The Talmud points out that observance of Shabbat is testimony to belief in God, belief in Creation and belief in Divine Providence. The first chapter of Genesis relates the successive stages of the creation of the world. From a state of absolute nothingness, God created time, space and the entire physical world. This process of creation took six days, and on the seventh day God “rested” and created the Shabbat. Because of the centrality of our belief that God created the world from nothing and continues to be involved in its ongoing existence, it is customary to recite the section in the Torah describing this process during the synagogue services on Friday night. The verses are recited aloud, while standing, just as testimony must be give by witnesses in a Jewish court of law.
