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Jewish World Review
July 18, 2008
/ 15 Tamuz 5768
The Sanctification and Importance of Time
By
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Familiarity with life is that what makes time speed, but once the world is no longer owned by man and time starts to represent "broken eternity" it becomes an experience, a value and it lasts longer. Time becomes quality time
“This is the burnt offering of the Sabbath on its Sabbath.”
— Numbers 28:10
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With this verse the Torah commands us to bring a special sacrifice on Sabbath in the Temple. The foremost commentator, Rashi, inquiries into the reason why there is a need to state the obvious: Of course a Sabbath offering needs to be brought on Sabbath!
Rashi replies in a every simple way: One may have thought that in case one forgot to bring this offering on one particular Sabbath, one may still bring it on the next Sabbath, so that on the following Sabbath one would be bringing two sacrifices. To make sure that this will not occur the Torah instructs us to bring this sacrifice only on its own Sabbath and not on the next one. Once the day has passed by, the offering is no longer valid.
Although there are definitely occasions where Jewish Law does allow one to make up for certain mitzvas (duties) which were not performed at the right time, this is mainly in a case of duress. In some other cases one may still have the opportunity to perform a mitzvah, but this is only bedi'avad (a posteriori) and not lechatechila (a priori). While the expression "Jewish time" is well known, reflecting a kind of ease with time in which coming too late is not uncommon, it cannot be denied that Judaism is a religion which takes time most seriously. Indeed the first occasion that the Torah speaks about holiness is not in relation to space but with time: The creation of Sabbath as related in the creation chapter. Indeed commencing Sabbath one minute too late or ending it one minute too early may be the violation of its very sanctity.
Sabbath protects man against himself. By nature man is always busy trying to fill time and space with himself. On Sabbath he is asked to do the reverse. He must make space for the rest of creation. As such he must let up and not reign over space and time. He is asked to bow his head and to let time and space do their own thing. With the prohibition not to do "work" on Sabbath, and through the restriction against moving objects around in a public space on this holy day, he learns how to accommodate and give space its own room. The same is true about time. It is not he who decides when Sabbath begins or ends, it is a Power outside himself manifested in the celestial order which determines when this day will start and end. As such he can no longer take time for granted. It suddenly takes on its own life. It is at that moment that man starts to appreciate time.
Familiarity with life is that what makes time speed, but once the world is no longer owned by man and time starts to represent "broken eternity" it becomes an experience, a value and it lasts longer. Time becomes quality time.
Sabbath teaches man how he is able to make more time out of duration. By participating in a festive meal on Sabbath the world begins to get a different face. Spending time together is not just absorbed by the length of time but also by its depths. Songs and words Torah spoken at the table are the components through which every minute does not just have its length but also its distinctiveness.
To be in time is to acknowledge its quality. To set fixed times for meals and other occasions is not just putting order in one's life but also an opportunity to sanctify those moments. A great amount of irregularity is not just creating chaos but also the manifestation of the secularization and profaning of time. It transgresses its sanctity.
This is clearly what the Torah is teaching us in the above mentioned verse. Matters of importance have to be dealt with at their appropriate time. To postpone often means to profane.
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Comment by clicking here. JWR contributor Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo is a world-renowned lecturer and ambassador for Judaism, the Jewish people, the State of Israel and Sephardic Heritage.
© 2007,Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
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