There is only one being created that can appreciate and grasp this concept, man. Every other being survives based on instinct and nature and thus cannot realize the transience of the temporal world around it. Only man, endowed with cognition, can appreciate the significance of Shabbos and the message it espouses. One who has the ability to ponder and comprehend the significance and purpose of life can understand that this whole world is merely a vessel, and a means to a greater existence.
The ability to appreciate the message and significance of Shabbos was essentially created on the sixth day when G-d created man with intellect and the ability to think. Without the creation of man, the message of Shabbos could not have been understood. Shabbos essentially caused there to be a drastic shift in the purpose of creation and that change was only appreciated in the mind of man.
The Torah states “You shall not ignite a fire in any of your surroundings on the day of Shabbos” (Shemos 35:3). The Zohar notes that verse prohibits not just igniting physical fires, but “emotional fires” as well. On Shabbos a person is obligated to reach such a state of contentment that he cannot be moved to anger.
On the words of the verse, “For six days work shall be done and the seventh day is a day of complete rest, it is sacred to Hashem” (Shemos 31:15), Rashi comments that complete rest implies “a permanent resting; not a temporary resting.”
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz zt”l (Sichos Mussar 5731, mama’ar 12) explains that a “temporary resting” refers to one who is not permanently altered by the Shabbos experience. Although he observes Shabbos, and perhaps even sanctifies Shabbos, it does not have a lasting effect on him; it fades away with the puff of the extinguished havdalah candle. A “permanent resting” refers to one who achieves a complete transformation. The Shabbos experience has such a profound effect upon him that he emerges from it a more elevated person than he was when it began. He becomes invigorated and revitalized with a newfound ability to confront the challenges of the week with faith, tranquility, and serenity.
How do such transformations occur? It begins in the mind, when a person has his priorities straight. Throughout the week a person often feels that the labors he engages in are an end unto themselves. He becomes tense with pressures of deadlines, angry because of missed opportunities and failed endeavors, and anxious with the uncertainties of tomorrow. But then Shabbos begins! The sun sets on Friday afternoon and the world is enveloped with holiness and sanctity. Suddenly, he is reminded that all of his weekly activities are secondary. He remembers that this world is merely a receptacle, a medium through which one can achieve holiness and ulterior purpose.
That realization which begins in the recesses of a person’s mind eventually manifests itself in his conduct and how he lives his life. It begins with an understanding of the difference between vessel and content.
As the sun sets on Friday and darkness descends on the world, suddenly, there is light!
