no disagreements. Shabas is a day of sacred unity. I'll take questions at the end. Okay. Now we're going to stay contemporary a little bit. We'll go fast forward another 120 years. We're going to learn from the uh the or the Chernobyl the the great Chernobyl Rebi who lived in the end of the 18th century towards the end of the 18th century. And now he's going to explain our Gamarra a little differently. This is what the Chernobyl Rebby says. Okay. What does it mean if only the Jewish people would keep two Shabbat? Oh, so says the Chernobyler, what are the two aspects of Shabas? They go hand in hand. There's the experience of Shabas kish itself and then is what we do during the west rest of the week. Do we use the rest of the week productively? Do we understand that our sacred mission during the rest of the week is to partner with fixing and completing and improving the world? Okay. Are we productive during the six days of the week? How if we want to experience redemption says the says the orim that it's not only the spiritual you know beauty and and and and fortitude that we experience on shabas kesh it's what do we do during the rest of the week during those six days where the Torah tells us okay doesn't just mean work means productive activity okay are we going to be productive and contribute to bettering the world during the rest of the week. And therefore, the two aspects of Shabas that are kazal are talking about at least according to is what to experience redemption. It's talking about not only experiencing the beauty of Shabas itself, but taking the opportunity during the six days of the week to be productive, creative, contributing to the improvement of the world around us. Okay? And if that's the case, says the says the if that's true, then we'll immediately experience redemption. And if that's true, if every Jew could embrace this sacred mission of not only having a day of sacred time, one day of week, a redeeming sacred time one day a week where we feel we return back to Hashem on Shabas Kesh. But if we can take the building on everything we learned together, take that sacred time into the rest of the week. Understand that the rest of our week is also sacred time. We have the opportunity. It doesn't have the same restrictions as Shabas. Okay? To experience sacred time on Shabas means what? To take a step back to refrain from everything that goes on, the impediments that might be around us. But to experience sacred time during the other six days of creation means what? to realize and recognize Hashem has given us a sacred mission, a sacred calling, to be his partners in completing and improving the world and to take advantage of those six days to do just that. And if we're able to do that, take these two aspects together says theory the revia chernobyl then indeed we will be blessed halvai to see mashia shabas and not only that abstensive retreat okay for 25 hours but rather we need to couple that with the concept of building and partnering with hashem and fixing the world and these two aspects together will bring the gula says the morini So I want to close with a more contemporary quote. We don't exactly call him a modern master. I guess you could call him a master master of of poetry. He was not a not a Torah scholar per se, but Asher Ginsburg known as aam the pen name aam. He famously said more than Israel has actually fulfilled and kept Shabbat. Shabbat is kept and sustained the Jewish people. Shabbat is a sacred day of unity. It's a time to experience sacred space. Letting go, shifting our perspective, shutting down, turning out the impediments of the outside world, allowing us to focus on our relationships, our relationships with one another, with family, with community, with reon, with Hashem. It's a sacred day to step back, to acknowledge the gifts we are given, to redeem our week, and to sanctify and lift our perspective, and lift the entire world. My friends, as we get ready to join together with Amisel in this beautiful project of that that Rabbi Warren Goldstein has initiated this idea of the international shabas project. My fervent fela is that we should all be za that the international shas project is not just a one one week experience but as as the as the h kesh told us if we don't feel that energy being carried over immediately into our week then what we have an opportunity again to keep a second shabas and that the international shabas project should become not just a one shabas a year project but indeed it should build momentum it should become that every Jew should experience the weekly um the weekly island of sacred time that can refine and redeem our our entire lives that is Shabas Kesh and in so doing will be to greet Mashiku hopefully in the days ahead. Shabas