Judaism does not aspire to cutting man off from his physical environment. Instead, it strives to enable man to harness the physical world and utilize its riches for spiritual purposes. Jewish doctrine does not reject the realm of science and technology, but teaches us how best to exploit all that science has to offer us for spiritual growth. How can this be accomplished? This is one of the lessons of Shabbat.

Mankind is beset with difficulties and challenges. The solutions are not to be found by cutting oneself off from the culture of technology and science, as some religions suggest. The key to solving our problems lies in avoiding a dependence on material abundance and physical pleasures. On Shabbat we experience hands-on practice in releasing ourselves from the dictates of the technology culture. We refrain from performing any action which the Torah considers creative work.

The Mishnah in the Tractate Shabbat (73) enumerates the types of actions considered as “creative” and therefore forbidden on the Seventh Day. This list is based on the Torah's report of the tasks performed by the craftsmen who helped to build and erect the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. These acts are termed “melachah” because they involve the realization of a mental plan or thought. There are thirty-nine types of melachah from which we refrain on Shabbat. We find an allusion to this in that the word melachah appears exactly thirty-nine times in the Torah.

The fourth of the Ten Commandments specifies how we are to observe Shabbat: “You shall not perform any melachah…” (Exodus 20:10 and again in Deuteronomy 5:14). In neither instance does the Torah specify which acts fall into the category of melachah. However, we find another mention of the Shabbat repeated immediately before the commandments concerning the building of the Tabernacle: “Six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy to you..." (Exodus 35:2).

The verses which follow immediately afterward deal with the processes of collecting raw materials for the Tabernacle, building its various components, and assembling them. Our Sages tell us that the two matters – Shabbat and the Tabernacle – were juxtaposed because each melachah performed in building the Tabernacle is prohibited on Shabbat.

We find another parallelism between Shabbat and the Tabernacle. In Genesis, we are given an accounting of each day of Creation. On the eve of the seventh day, the text tells us:

“And G-d completed on the seventh day His work (melachah) which He had done...”  (Genesis 2:2).

We find a similar expression used in the Book of Leviticus when the verse describes the construction of the Tabernacle:

“And Moses completed the work (melachah)” (Exodus 40:33).

Both verses announce the conclusion of a creative process, the melachah of the Six Days of Creation, on the one hand, and the construction and erection of the Tabernacle, which was a microcosm of the universe. Just as the Creator brought His act of Creation to a conclusion with the onset of Shabbat, Moses concluded the erection of the Tabernacle, the physical representation of that universe. Moses and the People of Israel no longer performed the melachah involved in building the Tabernacle, because it was finished and complete. So, too, was the world complete with the onset of the first Shabbat. Each week, we, too, refrain from performing any melachah as we commemorate that very first seventh day (Mishnah, Tractate Shabbat  49a).

The end purpose of the Tabernacle was identical with that of the Creation of the universe. This world, as we know it, was created to allow Man the opportunity to fuse the realm of the physical with that of the spirit by using concrete objects to attain a spiritual goal. The fact that Man – and only Man – is capable of elevating a purely physical object to a higher realm, by making it a means of obtaining greater spirituality, is the greatest wonder of the universe. So, too, the tabernacle, of which G-d told Moses: “And they shall make a Tabernacle, and I shall dwell in their midst” (Exodus 35:8). The People of Israel built and set up a physical structure which would serve as the site where they might most easily sense G-d's presence in this world.

When we refrain from melachah on the seventh day we emulate our Creator. G-d no longer performed melachah. Upon the completion of the newly-formed universe which joins the realms of the physical and spiritual by concretizing thought into physical objects on this day, G-d ceased all form of melachah. In emulation, we, refrain from melachah on this day. Instead, we devote the seventh day to spiritual matters: our bond with our Maker, our bonds with our family and fellow man, prayer, study, songs of praise, and discussions of insights into the weekly portion of the Torah. On this day, we employ our spirituality to effect a union of the realms of body and soul.

The common denominator of all thirty-nine forms of melachah is that they involve work which is creative. Any product fashioned through one or more of these thirty-nine types of action is not allowed on Shabbat. In contrast, purely spiritual creations are permitted on Shabbat, and they play an important role in observing the Shabbat. On this day, we are encouraged to climb the ladder of spirituality, to strive for greater perfection of our character, and to nurture our souls. All these enhance the spiritual powers of Man.

When all physical creativity is set aside, the spirit is free to blossom and grow. When G-d gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai, not a bird twittered, not a fowl fluttered its wings, not a cow mooed, and not a horse neighed. The universe fell silent. It was then that G-d spoke to the People of Israel, saying, “I am the L-rd, your G-d, who took you out of Egypt...” When silence reigned over the physical universe, the voice which declares the most fundamental of truths could be heard: It is G-d alone who rules. 

This is the essence of Shabbat: When we conclude our preoccupation with the physical world, when we set aside the tools of our trade and disengage our minds from the whirlwind of daily hustle and bustle, our souls are free once again to hearken to the Voice at Sinai: There is none beside Him.

By observing Shabbat, the Jew heightens his awareness of the roots of his soul. The verse tells us: “And the Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbat - to make the Shabbat...” 

What is the distinction between 'observing Shabbat' and 'making Shabbat?' Shabbat is not merely a day when we are at ease to do nothing; to the contrary, it is a day when we strive to build “to make the Shabbat” - to build our spirituality, to elevate our inner being to new heights. It is a time when we actively build ourselves up, so that we emerge on a higher plane than before. On this day, Shabbat, we build the bridges which bring us closer to spiritual perfection. No wonder that we sing the praises of the Shabbat as “the most cherished of days.”