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Shabbat Teaches the Jewish People to Be Different — and We Should Embrace That
Shabbat candles. Photo: Olaf.herfurth via Wikimedia Commons.
“Moshe then gathered the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that God has commanded you to do. On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day, you shall have a holy rest … You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the Shabbat day” (Shemot 35.1-3).
The fundamental importance of Shabbat is reiterated more than any other mitzvah in the Torah. But little is said in the Torah itself about what to do and what not to, and how to define work. This reference to not burning or rather transferring fire, is the only clarification. Why is fire so important?
Fire was always the most important symbol of civilization and power. It was used not only for cooking in the home, but for almost every example of industrial activity. So much so, that fire came to symbolize society — both religiously through the sacrificial system, as well as through the production of metal instruments both for war and for peace.
Fire fueled early societies and the industrial revolution. If you had to choose one word to describe what human life depended and depends on, fire would be it. This is illustrated by the famous Greek myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the gods and gave it to men, and was punished by having eagles peck away at his chained body.
This law about transferring fire on Shabbat is another way of emphasizing that Shabbat is supposed to be a break from the domination or subordination to external societies. It has to be a different day, one dedicated to family, community and spirituality.
Nowadays electricity and energy are crucial to the functioning of society. Imagine city life with no electricity — air conditioning, heating, elevators, transports, communications all cease to function. But Shabbat tells us that there is another way of living one’s life apart from the dominant culture.
Significantly, the Torah doesn’t say we should not have fire or benefit from it. But rather that we prepare it in advance, so that it’s already there to take advantage of without being involved directly in its generation.
The Hebrew word for gather is Hakhel. This refers to a Biblical command that comes toward the end of the Torah (Dvarim 31:10-12) — gathering all of Israel (men, women, and children, as well as converts) to come together, to hear the reading of the Torah by the ruler or leader of Israel once every seven years.
This ceremony originally took place in Jerusalem during the festival of Sukkot. And it was performed throughout the years of the Temples. The Biblical mitzvah of Hakhel only applies when all the Jewish people reside in Israel.
Another word for community is the noun, Edah. Both come together in this week’s opening sentence of the Torah reading. But the word Hakhel is both a verb and a noun. It is where we get the term we now use for a Jewish community, particularly in the Diaspora, namely the Kahal. In addition, we have the word Am meaning the people. Each of these words convey different facets of Jewish communal and national life, and explain the differences and social conflicts that we experience internally and always have. All of them define what Jews are in different ways — a people, a nation, a community, in terms of social structure and religious activity.
We are a body of people who share a common origin, a national identity, a religious way of life, a culture, and a history that distinguishes us from all others. This is a source of pride but not superiority, and strong desire to preserve our traditions in the face of opposition and prejudice. When the world is in crisis because of its own failed or inadequate systems, we find ourselves caught up as the scapegoat for its deficiencies.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post Shabbat Teaches the Jewish People to Be Different — and We Should Embrace That first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.