Noahides and Shabbat

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: You must keep My Shabbat, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” Exodus 31:13.

G-d gave Shabbat to the Jews as a sign, and non-Jews are prohibited from observing Shabbat. ¹

“Nevertheless, the Seventh Day is very relevant to Noahides.  However, it is not relevant as a ‘Shabbat,’ a word implying a ‘day of rest,’ but as a commemoration of the completion of creation… While the ‘Shabbat,’ as a Day of Rest is specifically designated as a sign between the Jews and G-d, the seventh Day is relevant to the world as a commemoration of G-d’s creation… even though Noahides cannot observe Shabbat, the Seventh Day is important for Noahides.” ² 

As written by Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel: ³

When G-d rested on Shabbos, He beheld the goodness of His Creation — He saw that it was well suited for its purpose.  So too Adam, in his revelation, suddenly understood the greatness of G-d’s world and the incredible potential that it offered.

In that revelation, he saw the ‘big plan’ — he understood the nature of reward and punishment, the fate of the wicked, and the ultimate reward of the righteous.  He understood his purpose and how the world was designed for it.

Rashi understands [Psalm 92] as, primarily, an acknowledgment of the World to Come, the ultimate Shabbos.

We see that Adam’s relationship to Shabbat was not one of rest.  It was of epiphany, a day of awakening and realization.  This is the Noahide relationship to Shabbot.

It is therefore appropriate to base the Noahide acknowledgement of Shabbat on Psalm 92 and Adam’s epiphany.  In this way, Noahides are following in the way of Adam, to whom the Noahide laws were commanded. 

Thus, we can have a nice meal with family and friends on Friday night discussing Torah and the greatness of G-d’s world and reciting blessings with the warmth of candle light and the friendliness of a glass of wine.

Even more so, if we use this time of relaxation and fondness to explore HaShem and His Torah perhaps we can better associate G-d’s Torah with the warmth, love, and joy of family and better impart our love and fondness for HaShem and His Torah to our children and grandchildren. 

However, we must not confuse a candlelit, Friday-night, family-and-friends, Torah-centered dinner with G-d’s gift of Shabbat to the Jewish people.

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1. Noahide Nations. The Order: A Communal and Individual Noahide Siddur. Noahide Nations, 2019, p. 71. (citing Sanhedrin 58b and commentaries; Maimonides, Hilkhos Melakhim 10:9, Ridbaz ad loc.,; Igros Moshe YD II:19.).
2. The Order, p. 71.
3. Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel. The Noahide Laws. Yeshiva Pirchei Shoshanim, 2014, pp.228-229.