Shabbat
Shabbat as Preview of the Perfected World
Rabbinic literature and medieval Kabbalah describe the day as a foretaste of life in the perfected "world to come" that traditional Judaism anticipates.
Shabbat as a Sanctuary in Time
The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals, the Jewish equivalent of sacred architecture.
Creation and Exodus: The Nexus
The Bible has no problem giving both cosmic and social reasons for Shabbat. Creation and liberation are tightly connected.