More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.
Ahad Ha'AmRead
More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.
Interpretation
The Jewish practice of Shabbat is essential for maintaining Jewish identity and unity.
Ahad Ha'Am's quote emphasizes the significance of Shabbat in preserving Jewish culture and community. Unlike a mere tradition that can be discarded, Shabbat serves as a cornerstone that upholds the Jewish people's identity and cohesion through time, illustrating how cultural practices shape and nurture societal bonds.
In practice
A rabbi might use this quote during a sermon about the importance of community practices.
More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.
We are in the process of creating what deserves to be called the idiot culture. Not an idiot sub-culture, which every society has bubbling beneath the surface and which can provide harmless fun; but the culture itself. For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norm, even our cultural ideal.
When we create out of our experiences, as feminists of color, women of color, we have to develop those structures that will present and circulate our culture.
I don't have to participate in another culture's ceremonies in order to respect that culture.
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To be an American and unable to play baseball is comparable to being a Polynesian and unable to swim.
If culture was a house, then language was the key to the front door, [and] to all rooms inside.
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