"If you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord."
Isaiah 58:13-14
Dear Friends,
Israel in Focus: This is our ongoing effort to share with you the stories behind the headlines, to help you understand not only what Israel is going through, but who Israel is. To see, beyond the news of conflict and crisis, the quiet, eternal rhythms that have shaped this land and its people for thousands of years.
This month, we want to take you inside one of the most beautiful and enduring of those rhythms: Shabbat.
Every Friday afternoon in Israel, something remarkable begins to unfold. As the sun lowers toward the western horizon, the pace of the country slows. By the time the sun touches the rooftops of Jerusalem, the buses have stopped. The shops are closing. The streets that buzzed only hours before grow quiet. And across the land, from Eilat in the south to the hills of the Galilee in the north, families gather. Candles are lit. Challah is broken. Wine is blessed. A father places his hands on the heads of his children. A mother whispers ancient prayers. And the country, in a way no other nation on earth does, simply rests.
This is Shabbat.
To understand Israel, you must understand Shabbat. And to understand Shabbat, you must return to the very beginning.
A Rhythm Built into Creation
The first time we encounter Shabbat in Scripture is not in the giving of the Law, not in the building of the Tabernacle, not in the long march through the wilderness. We encounter it in Genesis, on the seventh day of creation itself.
"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made." — Genesis 2:2-3
God did not rest because He was weary. The Creator of galaxies does not grow tired. He rested to set apart something holy. He blessed the seventh day. He sanctified it. He wove rest into the fabric of time, before there were nations or covenants, before there were temples or laws. Shabbat was given to the world before it was given to Israel.
For every human being, then, Shabbat declares a truth we are tempted to forget: God is the Creator. We are not the source of our own provision. Life is not only about producing, achieving, and striving. We were made for more than labor. We were made for communion with the One who made us.
An Eternal Sign Between God and Israel
But while the rhythm of Shabbat was placed in creation for all humanity, God gave the covenant of Shabbat specifically to Israel and to those who chose to become part of this covenant.
"The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath… it is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever." — Exodus 31:16-17
For the Jewish people, Shabbat became something more than a day of rest. It became a sign of belonging. A weekly reminder that they are God's covenant people. A testimony, repeated every seven days, that the Lord who delivered them from Egypt has not forgotten them.
Throughout history, when Jewish communities were scattered across the world through exile, persecution, expulsion, and unimaginable suffering, Shabbat remained. In the cellars of Spain during the Inquisition; in the ghettos of Europe during the Holocaust; in the camps where so much was stripped away, the lighting of Shabbat candles continued, often in secret, always with hope.
It has been said that more than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jewish people. The candles lit on Friday evening have been a thread of light running through some of the darkest chapters in human history. They have preserved identity. They have connected generations. They have testified, again and again, that the God of Israel is faithful.
A Gift of Rest in a Restless World
And yet, Shabbat is not only a sign. It is a gift.
"Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God." — Deuteronomy 5:13-14
In a world that never stops, that demands more and more from us, that measures our worth by our productivity, Shabbat is God's gentle but firm command: Stop. Breathe. Trust.
Shabbat brings rest to weary bodies. It brings peace to anxious minds. It brings unity to fractured families, drawing them around a table where phones are silenced, and stories are shared. It restores spiritual strength. It teaches trust. It reminds us, in a way nothing else quite can, that we do not hold the world together. God does.
This is something Israel has needed, perhaps more than ever, in these last few difficult years. We have walked with families who have endured the horrors of war. We have stood beside mothers whose sons are still serving in uniform, beside widows whose husbands did not come home, beside displaced families whose neighborhoods were reduced to rubble. And we have watched, again and again, the quiet miracle of Shabbat enter their homes.
A family with nothing else to give still lights two candles. A soldier home for a brief leave from the front simply sits at the table with his family. A grandmother, displaced from her home in the north, still bakes a small challah and blesses it with trembling hands. In the middle of grief, Shabbat brings a holy pause. In the middle of fear, it offers a moment of peace. In the middle of loss, it whispers that God is still there.
An Invitation to All People
The covenant sign of Shabbat was given specifically to Israel. But the wisdom and blessing of Shabbat are an invitation to all who love the God of Israel. The prophet Isaiah looked ahead to a day when those from every nation would join themselves to the Lord and honor His Sabbath.
"Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord… everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant, even them I will bring to My holy mountain." — Isaiah 56:6-7
For you, dear friend, honoring the principles of Shabbat may not look the same as it does in a Jewish home. But it can mean setting aside time for worship. Valuing peace over hurry. Resting from constant striving. Remembering the God of Israel. Aligning your life with the holy rhythms He set in motion from the beginning.
To honor Shabbat, in any way that is faithful to your walk with God, is to say with your life: I trust You. I am not the center. You are.
A Foretaste of the World to Come
Finally, Shabbat looks forward. The prophets spoke of a future age when all flesh would gather to worship the Lord, when the brokenness of this world would be healed, when peace would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
"From one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord." — Isaiah 66:23
Every Shabbat is a small taste of that promised day. Every flickering candle is a window into the world to come. Every quiet table is a glimpse of restoration, of communion with God, of the peace that will one day fill all things.
This is why, in Israel, even those who are suffering still light the candles. Even those who have lost so much still bless the bread. Even those who are afraid still whisper the ancient words. Because Shabbat is not only about today. It is about what is coming. It is about who is faithful.
Standing With Israel This Shabbat
Friends, as we share these reflections with you, we are continuing our work on the ground here in Israel: delivering food, supporting widows and orphans, caring for Holocaust survivors, walking alongside soldiers and their families, and helping displaced communities find their way home. Every gift you give helps us bring not only practical aid, but the hope and peace that Shabbat itself proclaims.
If this message has moved your heart, please consider standing with us. Your support carries the love of the Body of Messiah into homes that desperately need it, and it sustains the quiet, holy work of restoration that we are blessed to do each week.
Donate today.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Barry & Batya
