In today’s parsha we have one of the main statements regarding shabbat observance, and the section from which the Talmud derives the primary Shabbat prohibitions. But for all the many times that Shabbat is mentioned in the torah, and its avowed centrality in Jewish practice, there are very few specifics provided in our written tanach.
Today I would like to review some of the basic sources in tanach, and later Talmudic discussion. Then I would like to see how we might apply these to our modern circumstances. I expect this to take about 15 minutes, a little longer than the average Library Minyan drash, but I hope you will find it worth reviewing of some of the basics, deriving from biblical times and an agrarian society. And then I will finish with some questions about what shabbat means in our technological society, that I hope will lead to a richer observance in the future.
We all know that observing shabbat is one of the ten commandments, but the Exodus and Deuteronomy versions begin with two different words: first we have zachor, remember, and then we have shamor, observe. One of the traditional understandings of this difference is to associate shamor with obeying the negative commandments, and zachor with the positive commandments. So we can end on a high note, let us begin with the don’ts of shabbat, and then come to the do’s.
The first prohibition is against Gathering, in connection with the provision of manna in the dessert. After Moshe explains for the first time that the seventh day will be a sabbath, some of the people nonetheless go out to gather manna on the seventh day. God then characterizes this as a failure to keep His commandments, although it seems more due to lack of understanding than ill will. (Exodus 16, 28)
The next prohibition is from the same incident, but is against Traveling: Moshe tells the people “Sit each of you where he is, let no one go out from his place on the seventh day.” (Exodus 16, 29) From this the rabbis derived more specific rules on travel, allowing a sufficient distance to enable getting together with neighbors, and by the way forming groups to daven, eat together, and shmooze.
Soon after this incident in Exodus, the people are at Sinai, and receive the ten commandments, which include the primary statement of shabbat observance, and the general prohibition against Work: loh ta’aseh kol m’lachah,“You shall not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates.” (Ex 20, 10) However, just what is meant by “work” is not really explained here. We shall come back to this point a little later.
We next learn of the seriousness of breaking this commandment: “Whoever does work on [shabbat] shall be put to death.” Ex 35, 2. Immediately following this is another specific prohibition, against Kindling fire: “You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations.” Ex 35, 3. From its juxtaposition right after the death penalty statement, we might infer that kindling fire is a particularly egregious violation of shabbat.
There is one more specific offense mentioned in Torah, which shows that the people were not yet clear on the full meaning of m’lacha. A man was apprehended for gathering sticks on shabbat, and at first placed in custody, since the people were unsure what to do. God then tells them that this type of gathering is a capital offense, for which the offender must be executed by stoning. Combining this with the last lesson, I can only advise that if you are camping over the weekend, don’t gather wood and build a fire on Shabbat, or you are in double trouble! Numbers 16, 35.
The prophets have a few things to say about what to avoid on shabbat, as shown in the following verses:
Isaiah speaks against pursuing mundane business: “not doing your own ways, nor pursuing your own business, nor speaking of vain matters.” Isaiah 58, 13.
Jeremiah warns against carrying: “bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.” Jeremiah 17, 21.
Nechemiah describes a scene of brisk commerce, and chides the Israelites to prevent it: “In those days I saw in Judah men treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading them on asses; and also wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them on the day when they sold food. Then I confronted the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? Nechemiah 10, 15-17.
From the beginning of rabbinic Judaism, the founding rabbis felt the need to provide more specific guidance regarding Shabbat. The Talmud (Mas. Shabbath 49b) identifies 39 primary categories of forbidden activities and provides the rationale for selecting them:
The principal categories of labor [forbidden on shabbat] are forty less one--to what do they correspond? --Said R. Hanina b. Hama to them: To the forms of labor in the Tabernacle . . .
Liability is incurred only for work of which the same was performed in the Tabernacle. They sowed, hence you must not sow; they reaped, hence you must not reap; they lifted up the boards from the ground to the wagon, hence you must not carry in from a public to a private domain; they lowered the boards from the wagon to the ground, hence you must not carry out from a private to a public domain; they transported [things] from wagon to wagon, hence you must not carry from one private to another private domain.
The Talmud makes this argument based on the use of the same word for labor, m’lachah, in describing the work done to build the tabernacle, and from the placement of the commands concerning shabbat in our parsha, immediately before the description of building the Tabernacle, illustrating the principle of juxtaposition (Ex. 35). In case you are wondering what sowing and reaping had to do with building the tabernacle, they are included as necessary to grow certain vegetables used to make dyes that were used to color the cloth.
The talmud later lists the 39 prohibited activities on page 73a, quoting from the mishnah:
Mishnah: The primary labors are forty less one: sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, bleaching, hackling, dyeing, spinning, stretching the threads, the making of two meshes, weaving two threads, dividing two threads, tying and untying, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, capturing a deer, slaughtering, or flaying, or salting it, curing its hide, scraping it, cutting it up, writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters, building, pulling down, extinguishing, kindling, striking with a hammer, [and] carrying out from one domain to another.
This is the typically terse mishnah, and requires a great deal of explanation. Let us examine just one example of the discussion that ensues on the meaning and rationale for each of these items. The rabbis take up the prohibition of Selecting, and whether some types might be allowed (Mas. Shabbat 74a). Various rabbis advance the following possible qualifications of what sort of selecting might be allowed:
setting aside for later on the same day (as opposed to a future day),
selecting less than the standard quantity,
selecting by hand (as opposed to using a basket),
selecting the edible from the non-edible,
and selecting the edible to eat immediately.
The rabbis finally agree that only the last is a legitimate interpretation, since to select any amount in any fashion and put it aside for later would be tantamount to storing, which is a prohibited activity.
Later tradition has elaborated on the list of prohibited activities, and interpreted them for circumstances that have emerged in the modern times. Today we have to consider riding a bicycle or a skateboard, driving, taking a bus, using an elevator, or using electricity, to name just a few.
Some interesting logic surrounds the use of automated controls: Is it permissible to leave on the heat, put lights on timers, take an elevator, walk past electrical proximity detectors such as those that turn on lights, open the fridge door, or take a hot shower? Those who do not wish to purposely use electricity will unscrew the bulb in their refrigerator, so they can open the door. However, opening the door still causes greater use of electricity, since some cold air is lost, and eventually the thermostat will switch on the compressor. However, since this is not an immediate and certain consequence, some authorities find it permissible. Another similar example is the shabbat oven feature, which has become a hot selling item in orthodox circles.
Let us now turn our attention to the list of do’s in tanach regarding shabbat. As we noted above, the first mention of shabbat is related to the gathering of manna, when the people gathered two days worth on Friday. This is part of the symbolism of the two loaves of challah with which we start each shabbat. It is also reflected in the need to prepare for shabbat on Friday with extra activity, so that we can indeed have a leisurely shabbat by enjoying what has already been prepared. We are all familiar with the sometimes enervating frenzy before candle lighting, and the rabbis warned that this is a particularly dangerous time when we must be on guard against succumbing to the evil inclination by grousing at other family members in our haste or anxiety to get things ready.
Also in connection with the manna, the people are told “sit each of you where he is” on shabbat. At the literal level, this leads to the injunction against traveling an excessive distance. At a more spiritual level, this can be seen as a call to spend this day being content with things as they are, rather than trying to improve and advance our situation. It can also be read as an injunction to take time contemplating and understanding better where we are both mentally and spiritually.
The next mention of shabbat is in the ten commandments, whose positive section simply states: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Ex 20, 8). The passage then goes on to draw a parallel between God’s creation of the world in six days followed by God resting on the seventh day, and the instruction that people should similarly work for six days and then rest on the seventh. This idea is repeated later in Exodus (34, 21): “Six days shall you work, but on the seventh day you shall desist; from plowing and harvesting you shall desist.” For an agrarian society, these were very important activities, and this illustrates the supremacy of shabbat over the needs for material subsistence.
Thus the basic shabbat commandment tells us that part of making the day holy is to rest. But what exactly is rest, or menucha? It has both a negative aspect, of refraining from inappropriate activities as we have seen earlier, and a positive aspect, of engaging in activities that will relax and recharge our bodies and our spirits. Here is what The Jewish Way [Simon and Shuster, 1988 p. 139 – 141] has to say on this point:
The movement from weekday work to Shabbat rest is a move from acting outward to developing inward. . . Rest is more than leisure from work; it is a state of inner discovery, tranquility, and unfolding. The ability to accept and affirm life in its own right frees me to become more than I am – through self-development and through intensified relationships with others. The Shabbat commandment is not just to stop working, it is actively to achieve Menucha through self-expression, transformation, and renewal.
The theme of parallelism with God’s week of creation followed by rest is also cited in perhaps the best know passage regarding Shabbat, from Exodus 31, which is part of the blessing we recite for Kiddush before lunch every Shabbat: v’shomroo b’nai yisroel et hashabbat. But here an important aspect is added at the end: on the seventh day God rested, and was refreshed, v’yinafash. This additional aspect might be literally rendered “God caught his breath” from the root nefesh. Or it can be understood more figuratively, “God was inspirited.” This suggests we should engage in activities on Shabbat that will refresh and restore our spirits.
This same section describes shabbat as a perpetual agreement or brit, and a sign or ot, between God and Israel to show that God has made the people Israel kodesh. By observing shabbat properly and making it kodesh, the Jewish people are also kodesh.
Another element of shabbat observance in ancient times was a sacrifice at the temple. In addition to the animal sacrifice described in Numbers 28, Leviticus 24 instructs that 12 cakes of bread were to be placed in the temple each shabbat, probably representing the 12 tribes. I mention this for completeness, and a challenge for the listener to go home and try to make something relevant today of this offering of 12 loaves.
Moving on to the prophets, Isaiah invites us to “call the Sabbath a delight,” oneg shabbat, and to “honor it.” (58,13). Much has been made of this simple statement to seek delight on the Sabbath, from special prayers to special meals and special clothes. Perhaps one of the best known manifestations of oneg Shabbat is the encouragement of sexual relations on shabbat. This was not always so. Some ascetic Jewish sects like the Karaites forbade sexual intercourse on shabbat as a form of labor, a planting of seed analogous to plowing and sewing the land. If Jewish thought viewed sexual acts as primarily for procreation, they would be forbidden on shabbat since we are supposed to avoid creating. And conceiving a child is the closest we can come to achieving God's capacity to create life. Happily for us, the rabbis realized that sex often does not lead to pregnancy, so we can have sex for the same reason we can open the refrigerator. More seriously, the rabbis wisely construed sexual relations as more about achieving pleasure and deepening relationships. Hence they not only permitted, but encouraged this as a means of delighting in the day.
So what can we summarize from our examination of traditional sources? On the plus side, we should make the day holy by remembering creation, resting, refreshing ourselves, and seeking delight. On the negative side, we should refrain from making things, and the type of work we do the rest of the week, making Shabbat different. Traveling, kindling fire, and gathering are biblically called out, and all the kinds of work related to making the mishkan are inferred. The prophets add commerce, carrying, and speaking of vain matters to those activities to be avoided.
So how can we apply these concepts to our modern day circumstances? Aside from the big ticket items of going to shul, eating big meals, and making the bed bounce, what should we be doing? Here is a “menu” for shabbat activity adapted from the book A Day Apart, by Noam Zion and our own rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer:
Visiting or calling relatives, friends, the ill, or mourners
Reading -- something entertaining, informative, or uplifting, specially Jewish topics
Walks in nature to revisit the beauty of creation – zecher l’ma’asei b’reshit
Resting and relaxing – meditate, take a nap, or just hang out
Play and games—but nothing too competitive
Singing and music
Here are some things on my list to definitely avoid:
Office paperwork
Shopping, and talking about prices and desired products
Arguments
Gossip—loshen horah, doubly dastardly on shabbat
Financial discussions
Planning, scheduling, making future arrangements
Internet browsing—too easy to slide into something inappropriate
Perhaps the most interesting area is the grey zone in between the clear do’s and don’ts. Here is my list of what might be some more questionable activities, and why.
Watching a video or TV—this depends on the subject, and whether it is recorded so you can avoid commercials
Games that require a lot of counting, calculating, or betting—unless you count in Yiddish
Driving—depends on where you are going and why
Sports activity—neighborhood fun OK, but not an organized competition
Homework—no writing, but maybe reading a required book is OK
No doubt you each have your own ideas on what is clear and what is not. Perhaps some differences among family members or friends are even a cause for some conflict or unhappiness, and I regret if I have brought up any ideas that might cause discomfort on what should be our day of delight. So enjoy Kiddush, have a nice lunch and a nap, and let these reflections percolate in your subconscious. Then during the week, take some time to discuss your thoughts and seek some ways to enhance your future shabbat experience. And if some debate does arise within your family, remember that Pirkei Avot (5:20) tells us, "Any dispute that is l'Shem Shamayim (for the sake of Heaven) will have a positive result."
Shabbat shalom.