GEN214 Th[e] never-ceasing emphasis on moral perfection is the core of Judaism. This practical sense of our faith looks askance at metaphysical discussions of God and the Universe. Its counsel of perfection is “To know Him in all thy ways”, Proverbs 3:6, to obey His commandments and become God like in the process. Life is given to man by God, and it is his task to shape it after the divine pattern revealed on Sinai. To choose life and to shape it – this is the demand of Judaism. All that we have – body and sul, wealth and want, pain and pleasure, life and death – must become stepping-stones on the road to holiness and perfection; so many rungs on the ladder placed on earth on which to climb heaven wards. The meaning of the words “which God created to do” [this verse] is: He created the world; but it our task to make it and ourselves perfect.  The all-embracing nature of Jewish Ethics takes every aspect of life into its wide net – science and art, industry and commerce, literature and law. They teach that the Messianic age will dawn only when all the forces of material, intellectual and social life have been harnessed into the service of humanity, when all the prophetic ideals and the visions of the seers of humanity, spread large across Holy Writ, have been realized. Zion’s heights of human perfection will have been attained when holiness sis combined with duty, and when all service is performed from disinterested motives. This is Jewish teaching in excelsis, in its most exalted form. LEHRMAN 29-30

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GEN212 R. Yohanan haSand’lar said: Every assembly that is for the sake of Heaven will endure in the end; but any one that is not for the sake of Heaven will not endure in the end.  Pirkei Avot IV:14.  … The first manifestation of the Almighty in the world was as Creator, the builder of this very world. But He left His work unfinished. For we read that on the seventh day the Almighty “rested from all His work that God had created la’asoth, to do, to act, be active.  Creation was a process that was to continue. And when man appeared, in the Divine image, he became the Almighty’s partner in creation, to continue it.  He became a builder.  Thus we human beings build during our stay on earth: we erect homes, factories, business enterprises, organizations … If you would build structures to last, proof against the ravages of time, learn to become like your Creator, to “walk in all His ways”’ then you will construct as he does.  SINAI2 98

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GEN213 Tongs made with tongs.  Pirkei Avot, V, 8.  Tongs are like scissors; but instead of cutting, they are used to grasp and hold things. To make a pair is not too difficult. You can grasp a piece of metal and hold it over the fire until it becomes pliable; then you can work and hammer it into proper shape. But you would need something to hold the metal to the fire to soften it. You could not use your bare hands. In fact, you would need an existing pair of tongs. But then, the canny thinker will ask with a sly smile, “How was the very first pair made, when none existed yet to let a man hold metal to the flame?” As with the problem of the chicken and egg (which came first?) we find the solution in the Almighty’s six days of creation.  Herein lies a cogent thought about man’s capacities and limitations.  The human has not only a right but an obligation to master and use his world creatively, to invent, refine, transform. Scripture states: “the Almighty blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because in it He rested from all his work which He had created to act” [this verse] – i.e., for man to act. He must continue the work of creation, to bring it ever closer to perfection. Thus each generation has an obligation to improve the world it finds.  We read, “One generation to another shall praise (y’shabach) they works. [Psalms 145:5]  In Rabbinic usage, though, the verb could also mean to improve, to make better. Then the passage can be rendered, “Generation after generation shall improve Thy works.”  Certainly Western man in the last century or two has been doing so with accelerating speed. Electricity, the entire range of products created by technology, atomic power, were not known to previous generations.  In the physical, material realm man hastens to improve things. But by contrast there is the quiet reflection that man for all his inventiveness can only work with what is given, with reality as he finds it.  Man cannot account for the origin or beginnings of things.  Where did the first atom or electron come from? Why is there something rather than nothing?  To render a Biblical verse periphrastically, “The beginning is the wisdom which is reverence of the Lord” Psalms 111:10 Seek the “beginnings” of things, basic origins, and you will find the wisdom of reverence for the Almighty.  SINAI3 96

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GEN215 Holiness is first mentioned in the Torah with regard to Shabbat.  Besides the Kiddush, there are specific actions that man must take to make the Shabbat holy. All of these things have one thing in common: They are fulfillment of physical desires performed for making Shabbat holy.  In addition to the wine, man makes Shabbat holy by preparing and eating the best food of the week and by dressing up in the finest clothes of the week.  The Talmud says that it is a mitzvah to wash one’s body in preparation for Shabbat. Shabbat 25b.  This clearly shows that the Shabbat is made holy through actions that satisfy bodily needs for a spiritual purpose.  AMEMEI 100

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GEN216 Most people, both Jews and non-Jews, associate the idea of the Sabbath with a day or rest from physical activity – R&R, rest and recreation – or taking a break from one’s job. But this definition can’t be based on the idea of the original Shabbat mentioned in the Torah. God made the Shabbat holy, which cannot mean rest and recreation.  AMEMEI 266

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GEN217 The first mention of the concept of holiness in the Torah is related to the concept of time, the Shabbat. Thus, very early in the Torah, Judaism establishes and demonstrates that holiness in time is very significant in Judaism and is holier than anther concept, the holiness of place.  AMEMEI 281

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GEN218 To be sure, there are some beautiful synagogues and there were, of course, great Temples in Jerusalem, the first destroyed by the Babylonians, the second by the Romans.  Indeed, Israel itself, as space consecrated by God as a holy land, is central to the Jewish religion.  But for the majority of Jewish history, the Jews have not been on their land and have not had a Temple.  Rather, the Jewish religion thrives on cathedrals in time rather than cathedrals of space.  The very first act of consecration recorded in the Bible is when God hallowed the Sabbath day. In fact, the first time the word holy is used in the Bible is in connection with the Sabbath day: [this verse].  Similarly, the first commandment (mitzvah) given to the Jewish people upon their emergence from Egypt was the sanctification of the new moon and the new lunar month.  The were to witness the monthly rebirth of the moon and consecrate the time as Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new Jewish month.  Taking this idea further, in other religions space consecrates times.  A geographic location is first chosen for a cathedral or shrine, and only later do actions undertaken within it, such as prayer or acts of confession, become sacred.  In Judaism, the reverse is true.  Special moments and supernatural events that have come to pass in a certain place lend that location its solemnity and sanctity. In other words, time sanctifies space.  BOTEACH 154

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GEN219 God made many wondrous things during the seven days of creation, but none so precious as the Sabbath. Of all the precious moments that dot the Jewish temporal landscape, none is as rich as the Seventh Day. Of far greater significance than the duration of creation is the fact that it was crowned by the Sabbath [this verse], bringing rest and refreshment to the toiling world. The concept of a day of rest, sanctified by the divine example, is one of the greatest spiritual and social contributions to civilization made by the religion of Israel. The creative pause, devoted to spiritual renewal and family, was utterly unknown in the ancient world. In fact, the Jews suffered ridicule on account of their day of rest from some of Rome’s most prolific literary figures, including Seneca, Juvenal, and Tacitus.  … The holy Sabbath is the goal of the week. Yet, our business-oriented world treats rest as enabling further exertion of labor. … Many make the mistake of believing that the Sabbath was given by God to man to reinvigorate himself so that he might be more productive in the coming six days.  … in Judaism the six days of work are all a preparation for the one glorious day of rest. … When man works hard to store up some treasure, it affords him a meaningful day of relaxation in which, unencumbered by material concerns, he can focus on the purpose of his creation, the direction of his life. BOTEACH 157-8

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GEN220 Jewish tradition teaches that work is a source of kavod [honor]. When we have done our economic share, we have a different relationship to what we consume.  The idea that labor is a critical source of human dignity has powerful biblical and rabbinic support. The rabbis required fathers to teach their sons a trade; we would broaden this to include all parents and children. “You will eat the fruit of your labor and be happy, and it will be well with you” says the psalmist. (Psalms 128:2).  The Talmud (Berakhot 8A) interprets this verse to mean “happy” in this world and “well with you” in the world to come, and goes on to point out that reverence for God (yirat shamayim) does not by itself guarantee that things will go well in the next world.  Work is thus seen as having a redemptive power for the person who undertakes it.  Productivity has value beyond the external goods produced. Producing value also has worth in terms of the workers’ experience of the world and their place in it.  … The God in whose image we are created is pictured, from the very first chapter of Genesis, as a working God, one who creates on every one of the first six days and then creates daily, as is stated in the first blessing of the morning service hamehadesh betuvo bekhol yam tamid ma’asey v’reyshit, ‘who is goodness renews the work of Creation every day.” Some people picture perfection as immutable.  Not the Jews.  Thank God that God does finally rest on the seventh day, reminding us that rest, as well as work, is godly. AGTJL 327-8

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GEN221 See [[DEUT125]] Deuteronomy 4:29 seek MORINIS 230-1

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