Pope Francis Praised Jewish Sabbath
23 March 2020 | The Times of Israel recently highlighted glowing remarks made by Pope Francis about Saturday Sabbath-keeping as observed by the Jews.
On March 18, the publication republished footage of the Pope speaking positively of Jewish Sabbath-keeping on a 2018 edition of 60 Minutes that went viral after a portion of the interview was shared by the Adventist Church via a Spanish-language YouTube channel.
“What the Jews followed, and still observe, was to consider the Sabbath as holy,” he says. “On Saturday you rest. One day of the week. That’s the least! Out of gratitude, to worship God, to spend time with the family, to play, to do all of these things. We are not machines,” said Pope Francis, speaking Spanish in the clip.
https://youtu.be/2owQL8_BfFE
The clip was noticed by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, a prominent Israeli rabbi.
“You probably won’t believe it, but the Pope called on the inhabitants of the world to keep the Sabbath like the Jews,” said the rabbi, according to The Jewish Press. “It is unbelievable. Those who have decreed that we will not keep Shabbat now understand what the value of Shabbat is.”
