Book Review: Abraham Heschel's "The Sabbath"

This is an excellent book, but it demands to be read carefully and repeatedly. In many respects, the book is like poem on the Sabbath. It is meditative and philosophical in many places, but it is firmly rooted in Judaism and the Hebrew Bible. Heschel was a rabbi, and the book is written for Jews, but there is much of value in this book for Christians as well. Unfortunately, many Christians do not observe the Sabbath, and many do not understand the treatment of the Sabbath in Scripture. Such Christians may find the book hard to follow in places, especially if they have not had much exposure to Judaism, for the book presupposes a basic familiarity both with Judaism and the teaching of Scripture (i.e., the Hebrew Bible) on the Sabbath. Nonetheless, even Christians who lack such background can read the book with profit.

            

Heschel’s book contains some important meditations on the nature of life, society, and time. However, the Sabbath is the unifying theme, and so these subjects are subordinated to the Sabbath. Heschel discusses the importance of time in human life, and he explains how the Sabbath helps people both to manage their time well and to improve the quality of their lives. Heschel rightly observes that one of the chief problems in life is that of dealing with the pressure to accept society’s values. Popular culture tells us that our personal value is largely measured in terms of how successful we are, what kind of car we drive, how we dress, and so on. The pressure to accept this way of thinking can be hard to resist; and, as Heschel points out, many of us devote our lives to trying to secure our personal value through the pursuit of wealth and success. However, in pursuing these goals, we often find ourselves both deeply unhappy and divided from God, who is our true happiness. One way of dealing with this problem is to retreat from society, as many monks do. Another way of dealing with this problem is to remain in society and face it head on by resisting the materialist values of society and clinging to God. Prayer can help in this endeavor, but so can the Sabbath. In fact, the Sabbath typically involves much prayer, but it is much more than a single session of prayer – it is a whole day that is set aside each week to dedicate oneself to the things of God. If we can observe the Sabbath faithfully and well – that is, if we can observe it in the proper spirit – then our Sabbath observance will serve as a shield against the materialist values of society, and it will draw us closer to God. This is one of the central points of Heschel’s book, and I think that it is absolutely correct.

There is nothing mysterious here about the benefits of the Sabbath. Think about it. Properly observing the Sabbath requires, at the very least, that one set aside one’s work to relax, pray, and celebrate. In fact, the Jewish observance of the Sabbath – and I think that Christians should take notes here – requires one not merely to celebrate but to feast. Of course, feasting doesn’t mean stuffing oneself to the point of passing out, as many Americans do on Thanksgiving. True feasting occurs when family or friends gather to enjoy (not simply devour) a good meal while also enjoying one another’s company. To feast on the Sabbath is to feast in this way while also maintaining an awareness of God’s blessings. Suppose that you did this faithfully week after week. Do you really suppose that this wouldn’t draw you closer to God and help you to resist the materialist values of society? Of course it would. I think that to a large extent, though not entirely, the value of the Sabbath can be explained in much the same way that the value of prayer can be explained. Done right, the Sabbath is something like a regular day of prayer. As I said, one also relaxes, celebrates, and even feasts, but all of this done prayerfully.

So, the Sabbath involves prayer, which helps draw us to God, and it helps us to achieve some measure of independence from the more pernicious influences of society. For Jews, the Sabbath also involves synagogue attendance and religious study; and, for Christians, it should involve church attendance and religious study. All this, of course, helps to draw us closer to God as well. Then there is the relaxation, celebration, and feasting. Again, done right – i.e., prayerfully – this too helps draw us to God, but it is also helps to recharge us and supplies us with strength to face the new week. Then there are the many benefits – both spiritual and domestic – that derive from celebrating the Sabbath with our families at home.

I have just sketched a few of Heschel’s insights into the benefits of the Sabbath, but there are many more to be found in the book. I haven’t really said anything here about the nature of the Sabbath or its institution in Scripture, things about which Heschel has a great deal to say. For example, Heschel draws an important – and biblical – distinction between labor and toil. He also discusses the connection between the weekly Sabbath and the eternal Sabbath rest that God will win for us at the end of time. Of course, Christians believe that Christ is the Messiah and that He has already inaugurated the kingdom of God; but, both Christians and Jews believe that we still await our eternal Sabbath rest, and there is much that Heschel says about the connections between the weekly Sabbath and the eternal Sabbath rest that Christians could learn from.

There are many stories about rabbis in the book that are both enjoyable and educational. Christians may benefit from these too; I certainly did. I particularly benefitted from the story about Rabbi Judah ben Ilai. Here is the story about him, taken from the Talmud:

This was the practice of Rabbi Judah ben Ilai—on the eve of the Sabbath a basin filled with hot water was brought to him, and he washed his face, hands and feet, and he wrapped himself and sat in fringed linen robes, and he was like an angel of the Lord of hosts.

The devotion of this great sage to the Sabbath is inspiring. As Heschel remarks, and as Jewish tradition has long taught, one should prepare diligently for the Sabbath. In this story from the Talmud about Rabbi Judah ben Ilai, we see that he not only prepared for the Sabbath diligently, but that he properly acknowledged – and was awed by – the holiness of this day. At first blush, this idea might seem strange to Christians, but it’s really not. Just as Christians prepare for Christmas with great anticipation and acknowledge the holiness of the time when God became man, so too they can prepare for each Sabbath with great anticipation of the eternal rest that Christ has won for us. Jewish tradition teaches that we can experience a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath rest during the weekly Sabbath, and Christians can accept this too. After all, this teaching is rooted in Scripture. Judaism understands the Sabbath day, i.e., Saturday, to be holy itself (Genesis 2:3). Christians who celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday will not view the day as being holy itself, but they will nonetheless view the day as special, as it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus.

This is not the place to examine in detail how Jews celebrate the Sabbath, and it is certainly not the place to suggest how Christians might decide to celebrate the Sabbath. However, I would like to urge Christian readers to observe the Sabbath by attending church, praying, and studying Scripture. I would also like to urge them to refrain from work on the Sabbath – including cooking – and to relax, celebrate, and feast. After all, Scripture commands this. 

I am grateful to Heschel for writing such a wonderful book. I look forward to reading it again on numerous Sunday afternoons as I celebrate the Sabbath with my family. More generally, I am grateful to Judaism for helping to teach me the value of the Sabbath.

Finally, I should mention that the introduction to the book was written by Heschel’s daughter, Susannah Heschel. She is a chaired professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College, and her introduction is a good read itself.