Should Non-Jews Observe Shabbat?

This question has come up a number of times over the years and recently, again.  Judaism has always stressed distinctiveness in worship and observance. Many religious authorities claim that not only "THEIR" way of observance is the "right way,” and “only way", but that the "TORAH", in the larger sense, is only for Jews. In my opinion, Torah, meaning "Instruction", is much larger than one group of people. While non-Jews do not have the same ritual and worship requirements as Jewish people, the moral and ethical instructions are for everyone. 

The Common Values and Yardstick of Behavior, like Justice, Righteousness, Kindness, Integrity and Biblical Love (giving, concrete acts) serve as the basis of society. These things strengthen the idea of Community. This is how people with almost the same GENES and different MEMES (beliefs) form bonds and interconnectedness. Many of our society's laws come directly from the Hebrew Bible. But what about Shabbat?

Besides Seventh Day Adventists and Seventh Day Baptist, other non-Jews are keeping a Shabbat. Some call themselves Noachides, Yiray Shamayim (GOD Fearers), Shomray Brit (Covenant Keepers) and Jews for Jesus (which have an agenda of converting Jews to Christianity). In addition to these there are others who discovered the historical Jewish Jesus, the Jewish teacher who practiced the Judaism of his day and taught his interpretation of the Torah to Jewish audiences. They noticed that Jesus kept the Jewish Sabbath, Friday at sunset to Saturday sundown and want to learn more about him and it. They have asked why their churches taught them to keep the Sabbath on Sunday instead of the Shabbat of Jesus? The name “Sunday” should be a good clue. It was the day the Romans worshipped the Sun god, hence, Sunday and they had a habit of connecting Christian holydays to the holydays and celebrations of their old gods.

So? What to do? When we look at Genesis 1, we find one very basic idea. The word TOV is mentioned 7 times. TOV traditionally means "Good," but in this context TOV is the standard that the Creator used to measure acts. For something to be TOV, words, thoughts and/or actions, it must Protect Life, Preserve Life, Make Life More Functional and Increase the Quality of Life. What happens when we measure Shabbat by that standard? It is clearly TOV.

The Shabbat brings families together, friends together, the blessing and privilege of good food, welcoming someone new, resting, disengaging from the mundane and furious pace of our daily lives, studying, learning, appreciating nature, communicating, recharging the soul, a time to connect with others and with your Higher Power, whatever that may be. These things are not reserved just for Jews – as a matter of fact there were no Jews when the Creator established the Shabbat!

I once asked an orthodox rabbi who objected to my opinion, what he thought would happen if everyone celebrated Shabbat. He stood there for a moment, silent, and then said, "It would be like heaven." He was concerned about distinctiveness in worship and practice. I responded that the only real things that make a person distinct are their actions and behaviors. Further, I said, the Shabbat of Genesis 1 was given a life of its own. It was never restricted to one tribe of people, neither was the TOV Standard and Values.

Non-Jews are not required to do what Jewish people do. They are free to find their ways to observance Shabbat, ways that fills and recharges their souls, reminds them of their place in the Creator’s creation and their connectedness to others by revealing the Creator’s image by doing acts of TOV. Humans are hard wired for a spiritual dimension. Many people will spend lots of energy exercising and feeding their bodies but forget to exercise and feed their "spirit." Shabbat gives all of us that opportunity every seventh day. What we decide to do with that opportunity has always been up to us. And, according to the Torah, on that seventh day a special gift awaits all of us. It is a period of time that was blessed and empowered by the Creator to keeps all of us connected, grounded, on course. It is a time for our spirit to be refreshed, satisfied and strengthened. Whether you're Jewish or not, the Shabbat is waiting for you – just keep in mind that its purpose is TOV!

So Do TOV, Choose Life and enjoy Shabbat!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

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