Published October 18, 2009
The first six days of creation are clouded in mystery. Yet, in the same vein, Shabbat - the day by which Hashem had completed His work and abstained from all His work that He had done (B’reishit 2:2) - is pregnant with paradox. For we are told in the following verse that, “G-d blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because He abstained from all His work which G-d created to make.”
How do we understand this last phrase, “created to make”, which seems to imply that on Shabbat there was yet something accomplished (Artscroll)? A simple solution is to say that the novelty bestowed to us on Shabbat by Hashem was, in fact, the very notion that we can desist from creative work in a competitive world that we have been commanded to fill and subdue (ibid 1:28).
Perhaps, following the Vilna Gaon we might understand the concept of Hashem’s abstaining from work as a form of interruption, something adjourned, as it were. The implication is that despite the cessation of creative work, the completion of the mission of Creation still needs to be actualized.
Indeed, what Hashem did “do” on Shabbat was to bless and sanctify this holy day. One instance of this blessing is the renewal of procreative strength (Ibn Ezra). Thus, on Shabbat Hashem offered us a singular opportunity not only to fulfill our mission of being fruitful but also to partner with Him in the ongoing universal process of populating (“making”) this world (cf. Radak).
Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff
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