Timeless Torah

Now that the Second Tablets had been brought down from Sinai, the construction of a Sanctuary that would house this Testimony of Law became crucially relevant. This was especially true after the aberration of the Golden Calf. In light of the nation’s spiritual weakness, they understood the need for a Temple that would remind them of the Divine presence in their midst.

Nonetheless, this House of G-d, as important as it was, did not obviate the requirement to observe the strictures of Shabbat rest. And so, this week’s reading which details the Temple work in progress relates, “On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy to you.” Many of the commentaries wonder why the Torah mentions the laws of Shabbat, which is a time related mitzvah, in connection with the building of a structure in physical space.

In recent years, modern physics has discovered that time and space are closely related. We’ve even coined the phrase “spacetime”, a term which describes a four-dimensional grid against which all physical objects and events are measured.

While time is obviously the more abstract of the two, many of the characteristics of space are attributed to time as well. As such, we speak of a point in time or a stretch of time. No wonder than, that many of time’s complexities can be better comprehended when we apply space models of geometry to our conception of time. One such diagram is the circle, long considered the most perfect of spatial shapes. The circle has three primary features; its center point, radius and circumference.

Of the three parts of the circle just mentioned, the largest is the circumference which is approximately six times the length of the radius. This is true of all circles regardless of size. Conversely, the center point actually occupies no area. (If it did, it could be divided into two points.) As such, it should hardly qualify as a component of space.

But in mathematics, the very opposite is true. It is the point that defines and begins all other geometric shapes, be they lines, triangles or as we will demonstrate, the circle. While the point may not occupy any measurable space within the sphere, it is this center that truly defines the circle. The radius extends from it, the diameter turns on it, and the circumference is drawn in relation to it. Virtually every feature and characteristic of the circle utterly depends upon it.

A similar model must be utilized to understand the importance of Shabbat to the rest of the week. The exterior surface of this circle (its circumference) is represented by the six work days. The center of the circle is Shabbat.

Just as the center point cannot be measured in space, Shabbat is not counted as just another day in time. Indeed, it is timeless. Concurrently, just as all spatial dimensions revolve around this point of no space, similarly, the cycle of the week gyrates to the Shabbat axis that is above time.

That, according to our Sages, is why these two disparate laws are brought together. They share a similar model, both with practical applications for us who travel widely and quickly.

We are a mobile society. Even when we are at home, thanks to the Internet, our reach is worldwide. We order books from the other end of the country with the click of a mouse, we speak to friends instantaneously overseas, and we watch astronauts in real time parking space stations in the distant heavens.

If it seems as if the borders of space and time have moved outward at speeds once hardly imaginable, they have. But the laws of geometry still hold true. Regardless of how distant the circumference, the immutable and immeasurable Sanctuary (holy space) and Shabbat (holy time), must be at the core of our hectic lives.