You asked

how can we create systems for 'rest' that don't just benefit the privileged?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Exodus 23:10-12

““For six years you shall sow your land, and gather in its increase, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animals of the field shall eat. In the same way, you shall deal with your vineyard, and with your olive grove. Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your female servant, and the foreigner, may be refreshed.””

This passage is part of a larger collection of laws and commands given to the Israelites through Moses shortly after their exodus from slavery in Egypt. These instructions guide them on how to establish a just society in the land they are about to inhabit, emphasizing practices that ensure communal well-being.

What practices could allow for true rest to be accessible to all members of our community, especially those often overlooked?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Deuteronomy 5:12-15
This reiterates the Sabbath command, adding the memory of Israel's slavery and God's liberation as a reason to ensure rest for servants.
Leviticus 25:1-7
This expands on the sabbatical year for the land, connecting it to a broader vision of land redistribution and care for the poor every 50 years (Jubilee).
Isaiah 58:13-14
This prophetic passage calls for a Sabbath that prioritizes justice and delight in God, rather than pursuing one's own pleasures or business.

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