Developing New Habits – Resting one day a week – How does this change Us ?

On one hand, we all yearn to make contact with the reality of God’s existence, to be close to this All-Powerful Being Who created everything and sustains us daily.
On the other hand, we all live with the nagging fear of confronting the fact that we are not the captains of our ships. Each of us would like to be Number One. Our ego would prefer to see ourselves at the center of the universe, in total control of our own lives, our own destiny, and the world. So we try convincing ourselves that we are, and in the process we push away God.
Shabbat is a tool to ensure we don’t misunderstand our place in the universe.
Shabbat is the Jewish tool to make sure we don’t misunderstand our place in the universe. Refraining from work is the first step toward accomplishing this goal. God gave mankind the power to manipulate and change the world. Because of this, we are easily lulled into thinking that we are in control of the world.
Then comes Shabbat. Once every seven days, we step back from the world and make a statement to ourselves and humanity that we are not in charge of this world. We stop all creative work and acknowledge that it is God’s world, not ours. We can manipulate the world, but we don’t own it. God gives us clear guidelines for how we may shape the world, but it’s not ours to do with as we see fit all the time.
When we refrain from work on Shabbat, we regain clarity and understanding as to Who is the true Creator.
The Primary Goal Of Shabbat
Once we’ve extracted ourselves from the illusions of our own power and prominence (i.e. once we realize we’re not God), we free ourselves to reach out and experience the primary goal of Shabbat: getting in touch with God. While it is true that we can get in touch with God and spirituality during the week, it only happens if we make a particular effort to partake of these experiences. We have to fight off the influences of the mundane workday in order to break through to the spiritual.
On Shabbat, however, the spiritual level of the world is intensified. God immerses us in a spiritual environment, and our perception of His closeness is heightened. It’s as if the static has been lifted.
On Shabbat, as I cease to create, I no longer feel the need to compete with the world around me. I don’t drive my car, I don’t work my animal, I don’t even pluck a blade of grass. Instead of imposing our will upon the world, we are in harmony with it.