Thou Shalt Covet
February 17, 2013
Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Sabbath is a short, dense, troubling book. I say it is short because it is short. It is, at 101 pages, especially short as far as books of its kind go, the kind that take up matters of great theological importance. But don’t expect a “quick read” of this book. Because as much as it is short, it is dense. It is packed with weighty matters which are turned over in the author’s mind in ways that make for slow going on the part of the reader. Don’t misunderstand me. You can breeze through the book quickly. But you can’t hear what Heschel is saying quickly. Understanding what he has to say takes time.
And time is what the book is about. It is about our use of time, about time governing us, about us allowing God to govern our time. Heschel says that “Technical civilization is about man’s conquest of space. It is a triumph frequently achieved by sacrificing an essential ingredient of existence, namely, time.” First published in 1951, Heschel could not himself imagine the truth he spoke, something we can see – or should see – in a technologized age that makes the stress on time in the mechanized age of Heschel mere child’s play in comparison. But so many of Heschel’s words are timeless, making for a remarkable read and reread at most any time.
The final chapter of the book (not including his epilogue) is titled “Thou Shalt Covet.” Heschel is making the point that the Sabbath commandment is one of ten commands given by God, most of which begin with “thou shalt not.” But the Sabbath command is different. It begins not with a negative injunction, but with a command to remember. And that remembrance is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is the active pursuit, involving our whole being, of a day of rest. Heschel notes the text of the Sabbath liturgy:
Thou wast pleased with the seventh day and dist sanctify it,
The most coveted of days didst Thou call it.
“Where,“ Heschel asks, “in the Bible is the Sabbath called ‘the most coveted of days?’” That is found, he says, in an ancient Aramaic version of the text of Gen 2:2, usually translated “and God completed on the seventh day,” but which is translated in that ancient version as “and God coveted the seventh day.” The Creator coveted rest for his creation. He was jealous for his people to have time. Time for worshipful rest.
It is easy to fail to keep Sabbath. We do it all the time. As easy as it is to do so, it is doubly foolish to do so. Heschel’s Sabbath troubles us by forcing us to confront our folly and to see the wisdom of Sabbath-keeping. It will be work, sometimes demanding work, to rest, and this short, dense, troubling book aids us on our way to finding rest.
This is the time of Lent, of course, and I find it worth suggesting that you spend some time during the season to think about time, to consider how the observance of “Sabbath” (I’ll not worry about whether that should be on one day or another, or about the relationship of Sabbath to Lord’s Day for the Christian. There are many more important matters to think about – especially whether we observe any “sabbath” at all.) provides a regular, rhythmic taste of the world to come by allowing us to experience and reflect upon the rest that is ours by virtue of the work of Christ (Hebrews 4). Read Sabbath and, with God, covet rest for your soul.
And time is what the book is about. It is about our use of time, about time governing us, about us allowing God to govern our time. Heschel says that “Technical civilization is about man’s conquest of space. It is a triumph frequently achieved by sacrificing an essential ingredient of existence, namely, time.” First published in 1951, Heschel could not himself imagine the truth he spoke, something we can see – or should see – in a technologized age that makes the stress on time in the mechanized age of Heschel mere child’s play in comparison. But so many of Heschel’s words are timeless, making for a remarkable read and reread at most any time.
The final chapter of the book (not including his epilogue) is titled “Thou Shalt Covet.” Heschel is making the point that the Sabbath commandment is one of ten commands given by God, most of which begin with “thou shalt not.” But the Sabbath command is different. It begins not with a negative injunction, but with a command to remember. And that remembrance is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is the active pursuit, involving our whole being, of a day of rest. Heschel notes the text of the Sabbath liturgy:
Thou wast pleased with the seventh day and dist sanctify it,
The most coveted of days didst Thou call it.
“Where,“ Heschel asks, “in the Bible is the Sabbath called ‘the most coveted of days?’” That is found, he says, in an ancient Aramaic version of the text of Gen 2:2, usually translated “and God completed on the seventh day,” but which is translated in that ancient version as “and God coveted the seventh day.” The Creator coveted rest for his creation. He was jealous for his people to have time. Time for worshipful rest.
It is easy to fail to keep Sabbath. We do it all the time. As easy as it is to do so, it is doubly foolish to do so. Heschel’s Sabbath troubles us by forcing us to confront our folly and to see the wisdom of Sabbath-keeping. It will be work, sometimes demanding work, to rest, and this short, dense, troubling book aids us on our way to finding rest.
This is the time of Lent, of course, and I find it worth suggesting that you spend some time during the season to think about time, to consider how the observance of “Sabbath” (I’ll not worry about whether that should be on one day or another, or about the relationship of Sabbath to Lord’s Day for the Christian. There are many more important matters to think about – especially whether we observe any “sabbath” at all.) provides a regular, rhythmic taste of the world to come by allowing us to experience and reflect upon the rest that is ours by virtue of the work of Christ (Hebrews 4). Read Sabbath and, with God, covet rest for your soul.
