The Rabbi had just finished explaining the importance of the Neilah Service at the end of Yom Kippur. Neilah is said as the sun is going down and literally means closing (or locking) and refers to the closing of the gates of all the prayers of Yom Kippur. Just then, as the services were about to end, a brash voiced man directly behind me began to spew. “I don’t understand why I can’t wear leather shoes? Why I can’t watch the ball game? Why do we have all these restrictions?

For sure, this has to be a test, I thought. Here literally, at the most holy moment of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar is a stranger complaining loudly about restrictions.

I turned around to address this man. “Sir I like the”…..I paused, trying to find a euphemism for the word “restrictions.” But then again, why try to buffer the word restrictions? It is restrictions!

“Sir, I like the restrictions. The restrictions I have taken on have only improved my life.”

As someone from the congregation shushed us, I told the man I would be happy to talk to him when the service is over.

As it turned out, I never saw the man again, but this incident preoccupied my mind to the point of obsession.

A dictionary and thesaurus would describe the word restrictions as limits, rules or boundaries.    

As Simchat Torah followed, a new awareness came to light at the beginning of Genesis.  

Boundaries are mentioned on the second day of creation: “When the earth was astonishingly empty and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” Genesis 1: 2.  “And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, and let it be a separation between water and water.” And God made the expanse and it separated between the water that was below the expanse and the water that was above the expanse, and it was so.” Genesis 1: 6,7

How could it be assumed that water already existed?  

The sages teach that Torah is equivalent to water. “All who are thirsty come for water.” Isaiah, 55:1. There is also another well-known commentary stating that Hashem looked into the Torah in order to create the world.  “When Hashem created the universe, He looked into the Torah and created [based on what is written in it]. It was through the Torah that the world was created”. Zohar, Terumah 161a.  This is consistent with the idea that water had already existed.

Another way of interpreting Genesis 1: 6, 7 regarding the physical world, is that the universe is made up of various patterns of energy, particles, atoms and molecules that have various individual characteristics. By definition, the only reason anything physical exists, or happens is because of the limitations, boundaries and the restrictions imposed on these particles or forces by what many call “Nature.”  The tangible matter of the universe had to be separated and regulated in order for our reality to be something other than a universe that is disordered chaos. Likewise, time adheres to restrictions. Time flows in only one direction and at a set pace.

Restrictions are necessary for a society to function. The examples are everywhere and in everything. In driving, we need road signs, lights, and lanes. In cooking we need restrictions.  Salt is good but only in moderation. Restrictions allow language, art, and financial systems to function. A computer functions because of codes programmed using various combinations of zeros and ones. As you can see, the examples literally exist in everything.

The very first restriction given to man in the Torah was in Genesis 2: 16, 17;

“And the Lord God commanded man, saying, ‘Of every tree in the garden you may freely eat. But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it…… ’” Genesis 2: 16, 17.

I believe, it is no coincidence that the seven Noahide laws are derived from this.  Sanhedrin 56a.

We are commanded to separate the seventh day. Keeping the Sabbath holy is one of the Ten Commandments, engraved on the tablets.

The man at Shul who was complaining about restrictions illustrates the mindset of many Jews today. More and more Jewish people would love to return to a more observant lifestyle but become discouraged especially when involving the restrictive dietary kosher laws and those of the Sabbath.  No working, no driving, no electronics, just a 25 hour period to step away from technology where we pray, study and enjoy friends and family.  

Who has really been restricted ?

To the already religious Jew living a Torah life is clearly preferable, but to the secular Jew immersed in the distractions of the contemporary commercialized world this is a genuine challenge. The Madison Avenue machine has been so incredibly effective; they have managed to subliminally alter the priorities of our society, promoting a value system that lacks meaning. We are all too familiar with the expression “being a slave to fashion”

I would like to propose that the lack of adherence to the laws of Sabbath, are responsible for virtually all the maladies of society today. Why?

Priorities

What if the Ten Commandments are written in order of priority?  

The order and importance of the first three is self-evident. The first and most paramount statement of the 10 Commandments is the acceptance of Hashem’s existence. Second, the exclusive worship of Hashem. And third, the restriction not to profane the Name of Hashem. Interestingly, the very next, fourth commandment is to sanctify the Sabbath.

The fourth commandment is to take the seventh day of every week, and restrict any creative work. This seems to be the most arbitrary, with much less gravity then the other nine. How could this compare to murder, stealing, or adultery?  

The Jews are less than one percent (0.23%) of the world population yet we are carefully watched. Actually the Christians and Muslims both recognize that the Jews have received the Torah on Mount Sinai.

Virtually every civilized person on the planet is aware of the Ten Commandments and would overwhelmingly agree that the world would be a better place if everyone followed them. However, only a dismally small percentage of the world lives by them. Unfortunately only a small percentage of Jews keep the Fourth Commandment.

But, who are we to question or rationalize the importance of any Torah command? “Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one…”  Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Father) Chapter 2: 1

How this relates to all the other problems ?

If a person is lackadaisical regarding one of the Ten Commandments, disregard for any of the other nine becomes that much easier. Speaking disrespectfully to parents, cheating in business, coveting, and adultery can easily be rationalized into acceptable behavior if observance of the Sabbath is overlooked.

This seemingly arbitrary directive is the keystone that supports and nourishes the Torah observant person. The commandment to keep the Sabbath holy is strategically placed in between the acceptance, commitment, and respect of Hashem, and the laws of civilization.

When one observes the Sabbath, adherence to that as well as the other commandments become not only effortless but joyous. The Sabbath becomes the highlight of the week. The reward of observing Torah restrictions, itself becomes the reward! “For the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah” Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Father) Chapter 4: 2

Without restrictions mankind is reduced to an animal-like life of selfishness and self-gratification.  And even our treasured domesticated animals are only of value after we have trained them with boundaries and restrictions.  

Without boundaries and restrictions, all of existence, absolutely everything from the living to the inanimate, from the tangible to the intangible, would cease to exist. Without restrictions, existence would melt into empty lonely chaotic muck.  

Certainly, the Torah poses restrictions, but with these restrictions come inner peace, happiness and paradoxically the only true and genuine freedom.

In conclusion, a quote from the Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Father) Chapter 6: 2 regarding the tablets containing the Ten Commandments

And it says (Exodus 32:16): “And the tablets are the work of G-d, and the writing is G-d’s writing, engraved on the tablets”; read not “engraved” (charut) but “liberty” (chairut)—for there is no free individual, except for he who occupies himself with the study of Torah. And whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah is elevated….

All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced whatsoever without the express and written permission of Baalteshuva.org or (Paul) Moshe Einbinder