Abstract

KESSLER, Volker. The Sabbath as a remedy for human restlessness. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2012, vol.46, n.2, pp.1-8. ISSN 2305-0853.

Considering that many people today suffer from restlessness, it would be very helpful to remind ourselves of a very old, very simple but very effective remedy: rest on the Sabbath. In the Christian tradition, Sabbath-keeping often only focused on its spiritual aspects. This article has focused on the benefit of rediscovering the gift of the Sabbath as 'a delight to the soul and a delight for the body' (Heschel). It has shown how we can explicitly learn from the Jewish tradition of holistic Sabbath observance. The article consists of four parts: the phenomenon of human restlessness, ten different facets of the Sabbath in the Old Testament, a short section on the history of pro-Sabbath and anti-Sabbath attitudes within the Christian churches and a concluding section about applying the basic principles of the Sabbath in modern life for the sake of a good work-life balance. Examples from the German context are included.

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