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Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue. Good morning and Shabbat shalom. Shabbat or the Sabbath day is probably the most important time of Jewish life, culture and religious life. It is certainly the most important day, not just of the week, but of the year. All of the other days of the week, in Hebrew, are referred to as Yom Rishon, Yom Sheni… First day, Second day, Third day, up to Sixth day and then Shabbat is the name for the Seventh day. It is as if the whole week revolves around Shabbat – which it does! The commandment to observe and keep the Sabbath occurs more often than almost any other commandment in Torah. In the Ten Commandments we are told “Remember the Sabbath day to make it holy” and in the version in Deuteronomy it says “Observe the Sabbath day to make it holy”. We are also told “The Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath as a timeless covenant for all generations.” We believe it is a sign between God and the Jewish People because God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, so we rest too on the seventh day. There are many other references to Shabbat observance in Torah. So how do we make it holy? We are told to avoid work and to rest. This makes it a time of prayer, study and renewal; a time for ourselves, with family, friends and community. It is a day set apart, set apart to God, separating ourselves from our everyday tasks and dedicating ourselves to God, to explore what that means for us. We ask God to purify our hearts so that we may serve the Eternal One in truth. So today I pray that I may inherit God’s holy Sabbath and that I, along with all others who seek holiness, may find within that holiness my rest. And I pray that by keeping the Sabbath, I may rest and be refreshed.