Before the world even existed, there was a need for beings to praise God. So, He created the angels, the holy Hayyot (holy living creatures), the heavens, and ultimately, Adam. Their purpose? To glorify their Creator.
But the week of creation was, well, busy. No time for proper celebration! Only on the Sabbath, when everything – everything! – rested, could creation, both earthly and heavenly, burst into song. Think of it: God ascending to His throne, the Throne of Joy, and all the angels parading before Him.
Can you picture it? The angel of the water, the angel of the rivers, the angel of the mountains, the angel of… well, everything! The sun, the moon, the constellations like the Pleiades and Orion, even the angel of Paradise and the angel of Gehenna (hell). All the creatures – reptiles, beasts, fish, locusts, birds – each had their angel. And then there were the archangels, the chiefs of the Hayyot, the cherubim, the ofanim (another type of angel)... a glorious, awe-inspiring procession.
The Zohar tells us they appeared before God in a state of pure bliss, "laved in a stream of joy," dancing, singing, and extolling the Lord with every instrument imaginable. The ministering angels began, "Let the glory of the Lord endure forever!" and the rest of the angelic host echoed, "Let the Lord rejoice in His works!"
The seventh heaven, ‘Arabot, overflowed with joy, glory, splendor, strength, and so much more. It was a complete sensory and spiritual overload. Then, God invited the Angel of the Sabbath to sit on a throne of glory, commanding all the angelic chiefs to dance and rejoice, proclaiming, "Sabbath it is unto the Lord!" And they responded in kind, "Unto the Lord it is Sabbath!"
And get this: even Adam, fresh from creation, was allowed to ascend to the highest heaven to join the celebration. What an honor! By bestowing this Sabbath joy on everyone, including Adam, God truly dedicated His creation.
Seeing the majesty of the Sabbath, its honor, greatness, and the joy it brought, Adam himself intoned a song of praise. But God gently pointed out, "You sing a song of praise to the Sabbath day, and sing none to Me, the God of the Sabbath?"
Immediately, the Sabbath itself prostrated before God, saying, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord," and all of creation joined in, "And to sing praises unto Thy Name, O Most High!" This, my friends, was the very first Sabbath, celebrated in heaven by God and the angels.
But the story doesn't end there. The angels were also told that one day, a people called Israel would hallow the Sabbath in a similar way. God declared, "I will set aside for Myself a people from among all the peoples. This people will observe the Sabbath, and I will sanctify it to be My people, and I will be God unto it." What a powerful promise!
For Adam, the Sabbath held a special significance. When he was cast out of Paradise in the twilight of the Sabbath eve, the angels lamented, "Adam did not abide in his glory overnight!" But the Sabbath itself interceded on Adam's behalf. According to Midrash Rabbah, the Sabbath argued, "O Lord of the world! During the six working days no creature was slain. If Thou wilt begin now by slaying Adam, what will become of the sanctity and the blessing of the Sabbath?"
Because of this, Adam was saved from the fires of hell. In gratitude, he composed a psalm in honor of the Sabbath – a psalm that David later included in his Psalter.
And there's more! Adam was given a glimpse of the world through a celestial light. This light should have disappeared immediately after his sin, but God allowed it to continue shining in honor of the Sabbath. When the light finally faded at the end of the Sabbath, Adam feared the serpent. But God gave him the wisdom to create fire, a small spark of light to combat the darkness.
This celestial light, along with the resplendence of his countenance, eternal life, his tall stature, the fruits of the soil and the tree, and the luminaries of the sky, were seven precious gifts enjoyed by Adam before the fall. These gifts, we’re told, will be granted to humanity again in the Messianic time when the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold.
So, the next time you observe the Sabbath, remember this story. Remember the angels singing, the heavens rejoicing, and Adam's gratitude. Remember that the Sabbath isn't just a day of rest; it's a connection to something ancient, something divine, something that echoes the very first moments of creation. It's a weekly opportunity to participate in that heavenly celebration, right here on Earth.
Before the world was created, there was none to praise God and know Him. Therefore He created the angels and the holy Hayyot, the heavens and their host, and Adam as well. They all were to praise and glorify their Creator. During the week of creation, however, there was no suitable time to proclaim the splendor and praise of the Lord. Only on the Sabbath, when all creation rested, the beings on earth and in heaven, all together, broke into song and adoration when God ascended His throne and sate upon it. It was the Throne of Joy upon which He sate, and He had all the angels pass before Him—the angel of the water, the angel of the rivers, the angel of the mountains, the angel of the hills, the angel of the abysses, the angel of the deserts, the angel of the sun, the angel of the moon, the angel of the Pleiades, the angel of Orion, the angel of the herbs, the angel of Paradise, the angel of Gehenna, the angel of the trees, the angel of the reptiles, the angel of the wild beasts, the angel of the domestic animals, the angel of the fishes, the angel of the locusts, the angel of the birds, the chief angel of the angels, the angel of each heaven, the chief angel of each division of the heavenly hosts, the chief angel of the holy Hayyot, the chief angel of the cherubim, the chief angel of the ofanim, and all the other splendid, terrible, and mighty angel chiefs. They all appeared before God with great joy, laved in a stream of joy, and they rejoiced and danced and sang, and extolled the Lord with many praises and many instruments. The ministering angels began, "Let the glory of the Lord endure forever!" And the rest of the angels took up the song with the words, "Let the Lord rejoice in His works!" 'Arabot, the seventh heaven, was filled with joy and glory, splendor and strength, power and might and pride and magnificence and grandeur, praise and jubilation, song and gladness, steadfastness and righteousness, honor and adoration. Then God bade the Angel of the Sabbath seat himself upon a throne of glory, and He brought before him the chiefs of the angels of all the heavens and all the abysses, and bade them dance and rejoice, saying, "Sabbath it is unto the Lord!" and the exalted princes of the heavens responded, "Unto the Lord it is Sabbath!" Even Adam was permitted to ascend to the highest heaven, to take part in the rejoicing over the Sabbath. By bestowing Sabbath joy upon all beings, not excepting Adam, thus did the Lord dedicate His creation. Seeing the majesty of the Sabbath, its honor and greatness, and the joy it conferred upon all, being the fount of all joy, Adam intoned a song of praise for the Sabbath day. Then God said to him, "Thou singest a song of praise to the Sabbath day, and singest none to Me, the God of the Sabbath?" Thereupon the Sabbath rose from his seat, and prostrated himself before God, saying, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord," and the whole of creation added, "And to sing praises unto Thy Name, O Most High!" This was the first Sabbath, and this its celebration in heaven by God and the angels. The angels were informed at the same time that in days to come Israel would hallow the day in similar manner. God told them: "I will set aside for Myself a people from among all the peoples. This people will observe the Sabbath, and I will sanctify it to be My people, and I will be God unto it. From all that I have seen, I have chosen the seed of Israel wholly, and I have inscribed him as My first-born son, and I sanctified him unto Myself unto all eternity, him and the Sabbath, that he keep the Sabbath and hallow it from all work." For Adam the Sabbath had a peculiar significance. When he was made to depart out of Paradise in the twilight of the Sabbath eve, the angels called after him, "Adam did not abide in his glory overnight!" Then the Sabbath appeared before God as Adam's defender, and he spoke: "O Lord of the world! During the six working days no creature was slain. If Thou wilt begin now by slaying Adam, what will become of the sanctity and the blessing of the Sabbath?" In this way Adam was rescued from the fires of hell, the meet punishment for his sins, and in gratitude he composed a psalm in honor of the Sabbath, which David later embodied in his Psalter. Still another opportunity was given to Adam to learn and appreciate the value of the Sabbath. The celestial light, whereby Adam could survey the world from end to end, should properly have been made to disappear immediately after his sin. But out of consideration for the Sabbath, God had let this light continue to shine, and the angels, at sundown on the sixth day, intoned a song of praise and thanksgiving to God, for the radiant light shining through the night. Only with the going out of the Sabbath day the celestial light ceased, to the consternation of Adam, who feared that the serpent would attack him in the dark. But God illumined his understanding, and he learned to rub two stones against each other and produce light for his needs. The celestial light was but one of the seven precious gifts enjoyed by Adam before the fall and to be granted to man again only in the Messianic time. The others are the resplendence of his countenance; life eternal; his tall stature; the fruits of the soil; the fruits of the tree; and the luminaries of the sky, the sun and the moon, for in the world to come the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold.
