It's been a while since I did a post on the weekly parasha, and this one, Ki Tisa, is so very shabbosdiche because (among other things) it contains an extended section on the observance of the Shabbat. Moses is up on the mountain here, receiving the Law, as he has been for the past few parashot, and right at the very end (not of the parasha but of the giving of the Law), we have this (Exodus 31:12-18):
And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I the Lord have consecrated you. You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. He who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his kin. Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and was refreshed.
When He finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God.
Of course, Moses comes down to find his people dancing around a golden calf and, well, things get ugly. But it's notable that the revelation ends with this lengthy admonition on keeping the Sabbath. In so many ways, Shabbat is the glue that has kept the Jewish People together through the ages, and the final verses of the commandment have been made into a lovely song, one of my favorites, V'shamru.
V’Shamru Vnei Yisrael et ha-shabbat, La’asot et ha-shabbat L’dorotam, brit olam: Beini uven Bnei Yisrael ote he l’olam, ki sheshet yamim asa Adonai et Ha-shamayim v’-et ha-aretz, uvayom ha-sh’viyi shavat vayinafash.
Shabbat Shalom.
