'Keeping and remembering' Shabbat by not interfering or interrupting the natural order of Creation also means to honor your own inherent nature as a human being. The Baal Shem Tov said that only God exists and that our soul is a portion of God. It is a day to remember and to dip into your own essence, to recognize your own inherent (natural) qualities -- qualities like generosity, love, curiosity, creativity, brilliance, play, wisdom, relaxed joyfulness, ease and peace of being, among others. In the busyness of life you become disconnected from your true self and live from your protective shell instead of from the Divine Spark within you. Shabbat is stopping and paying attention to reality -- a reality that is always present, but outside your awareness.

The command to 'keep and remember' extends to your being. It is a day to practice becoming conscious and living from that place of wholeness, connection and harmony. As you become more aware and practice it on Shabbat, you will not only re-connect with your real self, you will live your life more and more from that essence.

Shabbat is also a time to remember who you are and who God is -- to not only re-connect with your inherent qualities, but also to recognize your primary connection with the cosmos and with the Divine. It is a day to wonder and be filled with awe and gratitude for life, for who you are, and for God's gifts to you. It is a day to remember that God, in every moment, continues to hold you and Creation in existence.

Rabbi Yehiel Mikhal of Zlotchov

Because Shabbat is a celebration of Creation, you do everything on Shabbat 'as if for the first time.' You see everything in the first Light of Creation. On each and every Shabbat you say the prayers and sing the songs with the excitement of the first time. You eat challah and drink wine 'as if for the first time.' You eat your meal and enjoy the flames of the candles 'as if for the first time.' You see each other 'as if for the first time.' You approach every moment as brand new -- and in so doing, you come closer to the reality of experience. The rabbis warned about 'growing old' in our seeing, thinking, and experiencing. Shabbat breaks open life to reveal its eternal newness in each and every moment.

Shabbat reminds you to see the Divine in the everyday. With the eyes of Shabbat, the true nature of Creation is revealed. It is like looking for the 3-dimensional pictures hidden within computer generated patterns, and allowing what is 'hidden' to come into focus.

It is also said, that Creation did not happen just one time, but that at every moment, God continues to create all things in order for it to exist. At each moment all things are new and Shabbat gives you practice in experiencing each moment with fresh wonder and awareness.