How wonderful is the Shabbat (Sabbath) for those who observe it diligently and become privy to its inner sanctum of sanctity!  The more we penetrate into its essence, the more we will want to invest in enhancing our observance of this unique day.

The first mention of the Shabbat is in conjunction with the conclusion of the creation of Heaven and Earth.  Here the Sabbath is described as the final, crowning touch to G-d's masterpiece:

…"And the Heavens and the earth were finished, and their entire array.  On the seventh day, G-d completed His work which He had made, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  G-d blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it He abstained from all His work which G-d created to make."     Genesis 1:31-2:3

"The Heavens and the earth were finished." − They were completed, and nothing was lacking.

Not only did they come into being when G-d created them; what was more, they were created as pre-planned units that fit perfectly into the overall, master plan of the great Artist and Creator who did not rest until His entire masterpiece was complete and perfect.

The Hebrew verse uses the word melachah in describing the Creation.  For lack of a better term in English, this is translated as "work", but the term also implies a fulfillment and completion of one's thoughts and intentions.  Thus, there continues to be an intrinsic connection between Creator and creation even after the object created is complete and whole.

So long as the work created remains in existence, it is fulfilling the will of its creator.  Even if the original craftsman is not there before your eyes, so long as the original mechanism which he created and set in motion continues to operate, it is his agent to accomplish the realization of his thoughts and intentions.  Every facet of the instrument he created, as it were, every screw, nut and bolt, is there because he willed it to be there and that it function according to his blueprints.

So it is with the Master of the Universe, the original Creator, whose works continue to function, whose creatures continue to breath, live, act, and perpetuate His Creation.

This applies well to the laws of nature, which continue, unabated, to faithfully govern our existence, are His agents no less than the seas, mountains, and vast plains which He created.

Scientists who spend days and nights bent over their test tubes devise ways to separate one element from another.  They experiment, calculate, and learn how to combine elements to create new compounds.  They investigate the secrets of nature and aspire to consult with G-d Himself in order to reveal the essence of His creation.

The Creator permits Man to analyze the agents He created to fulfill His will.  We may divide them into molecules, atoms, neutrons, protons, and ever more miniscule particles.  

Man (and man alone) is granted the power to probe into the nature of creatures so tiny that his eye cannot perceive them with even the strongest of microscope lenses.  Only man scans the skies above in an attempt to determine the nature of heavenly bodies so distant that we perceive the light of what they were hundreds of years ago, not what they are today. Similarly, He allows us to explore the wonders of His wondrous universe, and to investigate the various powers He assigned to "natural forces" in His creation.  

Of all G-d's creatures, Man alone has been granted the privilege of gaining a glimpse of the Creator's infinite wisdom as it found expression in His universe.  Only man is allowed an insight into the Master's infinite strength. 

But man is limited to observing the works of the Creator; it is folly to believe that he is therefore able to grasp the nature or the dimensions of the Creator Himself.  Only a fool would propose a project to research the properties of the Creator by collecting appropriate data and analyzing it.  G-d cannot be put into a test tube; the dimensions of His powers and attributes cannot be measured and quantified.

Imagine an astounding timepiece, the like of which has never been seen.  Would it make sense to take it to pieces and analyze how it was built, in order to discover the nature of the watchmaker who made it?  If we scrutinize a masterful painting, and break it down into its component parts, will we come to know the artist who created it?

Not only the virtuoso who created the masterpiece will elude us; so, too, will the thoughts and intentions which led him to create his magnificent works in the first place remain beyond our grasp.

Imagine an even more presumptuous team of researchers.  These minds wish not only to explore the nature of the primal Creator, but also to replicate Him.

What folly!  Has man − even the most distinguished and learned − ever managed to create even a mosquito from scratch? 

Imagine a laboratory team of the world's greatest men of science which compiles a list of the chemicals that make up a single mosquito and the quantity required of each one.    

They assemble all the raw materials need, and proceed to build a mosquito.  Once the structure is completed – body, head, wings, legs, antennae and internal organs – will the mosquito come to life?  Will it fly, buzz, bite, suck blood and lay eggs?

Certainly not; only the Creator of Life can bring the tiniest bed bug to life, much less a chimpanzee, a peacock, a horse or a whale.  Is there any need to state that man cannot create his own kind, no matter how sophisticated his tools and well-equipped his laboratory?

How much more ridiculous would be an attempt to replicate the First Source, the Power that created the first living soul! 

Yet, we find again and again that man attempts to describe the Beginning, to define the point of genesis of the universe.  Like the generation of Babel, he tries to climb up to the Heavens, to gather data on the Creator, to reduce Him to measurable dimensions and to quantify His powers. 

The flaw lies in their basic presumption that since they can formulate many of the laws of nature which G-d chose to implant in His creation, they can also define the Creator Himself. 

The fact is that man cannot create, ex nihilo, even one single atom, not its physical aspect, nor the energy it embodies.  The forces trapped within the atom derive from the force of the Creator Himself; how can mere man hope to duplicate them?

"Wherever in the universe we find evidence of active life, or of intention which gives rise to the action of a living organism, we will likewise discover that we cannot replicate the organism in question by merely assembling at a given point all the elements that comprise the organism in question.

"In every case, anyone who wishes to replicate a living organism cannot do so without the involvement and active assistance of the Creator of the Universe, the Master Thinker, who grants life, who sets His limitations upon life, and is omnipotent.

- The Kuzari, First Essay, Paragraph 77

If only modern every innovation were taken within the framework of the values of the ancient Sabbath, if our knowledge of this world were integrated harmoniously with our acknowledgement of the Creator, if man remained fully cognizant of his Maker, how much better a place the world would become!

No longer would man declare with arrogance: "We will believe only in what our senses perceive!"

What pearls of wisdom will be added to man's treasurehouse of knowledge when the world's greatest minds no longer deny Nature its supreme Creator.  At that time, the greatest researcher will at once and the same time, serve as the high priest in the sanctuary of the Sabbath, to enhance the honor of G-d's Name in this world. 

Men of science will delve into the greatest wonders of nature in order to find pearls, rubies, and diamonds from which to decorate the crown of the Master of the World who created them. Indeed, it is He and none other who created the very minds which discovered them.

They will proclaim G-d's works in the heavens and on earth, as did the prophet of old: "Lift your eyes on high and behold: Who created all these?"  -  Isaiah 40:26

The Shabbat is the Sabbath of Creation.  On the first Friday, the Heavens and the earth were complete.  All stood ready, all was in place, but the process of the Creation had not yet been completed.  The final act of Creation was the institution of the Sabbath: "And G-d completed on the seventh day His work that He had made."

All that had been created and fashioned and made during the six days of Creation reached its ultimate purpose in fulfilling G-d's will with the creation of the Sabbath.  So, too, will all mankind achieve true perfection through the Shabbat, because this is the day which G-d blessed and sanctified, and raised above all other points in time.

Man is replete with self-contradictions and opposing forces.  He comprises the dust of the earth, yet houses a touch of the infinite and Divine, for G-d Himself breathed of His breath into his nostrils and rendered the dust of man a living soul that is, like its Source, eternal.

Thanks to this G-d-like soul, man is capable of climbing to great heights; he is able to lift his eyes heavenward to seek G-d's guidance and to attempt to understand the wisdom which our Creator has chosen to share with us.  Thus he is equipped to that which is good and right in G-d's eyes, so that G-d's Name will be sanctified in this world.

The First Sabbath!  It is G-d's gift to His creatures, destined to accompany them through the trials and travails of their journey of life.  When the six days of the workweek leave man broken and despairing, the Sabbath Queen comes to elevate him, to salve his ills, and to gladden his heavy heart.

The Sabbath was included as an intrinsic part of the Creation.  The six weekdays which precede it, and the physical world they embrace, are dependent for their blessing and sanctity on the seventh day, the Shabbat.  G-d blessed this day, and hallowed it, not only for the sake of the seventh day, but also for the sake of its effect on the entire week, that it be blessed and holy.

Heaven and earth will smile upon man, and they will bless all the work of his hands, when the spirit of Shabbat permeates his being every day of the week.