Rabbi Marc Israel

This week’s Torah portion is Vayera: Genesis 18:1 – 22:24

The first Shabbat after daylight standard time always comes as a shock to the system, despite the fact that it occurs every year. Preparing to get everything done in time to light candles at 4:42 p.m. is stressful.

Although, if I’m being honest, even when Shabbat starts much later, I often find myself running around at the last minute. Perhaps the contrast between hurrying to finish the final preparations and resting on Shabbat makes the experience more meaningful.

Maybe that’s why our tradition teaches that God did the same thing on the very first Shabbat in the Torah’s creation story. There is a well-known midrash that notes the verse that introduces Shabbat begins with the word “va’ychulu” — that “God finish

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