New layers of meaning for the word 'Shabbat'

The word Shabbat (Sabbath) took on new meaning for me through the following insights.

1. It is Saturday morning when we are eating breakfast in our hostess's small kitchen.  She is standing by the door getting ready to leave when she says, “Don’t forget to turn off the water heater switch when you leave.”  (We had turned it on earlier in order to have hot water for a shower). Since she was standing near the switch, I innocently said, “Oh, we have showered already.  You can turn it off now so that we won’t forget:”  Her response,  “I can’t turn anything on or off during Shabbat.  Since you turned it on, you need to turn it off."  Jewish law forbids those who observe it from undertaking various forms of "work" on the Sabbath, including that they may not create sparks or fires. In recent times, this has been extrapolated to also cover the operation of electrical equipment. 
2. While in the synagogue, I take out my pen to write down the title of the English copy of the Torah and readings that allows me to follow what is being done in Hebrew.  Smoothy, lovingly, tacitly but firmly a young man walks by, leans down and whispers, “We don’t write on Shabbat.”  I quickly put the pen away.
3. As we walk through the Jewish quarter n the Shabbat, everything is quiet.  No cars, no stereos, no bicycles, not taxis, no shops open. Only some people walking. Our tour guide even urges us to keep our voices down as we move through the Jewish quarter. “People live here”, he says.
4. Hotels provide a Shabbat elevator during Shabbat that is specially programmed so that not electrical equipment needs to be operated.  This is forbidden as mentioned in #1. 
   The Israeli Knesset passed a special Shabbat elevator law in 2001, ordering the planning and building of all residential buildings, and public buildings which have more than one elevator, to install a control mechanism for Shabbat in one of the elevators.
   In this mode, an elevator will stop automatically at every floor, allowing people to step in and out without having to press any buttons. Otherwise, Jewish law prohibits observers from using an elevator on Shabbat in the normal manner, because pressing the button to operate the elevator closes a circuit, which is one of the activities prohibited on Shabbat and may also indirectly lead to "writing" of the new floor number in the display.
   
5. At the Shabbat of a Lifetime, our host—a Rabbi—made an insightful comment that moved the concept of a Shabbat from a seemingly meaningless set of rules to a meaningful relevant principle.  “God rested on the seventh day. He did not cease to govern the universe but ceased from creative work. And so we also rest from all measure of creativity. Where it is necessary to maintain that which has already been put into motion, we will do it but no more.” 
   

Since creative output constitutes the major part of every working day for me, I felt God’s Spirit challenging me to consider observing a Sabbath by ceasing creative activity beginning Saturday night. What was significant for me is that the principle creates a meaningful division between that which is necessary and that—which for me—would bring beneficial rest by ceasing from creative output.  At times ministry would make that impossible but I can certainly have a Sabbath on a different day. 

So not only does the word Shabbat have new meaning for me, for I am challenged to evaluate my life.  Am I experiencing the benefits of a Sabbath? A lot of food for thought here.