We need not be religious fanatics in order to recognize the importance of having a national day of rest. It is enough just to glance at the following open letter circulated by several important organizations in the ranking Swiss newspaper, Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

Unrest is one of the most striking signs of our generation. It is the rule at our workplaces, and prevalent during our free time. Gradually, it is also taking over our weekly day of rest. It is making inroads on our good health, and plays havoc with our nerves. Our spirit and our souls are also falling victim to discontent and malaise. It leaves us no free time to concentrate and denies us any opportunity to reflect on the purpose of life, or to consider whether we are traveling along the right path in our journey of life. 

A day of rest is an invaluable resource for our nation and our homeland. It provides us a moment's rest and emotional calm to refresh our physical strength. In this way, we are fit to          function competently during the workdays that follow. Unfortunately, in our times the plague of unrest has stricken the blessed repose of our weekly day of rest. The din of the radio and television, and all the rest of the clamor of civilization, impinge upon the calm and harmony of the day which is intended to refresh and renew,

Is it not possible to enjoy our day of rest in total peace and quiet? Is it not feasible to restrict television and radio broadcasts one day a week, and to hearken to the voice of the Creator? Are we not capable of leaving aside our motor vehicles parked in the garage, and setting out on foot to take in the wondrous sights of the world of Nature?

How healthful and refreshing it is for the body to take the time to calmly look around us, and how valuable it is to the soul!

Let us all lend a hand to restoring the weekly day of rest to its former place of honor as a day devoted to peace and reflection.

This letter was signed by the Swiss Association of Physicians, the National Teachers' Union, the National Merchants' Association, the Swiss Organization for the Family, and other gentile organizations. Of course they were not referring to the Jewish concept of Shabbat, but to the generally accepted day of rest in the Western world, Sunday.

We are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who first gave the world the invaluable gift of the concept of a weekly day of rest. How much more should we guard this day and contribute toward protecting it from those who would destroy its peace and harmony!

In the year 1935, Mr. Meir Dizengoff, Tel Aviv's first mayor, who served his city for twelve years, wrote to his fellow Tel Avivians, in an open letter:

“In my opinion, all those who profane Shabbat publicly in Tel Aviv, our first Hebrew city, without being compelled to do so to preserve human life, are destroying the soul of the nation. Let him be remembered as a traitor to his people! The Shabbat is the sign of our national unity, and all those who attack it are attacking the unity of the People of Israel. Protect the Shabbat, and the Shabbat will protect us!”

What takes place today in the streets of Tel Aviv on Friday night? The traffic is overwhelming, the traffic jams are at their height, and horns blare as impatient drivers give rein to their annoyance at having to spend a free night crawling along a thoroughfare at a snail's pace. Sunday morning, when the workweek begins again in Israel, the well-baked Sabra is back at his desk, but his eyes are half closed, and his yawns bespeak a sleepless night. He really needs is a short vacation so he can recover from yesterday's vacation. 

The tragedy is that the overwhelming majority have no inkling that there is an alternative, one which would provide true relaxation and renewal, both physical and spiritual. We have a divine promise that there will always be a segment of the Jewish People who observe the Shabbat as commanded by the Torah:

“And the Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbat, to make the Shabbat for their generations. An eternal covenant, between the Children of Israel, it shall be a sign, for all time” (Exodus 31:16-17).

Our ancestors gave all they had in order not to violate the Shabbat. In return, the Shabbat protected them loyally. For thousands of years, our enemies have tried to wrest the Shabbat from us. Our adversaries always sensed that the key to our survival was the Shabbat. Throughout the ages, the first line of attack was the observance of the sanctity of Shabbat. “Eliminate the Shabbat,” they told themselves, “and we will win out over the Jews and their Torah. It is the Shabbat which has kept the nation alive and vital during its long years of exile.”

By all rules of human logic, the People of Israel should no longer exist today. The People of Israel ought to be found only in the chronicles of history. It is not human logic, however, which determines the fate of the Jewish People. The Creator promised His people thousands of years ago that Shabbat would always be “an eternal sign… between Me and the Children of Israel...” An eternal oath can never be revoked; the Shabbat will always continue to be the companion of the Jewish People, forever, until the end of time.