Shabbat as the Center of Time: Remembering and Sanctifying the Day

“Remember the Shabbat day, to sanctify it.” (Shemot 20:8)

Two Dimensions of Remembering Shabbat

In his commentary on this verse, Nachmanides presents two distinct dimensions of the positive commandment to remember the Shabbat day.

He writes: “According to the plain meaning, this is a commandment that we remember the Shabbat every single day, so that it is not forgotten and not confused with the other days. By remembering it constantly, we recall the act of Creation at all times and acknowledge continually that the world has a Creator, who commanded us with this sign, as it is said: ‘For it is a sign between Me and you’ (Shemot 31:13). This is a fundamental principle of faith in God.”

Counting the Days Toward Shabbat

In this explanation, the Ramban relies on the Mechilta, which states: “Rabbi Yitzchak says: Do not count as others count, but count for the sake of Shabbat.”

The Ramban explains that Rabbi Yitzchak understands the commandment “Remember the Shabbat day” as expressing a fundamental difference between how Israel counts the days of the week and how other nations do: “The nations count the days of the week for the sake of the days themselves. Each day has its own name, or they are named after celestial bodies, as among the Christians, or after other entities. Israel, however, counts all the days for the sake of Shabbat: first day toward Shabbat, second day toward Shabbat. This itself is part of the commandment to remember it every single day.”

Among the nations of the world, each day of the week stands on its own as an independent unit with a distinct name. In many languages, these names are linked to celestial bodies or pagan deities, such as Sunday, the day of the sun, and Monday, the day of the moon.

In contrast, the Jewish people are commanded to constantly remember Shabbat by counting the days of the week as a sequence that leads to the climax of the week: Shabbat. Through remembering Shabbat in this way, we continually recall the act of Creation and affirm that there is a Creator of the world.

What Does “To Sanctify It” Mean?

All of this explains the phrase “Remember the Shabbat day.” But what is the meaning of the words “to sanctify it”?

Here the Ramban adds a second dimension: “The meaning of ‘to sanctify it’ is that our remembrance of it should be such that it is holy in our eyes, as it is said: ‘You shall call the Shabbat a delight, the holy day of the Lord honored’ (Yeshayahu 58:13).”

Shabbat as a Holy Day of the Soul

The commandment to remember Shabbat is meant to recall the act of Creation and to acknowledge that the world has a Creator. Therefore, remembering Shabbat and refraining from labor on it must be done with the intention of sanctification.

Shabbat is not merely a day of physical rest from exhausting labor. It is a holy day, a day on which we are meant to clear our minds of daily worries and grant rest and delight to the soul: “The reason that rest should be in our eyes because it is a holy day is so that we turn away from the preoccupations of worldly thoughts and the vanities of time, and give delight to our souls in the ways of God, to go to the sages and the prophets to hear the word of God, as it is said: ‘Why are you going to him today? It is neither a new moon nor a Shabbat’ (Melachim II, 4:23), for this was their custom.”

Remembering Shabbat, then, is not only an act of memory, but a weekly reorientation of life toward holiness, meaning, and connection to the Creator.