Who asks a mohel about the number seven? Our number is eight. Nevertheless, eight is for another time. It is beyond the order and routine of seven.
Seven is typified by the sanctity of Shabbos. Each week is influenced by the Shabbos that preceded it and by the build up toward the following Shabbos. In other words, seven represents the yearning to infuse the mundane with the spiritual.
The seven days of Shabbos mean sanctifying our days via a connection with the divine. As they said about Shammai, “All his days he would eat in honor of Shabbos. If he found a choice animal, he would say: This is for Shabbos. If he then found another one choicer than it, he would set aside the second for Shabbos and eat the first, … continually rendered his eating an act of honoring Shabbos.” Perhaps this practice was based on the ability of Shabbos to influence every day of the week.
At the same time, the seven days of the week are largely comprised of the days of work. These routine days represent an order of productivity that can’t be overlooked in the countdown toward Shabbos. I have had occasion to mark a day on the calendar and anticipate it only to realize that I was ignoring the many moments that were going to occur in the interim. Seven teaches us to make the most of each day, being present in the moment and galvanizing its potential to be great here and now.
This was the way of Hillel, “All his actions, including those on a weekday, were for the sake of Heaven, as it’s stated: “Blessed be the L-rd, day by day…meaning that G-d gives a blessing for each and every day.”
