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Table of Contents
Introduction
The Sabbath is one of the most ancient and solemn gifts that GOD entrusted to mankind. Even before it became a commandment given to Israel, its roots were already present in Creation itself: GOD ceased from His work, blessed the seventh day, and made it holy. The Sabbath is therefore set-apart time, consecrated time, during which man is called to cease from his own work and remember that life does not depend solely upon what he produces, builds, or earns.
But what does it truly mean to refrain from work on the Sabbath?
Throughout the centuries, people sincerely seeking to observe the Law have developed increasingly detailed interpretations, rules, and precautions, often with the noble intention of avoiding even the possibility of transgressing the commandment. I deeply respect such a desire for obedience. Yet for those who regard Holy Scripture as the supreme authority for discerning the will of GOD, one fundamental question remains: where does the commandment of GOD end, and where does human interpretation begin?
The Mishnah, like the Hadith within the Islamic tradition and many other religious bodies of teaching developed throughout history, contains teachings, interpretations, and traditions formulated by men of faith. They may be studied, respected, and understood within their proper context; but this does not automatically make them words spoken by GOD. When we seek to understand what the Creator actually commanded, our first reference must therefore remain what is written in Holy Scripture.
This principle does not mean turning the Sabbath into a day on which “everything is permitted.” Not everything we enjoy doing is therefore lawful on the Sabbath. A person might trade, gather wood, or perform his ordinary work with great pleasure, but personal enjoyment does not nullify a Divine commandment. The proper question is therefore not: “Do I enjoy doing this?” The question is: “Has GOD forbidden it?”
Personally, on the Sabbath I turn off my phone, cease from work, leave ordinary business aside, and try to restore the day to its deeper meaning: thanking GOD, remaining with my family, reading and contemplating Scripture, and speaking more about love, goodness, peace, and encounter. And also writing, when what arises from the mind and heart is directed toward seeking GOD and sharing what is good.
But such a conviction cannot rest merely upon personal feeling. It must be able to stand before Scripture.
Therefore, the question from which we must begin is simple and, at the same time, decisive:
What did GOD actually command concerning the Sabbath?
What Did GOD Actually Command Concerning the Sabbath?
To understand the Sabbath, we must begin with GOD, not with the rules later constructed around His commandment.
In Genesis 2:2-3, GOD completes the work of Creation and ceases on the seventh day, blessing it and making it holy. The original principle is therefore simple: six days belong to human work; the seventh is set apart and consecrated.
In the Fourth Commandment, GOD makes this principle explicit:
“The seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your GOD. You shall not do any melakhah.”
(Exodus 20:10)
The Hebrew word מְלָאכָה – melakhah refers to work, occupation, the activity through which human beings produce, accomplish, and carry forward their ordinary tasks. The Torah does not say: do not think, do not speak, do not read, do not walk, do not love, do not rejoice. It says: cease from your work.
Deuteronomy 5 adds an even more human meaning: Israel must remember having been enslaved in Egypt. The Sabbath therefore becomes freedom from the dominion of work. Father, mother, children, servants, foreigners, and even animals are to rest. No one is meant to become a machine of production seven days a week.
Scripture also gives concrete examples of activities incompatible with the Sabbath: gathering for ordinary work, conducting trade, carrying merchandise, and continuing normal economic activity. The man gathering wood in Numbers 15 and the merchants condemned in Nehemiah 13 remind us that personal enjoyment cannot make a forbidden activity lawful.
But the opposite principle also matters: we should not automatically declare sinful what GOD Himself has not called sin.
The correct question, therefore, is not:
“How many things can we prohibit in order to be safer?”
It is:
“What did GOD command, and how can I truly sanctify the day He set apart?”
Every sincere observance of the Sabbath should begin there.
The Sabbath Is Rest from Work, Not from Life
To sanctify the Sabbath does not mean suspending life. It means freeing life, for one day, from the necessity of production.
Isaiah calls the Sabbath a “delight” and invites man to cease continually pursuing his own interests and instead find joy in the LORD (Isaiah 58:13-14). Psalm 92, expressly written for the Sabbath day, likewise speaks of thanking GOD, proclaiming His goodness, and contemplating His works.
The Sabbath, therefore, was not born as a prison of prohibitions, but as sacred space for inner freedom: time for GOD, family, gratitude, knowledge, mercy, and goodness.
Yeshua expresses this principle in remarkably simple words:
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
(Mark 2:27)
And he adds:
“It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
(Matthew 12:12)
These words do not abolish the commandment. They restore its meaning.
For this reason, I consider it fully consistent with the Sabbath to read Scripture, speak about GOD, remain with one’s children, help another person, discuss peace, share love and knowledge and, when a reflection naturally arises, even put it into writing.
Scripture does not say that thinking is work. It does not say that loving is work. It does not say that teaching goodness is work. Nor does it state that writing, in itself, constitutes a violation of the Sabbath.
When a religious tradition adds further boundaries, it may do so with the sincere intention of protecting the commandment. But a human precaution should not be confused with a prohibition spoken by GOD.
The Sabbath does not ask us to become motionless.
It asks us to remember, at least once every seven days, that we are far more than what we produce.
Conclusion
To observe the Sabbath means, first of all, to listen to GOD.
Traditions can help us, preserve memory, provide discipline, and even protect us from error. But no tradition should become more authoritative than the Word it seeks to serve.
For this reason, I do not see the Sabbath as an exercise in fear, with man spending the entire day wondering which gesture might make him guilty. I see it instead as a day of consecrated freedom: ceasing from work, stepping away from ordinary interests, remembering the Creator, living with family, seeking what is good, studying, giving thanks, and loving.
And writing, when what we write arises from that same spirit.
I do not claim that every believer must observe the Sabbath exactly as I do. I deeply respect those who, according to conscience, choose stricter boundaries. But in the same way, I believe that no man should declare sinful what GOD has not declared sinful.
Scripture itself warns us against adding to or taking away from His Word.
My desire, therefore, is not to make the Sabbath easier. It is to make it more faithful.
For the Sabbath does not belong to rabbis, priests, theologians, or to our traditions.
The Sabbath belongs to GOD.
And precisely for this reason, it remains one of His most beautiful gifts to humanity: one day in which we cease producing, so that we may simply return to living before the Creator.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Alex P. Jassen, Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls — Cambridge University Press
Studio accademico molto utile per il nostro tema perché analizza come Isaia 58:13 e altri testi biblici sul Sabato siano stati interpretati e progressivamente trasformati in norme più dettagliate nel giudaismo del Secondo Tempio e nella successiva letteratura rabbinica. Aiuta quindi a distinguere bene testo scritturale e sviluppo interpretativo.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139013871.007 - Julia Rhyder, “Sabbath and Sanctuary Cult in the Holiness Legislation: A Reassessment”, Journal of Biblical Literature 138 (2019)
Articolo pubblicato nel Journal of Biblical Literature, una delle principali riviste accademiche internazionali di studi biblici. Esamina il ruolo e il significato del Sabato nella legislazione di santità del Levitico, quindi è particolarmente utile per fondare il discorso sul testo biblico e sul suo contesto storico-letterario, senza partire dalla Halakhah successiva.
Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.15699/jbl.1384.2019.2
- Sefaria – Exodus 20:8-11
Testo ebraico del quarto comandamento con traduzioni e strumenti di consultazione della tradizione ebraica. Utile come riferimento diretto alla Torah.
https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.20.8-11 - Vaticano – Catechismo, “The Sabbath Day”
Presenta la lettura cristiana del Sabato partendo dalla Creazione, dall’Esodo e dal significato spirituale del riposo consacrato a DIO.
https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_three/section_two/chapter_one/article_3/i_the_sabbath_day.html - Quran.com – Qur’an 4:154
Utile per mostrare che anche il Corano riconosce esplicitamente il Sabato come parte solenne dell’Alleanza imposta ai figli d’Israele, parlando della proibizione di trasgredirlo.
https://quran.com/4/154
