Shabbat as a celebration of time in A.J. Heschel's teaching

Abstract

The subject of the analysis in this article (Shabbat as a celebration of time in  A.J. Heschel's teaching) is the Jewish holy day - the Sabbath, which was described with unusual skill and depth by Abraham Joshua Heschel mainly in the work "The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man". This book beautifully describes the rabbinical, Kabbalistic and Hasidic understanding of the Sabbath experience. The author skillfully links here the old and venerable Jewish heritage with the situation of modern people. In this work, Heschel developed one of the main motives of his thought - the idea of holiness in time. He presents Judaism as a religion of time and indicates the essence and significance of time in the life of an individual Jew and entire communities. Heschel is not so much convincing about the idea of the Sabbath, it is not so much proof of the need to observe the sanctity of the day, but rather shows its meaning and manner of celebration. As the Jewish Rabbi argues, experiencing the Sabbath is not about merely abstaining from physical activity, but about achieving the right state of spirit, trying to "testing" of saving reality. Observing the Sabbath is not only abstaining from work, but also creating a menucha, rest, which is also a celebration. Specific commandments regarding the Sabbath celebration are simply used to fulfill the mitzvah, because for Heschel mitzvah is "prayer in the form of an act". The publication will sequentially present: the Sabbath holiness as understood by Heschel, his ways of sanctifying and making eternal that day, and the proper way of celebration.