Israel’s High Court of Justice on Thursday rejected the petition demanding that supermarkets should not be operated on Shabbos in Tel Aviv, but as Miriam Naor, president of the Supreme Court, said, the decision was not unanimous.

The subject should be discussed further. “In the opinion of Justice Hendel in his opinion,” she carries on her back a dual normative duality: on the one hand, it has universal significance, since the rest of her serves – as mentioned In the Torah, in the tefilos of Shabbos and Kiddush – “a remembrance of the act of creation” – and the conclusion of the work of creation by G-d on the other hand, it bears a distinctly national character and is described in the same sources as “a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.”

Handel described another double meaning of Shabbos: “It is not only a mitzva between man and HKBH, but also a mitzva between man and his friend – or, more precisely, Shabbos represents the aspiration to create another society, a society of equality and rest, , “For the sake of resting like you,” it offers a religious experience that brings man closer to his creator, alongside a social experience that breaks down social fences and brings man closer to himself. To this day, intellectuals such as Chaim Nachman Bialik and Ahad Ha’am have recognized the centrality of Shabbos in Judaism, – and this recognition is reflected in the legislation and rulings of this court.”

His colleague, Judge Solberg, ruled that in his opinion the local authorities had no authority “to order the opening of businesses on the Shabbos.” He said that the Shabbos “is the purpose around which everyone can unite without paying in the currency of giving up religious or secular ideology.” On the issue of Shabbos, instead of another bone of contention, social considerations can serve as a building block of agreement.

Solberg also wrote that “the prohibition on working on the Shabbos according to section 9A of the Hours of Work and Rest Law applies to commercial establishments, but not to houses of pleasure.”

The court was divided seven to two against Deri’s petition to safeguard the Shabbos. Opposed were Justices Neil Hendel and Noam Solberg.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)