In
parshas VaYakhel Moshe assembles the nation of Israel to charter them for the
establishment of the Temple. However, before even telling them what the Temple
is to look like, he admonishes them to keep the Shabbos. He declares that six
days of the week are for working at their profession (מלאכה)
but on the seventh day there is to be a decided cessation for Hashem. To add
emphasis Moshe exclaims anybody doing work on Shabbos will die and they
shouldn’t even burn a fire.
The
commandment that Moshe gives to the children of Israel parallels the mitzvah
given to Moshe by HaShem at the conclusion of the instructions how to construct
the Mishkan. The commandment from Hashem is a bit longer and has both stern and
gentle elements. It includes reasons though some of them are not so intuitively
understandable by flesh and blood. We are told that Shabbos is a sign between Hashem
and Israel and a vehicle through which we will know that Hashem sanctifies Israel.
The penalty for work is estranged from the people. G-d concludes the mitzvah by
saying that Shabbos is a sign that He made the heaven and earth in six days and
on the seventh day took pleasure (וינפש)
from His labors.
After
properly relaying the musar about Shabbos, Moshe itemizes the components of the
Temple and the priestly raiment. This passage forms the basis for the Mishna (Shabbos
7:2), “there are forty less one principle crafts”. The crafts fall into four
basic categories, production of bread, cloth garments, leather, and
construction. The Gemara explores the word forty and asks what the missing
trade is. Several explanations are brought one of them is the trade of Yosef.
The verse concerning Yosef’s labor in the house of Potiphar (Genesis 39:11) is
brought. It would seem that the profession of Yosef was that of a butler, auditor,
and an administrator in charge of running the master’s plantation. It does not
look as if he got his hands dirty. This hints that engaging in activities for
the sake of profit, that are not otherwise forbidden, may be undesirable, but
permissible in certain circumscribed situations.
From
these passages we learn something about the nature of Shabbos observance. The
most fundamental prohibition of labor is for the ordinary production of
articles for normal physical uses such as food, clothing, and shelter. The
exhortation not to burn a fire on Shabbos is the source of consideration
discussion. All of the commentaries reject the idea of a blanket prohibition on
fire in favor of sitting in the cold and eating cold food. Rather there is an
elaborate body of law dealing with what should and should not be done with
fire. The Rambam goes so far as to use this verse as the source for prohibiting
application of punishments of Shabbos, something that is not a literal use of
fire. Lighting a fire is in fact counted as one of the 39 forbidden crafts.
However, there is a discussion whether this verse (Exodus 35:3) is its primary
source.
Fire
though is a major tool for production. For example a fire is needed to bake
bread and also to heat water for dyeing and laundering. It seems that the
prohibition against burning a fire is essentially a prohibition for preparing
to do any craft on Shabbos even though the craft was not actually done. Under
the halacha preparing for weekday activities on Shabbos, if not forbidden
outright, is at least restricted and greatly frowned upon.
A
difficulty arises when the objective of the work done is not so much the
laborer’s sustenance but rather for the community good particularly to aid in
Shabbos observance. Because construction of the Temple is forbidden on Shabbos
one can infer no production is permitted on Shabbos. Therefore nobody can say
his work is so important that it takes precedence over the Shabbos. In extreme
situations where human life is at stake all work is to be performed, a number
of rationales some apparent others not greatly are given. In situations where
the absence of a particular activity will cause pain or serious inconvenience
it is often permitted but only in convoluted way and sometimes with legal
fictions given to justify it.
The
issue of a hobby for example a flower garden is illustrative. One could argue
that watering, weeding, or fertilizing such a garden does nothing for a
person’s parnasah. They do, though, involve a degree of bother, which really is
not Shabbosdik. On Shabbos a person should enjoy their garden, look at the
flowers and admire their beauty, and try to see the hand of Hashem in their
garden as well as remnants of His six days of handiwork. Through this we can
understand how Shabbos is like the Temple. By resting on Shabbos and partaking
of the blessings that have come to us from Above, we recognize and explicitly
give thanks to the Creator. In the case of Temple we bring a sacrifice to
express the same thought.
Of
at least equal importance to the idea of rest on Shabbos are the concepts of
recreation (וינפש), the relationship between G-d and Israel, and a cultivated
belief that G-d created the world in six days. This means that cessation of
work is not enough, rather one should enjoy the day off as well. As a result a
person should specifically do things that give them pleasure. However part of
the day should also be related to religion. Desirable religious studies would
be ones that emphasize the interaction between Hashem and the Jewish people.
The
issue of the creation of the world in six days is more complex. The Chumash
testifies that G-d created the world in six days. However we may not see it
that way in our own minds. It would seem that the Torah is saying that we
should delve into this belief with the assurance that we will ultimately see
its truth. For those that really do see it the Chumash encourages us to develop
this belief until we can see it in detail in the physical world.
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לע"נ, האמה ,מלכה בת חיים ז"ל
נלב"ע ט"ז ניסן תשנ"ח
Acknowledgements to websites:
תורת אמת, וויקיטקסט, http://dictionary.reference.com/,
http://hebrewbooks.org/,
וגם בדואר אלקטרוני
ניתן באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.il
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