In Kiddush on Friday night, we recite the following verse from Bereshit:

"וַיְכַל אֱלֹקים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה"

Why does the Torah need to say both וַיְכַל – that Hashem completed His work – and וַיִּשְׁבֹּת – that He rested? If the work was completed, there should be nothing left to do.

The Gra explains (in Aderet Eliyahu, cited in UMatok Ha’Ohr by R. Shlomo Levenstein) that these two terms describe different concepts. Shevitah refers to refraining from action entirely and actively stopping all labor. Kilui, by contrast, refers only to the completion of a specific task at the moment when the work on that task is finished. One can only recognize shevitah by seeing that no further activity follows; it is not defined by finishing a task, but by fully ceasing to act. This is why both expressions are necessary. Had the Torah only said וַיְכַל, we might have thought that Hashem completed one stage of creation but then continued with something else afterward. The phrase וַיִּשְׁבֹּת clarifies that He stopped entirely – there was nothing further to be done.

This carries an important message for us as well. Before Shabbat, we should strive for וַיְכַל, to complete as much of our work and preparation as possible. But Shabbat also demands וַיִּשְׁבֹּת: to stop, even when things are not fully finished, and to feel as if everything has been completed, even when it hasn’t. Ideally, we should not even think about all of our unfinished work on Shabbat (even though technically, this is not forbidden if it is not verbalized). Shabbat is not just about having nothing left to do, but about choosing to stop. May we all achieve the level of shevitah on Shabbat, such that we both actively stop all of our work, and also feel that all of our work is complete, even when it isn’t.

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Dedicated by Fran Broder as a zechus for the hostages to be released safely to their families and may everlasting peace come to Eretz Yisrael in the merit of learning Hilchos Shabbos.