Genesis 1:31-2:1 tells us, "It was evening and it was morning, the sixth day, [and heaven and earth were finished...]" Seems straightforward. But Rabbi Yudan, in Bereshit Rabbah – that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis – sees something more. He suggests that this phrase points to that extra hour, that added bit of time, where we transition from the mundane, the chol, to the sacred, the kadosh, of Shabbat. : that last hour on Friday is when the work of creation was truly completed, according to Rabbi Yudan. God, in a sense, finished just before the very end of the sixth day. That's why the end of Friday itself is appended to Shabbat. It's as if the universe itself took a deep breath and prepared to rest. That is why, according to the text, “the sixth [day, and heaven and earth were finished]” is written. It's not just about the day being numbered, it's about the completion inherent in that final stretch.
But the insights don't stop there. Rabbi Simon ben Marta offers another fascinating perspective. He suggests that up until this point in the creation narrative, we count the days in relation to creation itself: the first day of creation, the second day, and so on. But after this point? He argues that we reckon time differently. We don't count from the beginning of creation anymore, but rather from Shabbat! It becomes the fixed point, the anchor. The first day after Shabbat (Sunday), the second day after Shabbat (Monday), and so on.
What does this mean? Perhaps it's a reminder that Shabbat isn't just a day off. It’s a paradigm shift. It’s not merely the end of the week, but the beginning of a new way of relating to time itself.
It’s a powerful idea, isn't it? That the very structure of our week, the way we understand time, is shaped by this moment of divine rest. That the finishing touches of creation, right there in that liminal space before Shabbat, forever altered our perception. Maybe next Friday, in that last-minute rush, we can take a moment to appreciate the profound shift that Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Simon ben Marta pointed to so long ago. Maybe we can find the sacred in the seemingly mundane, and remember that even the end of the week can be a beginning.