**The Posuk — Bereishis 2:3**
וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹקִים אֶת־יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים לַעֲשׂוֹת׃
“Gd blessed the seventh day and made it holy, for with it He ceased from all His work which He, Gd, had created in order to continue shaping it.”
## The Blessing of the Seventh Day — ויברך
Rabbi Hirsch explains that the blessing given to the seventh day resembles the blessings given to the fish, the birds, and mankind.
Gd enabled the seventh day to fulfill its purpose. Its results would blossom, flourish, multiply, and fill the world. Through mankind, the seventh day would ultimately achieve its lofty purpose.
## The Meaning of Holiness — ויקדש אותו
Gd granted the seventh day exaltedness, holiness, and eternity.
Rabbi Hirsch explains that the Hebrew root **קדש (Kadosh)** expresses complete firmness, unaffected by opposition. It represents an absolute commitment that cannot be weakened by struggle.
A person who is קדוש (Kadosh) devotes himself entirely to everything good and noble, reaching a level where there is no internal struggle with sensuality.
Conversely, the term קדש can also describe someone who has surrendered entirely to sensuality, to the point that every spark of goodness within him has been extinguished.
Rabbi Hirsch compares this distinction to other Hebrew expressions:
**כבוד (Kavod)** — the impression of spiritual weight.
**כבד (Kaved)** — the impression of material weight.
**שלום (Shalom)** — inner spiritual harmony.
**שלם (Shalem)** — material and bodily completeness.
Something truly קדוש is not temporary. Absolute spiritual purity is connected to eternity.
As the prophet Yeshayahu states:
וְהָיָה הַנִּשְׁאָר בְּצִיּוֹן וְהַנּוֹתָר בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם קָדוֹשׁ יֵאָמֶר לוֹ כָּל־הַכָּתוּב לַחַיִּים בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם
“And it shall come to pass that whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem shall be called holy, everyone recorded for life in Jerusalem.”
**Yeshayahu 4:3**
The Talmud explains:
מה קדוש לעולם קיים אף הם לעולם קיימים
“Just as that which is holy endures forever, so too they shall endure forever.”
**Sanhedrin 92a**
The opposite of קדוש is חול (Chol), from the root חלל. That which is חול is temporary, something that will eventually pass away and perish.
## Shabbos as the Completion of Creation
When the Torah states that Gd blessed the seventh day and made it holy, Rabbi Hirsch explains that Gd empowered Shabbos to complete the spiritual and moral education of mankind.
Gd promised that this education would ultimately triumph and would not be defeated by disruption or mortality.
The seventh day was the crowning perfection of Creation.
**Its purpose is the ultimate goal of the entire world. Gd created the world in order to realize this goal.**
## Free Will and the Continuing Work of Creation
Had mankind been created like all other creatures, without free will, Gd’s work would have been completed on the sixth day.
However, man was created with free will.
This freedom elevates man even above the angels, but it necessarily introduces the possibility of error and sin.
Therefore, man must be educated to recognize truth and choose goodness through his own free will.
Although Gd’s work in nature was completed on the sixth day, **His work in history had only begun.**
With the seventh day, Gd began shaping the natural circumstances that would serve as instruments for educating and guiding mankind.
Bereishis Rabbah 11:10 teaches:
ממלאכת עולמו שבת ממלאכת צדיקים ורשעים לא שבת
“From the work of His world He rested, but from the work concerning the righteous and the wicked He did not rest.”
Gd’s work in the physical creation had ended, but His work in the moral and spiritual development of mankind continued.
## Shabbos and the Education of Mankind
The spiritual and moral education of mankind was entrusted to Shabbos.
According to Rabbi Hirsch, the entire subsequent history of Divine guidance and revelation serves one purpose: to bring the mission of Shabbos to its ultimate fulfillment.
The goal is to create בני זוג (Bnei Zug), partners for Shabbos, through mankind’s voluntary acceptance of its spiritual and moral purpose.
This explains why Gd blessed Shabbos and sanctified it.
## The Guarantee of Its Ultimate Fulfillment
The guarantee that Shabbos will ultimately accomplish its spiritual and moral purpose lies in the concluding words of the posuk:
**אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים לַעֲשׂוֹת**
“Which Gd created in order to continue shaping it.”
Gd did not merely arrange an existing world to accommodate this purpose. He created the entire world, with all its matter and energy, specifically for this end.
The repetition of the word ברא (Bara), meaning “created,” at the conclusion of the account of Creation establishes this fundamental principle.
The same Gd Who established mankind’s moral purpose also created the world יש מאין (Yesh Me’ayin), from absolute nothingness.
He also granted mankind freedom of choice.
Therefore, nothing within Creation can ultimately prevent the fulfillment of this Divine purpose.
Indeed, everything within the world must ultimately accord with or contribute toward its realization.
From the very beginning, Gd’s Will was to win the heart of mankind gradually and to educate man toward the recognition of truth.
—
**Source:** Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Bereishis 2:3, pages 61–62.
*Adapted into a continuous, readable format from Rabbi Hirsch’s commentary, preserving the central arguments and cited sources. The photographed text continues beyond page 62.*
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