Abraham Heschel’s book on Sabbath was suggested to me recently. His Jewish perspective attempts to root the Sabbath in Jewish Scriptures (the Old Testament). One review/comment on Heschel gives the following consideration:
Heschel says that Judaism teaches that humanity meets God in the realm of time. But if every instant (space in time) is a moment when we may feel the possibility of living differently, of “turning” to use the Jewish term (teshuva, often translated “repentance”), . . . [Sabbath] is an acknowledgment that God awaits one the next instant if only one looks beyond the things in space that occupy one’s time. The Sabbath is Teshuva, and it is also the reward for it. Both at once. The instant one performs the “turn,” one gets the reward.
Just a quick side note: I love the idea of repentance being the moment when we may feel the possibility of living differently – and we act on that. True repentance then, requires one who can create that possibility. Certainly not ourselves – we soon realize our finiteness. We need to look to the infinite creator – Jesus!