Is Shabbos a Yom (יוֹם) or a Zman (זמן)?
Why does the Shabbos davening (prayer service) couple “blessed [Shabbos]" with "from all the days," and "sanctified [it]" from "all the seasons?”
אַתָּה קִדַּשְׁתָּ אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי לִשְׁמֶךָ, תַּכְלִית מַעֲשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, וּבֵרַכְתּוֹ מִכָּל הַיָּמִים, וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ מִכָּל הַזְּמַנִּים
You blessed the seventh day for Your Name's sake, the purpose of creating the heavens and the earth, and blessed it among all the days, and sanctified it among all the seasons...
A cursory examination of the word יום as it appears in the Torah refers to a specific period of time, while the word זמן refers to a general period of time, a season, or Jewish holidays.
The first instance in the Tanakh of both words in the same verse aptly demonstrates the difference between them:
לְקַיֵּם אֶת יְמֵי הַפֻּרִים הָאֵלֶּה בִּזְמַנֵּיהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר קִיַּם עֲלֵיהֶם מׇרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי וְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה וְכַאֲשֶׁר קִיְּמוּ עַל נַפְשָׁם וְעַל זַרְעָם דִּבְרֵי הַצּוֹמוֹת וְזַעֲקָתָם (אסתר ט׳:ל״א).
...to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fasts and their cry. (Esther 9:31)
Shabbos - A Hybrid Creation
According to these descriptions the words of the davening may be telling us that Shabbos has aspects related to the days of the week and to the Jewish holidays, which the Torah refers to as zmanim (זמנים), or “seasons” or “times.” In other words, it is a cross-section between both of these dimensions.
The aspect of “day” (יום) seems to be a reference to the increased degree of blessing conjoined upon the day, as discussed in Holiness vs. Blessing- Three Dimensions.
And yet Shabbos has an aspect of zman (זמן), i.e., the רגלים (Pesach - פסח, Sukkos - סֻכֹּת, and Shavuos - שבועות) in terms of Halacha (Jewish Law), although it is more highly sanctified. For example, one may cook during chol hamo’ed (חל המועד, the interim period of these holidays), but not during the Yom Tov (יום טוב, the first and last day of Pesach and Sukkos). In that the Yom Tov of these holidays may be comparable to Shabbos, on which it is prohibited to cook, indicating that Shabbos is a Yom Tov of sorts. It is interesting to think of Shabbos as a Yom Tov with no chol hamo’ed. Or perhaps even more interesting, one may consider the six days of the week between Shabbos as chol hamo’ed Shabbos.
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