In פרק לה, פסוק ב it says,
שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶשׁ שַׁבַּ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן לַיהוָ֑ה כָּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה ב֛וֹ מְלָאכָ֖ה יוּמָֽת׃
On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
Question:
Why does the Torah mention that they cannot work on shabbos when that law was already given to them? Why does the Torah add an extra level of harshness and say that anyone who does the work on shabbos will be put to death?
According to Rashi, Moshe conveyed the message this way to show that nothing should supersede shabbos, even building the משכן
What are other reasons for Issur Melacha on Shabbos? What is so significant about Shabbos and it's relationship to the Jewish people?
What are other reasons for Issur Melacha on Shabbos? What is so significant about Shabbos and it's relationship to the Jewish people?
The Or HaChaim says that the reason the Torah repeats itself is to remind us that it is prohibited to work on Shabbat whether it is you yourself doing it, or a non-Jew working on your behalf. The word “Te-asseh” is there to show us that although you are allowed to have a non-Jew work for you during the week, he cannot work for you on Shabbat. If one were to tell a non-Jew to work for them on Shabbat they would be violating this prohibition (and there would be ramifications for that). I like this answer because it is showing us how sacred Shabbat is. And I also like the consistency in that we cannot work at all and that includes people we hire to work for us.
ReplyDeleteJen Felder
ReplyDeleteA chasid of the Mitteler Rebbe, Rabbi DovBer Schneersohn (the second Lubavitcher Rebbe), went into the business of producing overshoes. It was soon apparent that his mind was more preoccupied with business matters than the observance of Torah and mitzvot. Once, when he visited Lubavitch, the Rebbe said to him, “Feet enveloped in overshoes are commonplace, but imagine a ‘head’ sunk in overshoes!”
The Torah is in favor of people working, but is against the entire person (head, mind, heart, and soul) being completely immersed in the work. Therefore, even during the six days of the week “work shall be done” (as if it is done on its own), but one’s primary focus should be Torah and mitzvot. From Chabad.org
I agree with this on some level. I agree that one of our primary focus should be immersed in Torah and mitzvot but I feel that physical work is also an important part in our lives.
Ariella Rosencrantz
ReplyDeleteRabbi Noah Weinberg says that the Torah commands us twice not to work on Shabbat to imply that we must take an extra level of rest. Keeping Shabbat is not just to stop working or resting. It is more than that. We must take a step back and see that HaShem is in charge.
I like this response because it shows that every word in the Torah is important and we must see that every word shows us something. Nothing is extra.
Source: https://www.aish.com/sh/t/e/Shabbat_-_Heaven_on_Earth.html
The Sforno says that one cannot violate shabbos even to complete his tasks in the mishkan, even though the mishkan is also very holy. I like this answer because it is very clear and concise and still states that the mishkan is holy just doesnt override Shabbos.
ReplyDeleteThe ramban and the seforno both say that the Torah repeats itself so as to make clear that the laws of shabbos apply also to the work on the Mishkan. Since people may have thought that finishing the Mishkan faster may have been more important than shabbos, it was important to clarify.
ReplyDeleteIts very interesting because if you think about it, the commandment to build the Mishkan was also very important so it makes sense that Moshe would have to clarify that Shabbos is so important that Hashem WANTS everyone to take a break and rest for a day.
Tova Rubin
ReplyDeleteThe sefer Beit Yisrael says that the same milachot of building the mishkan are the same as the milachot that are assur on Shabbos. Hashem rested on the seventh day after creating the world and building the mishkan is equivalent to building a world. So too, we refrain from building on Shabbos (because it is parallel to building a world). I like this idea because it reflects the chashivus that the mishkan had, you might have thought the mishkan wasn’t as important since it was moveable but from here we learn of its importance.
The sforno says that the reason the Torah repeats itself is to Highlight the importance of the laws of shabbas and to show that the same applies to the mishkan. We learn from this how valuable Shabbas is and how important it is to Hashem that he wants us to take a break, and not Shabbas in order to complete the mishkan sooner, even though the mishkan is so important itself. I like this idea because it shows just how meaningful Shabbas is:)
ReplyDeleteAbby Pollack
ReplyDeleteA significance of Shabbas and its relationship to the Jewish people is that Shabbas is the core of Jewish life, and without it the Jewish identity would be lost. I like this idea because it is simple, and emphasizes the importance of Shabbas to the Jewish people.
Source: https://www.aish.com/tp/b/app/48968706.html?mobile=yes
The concept of 'Melacha' literally means creative, purposeful interactions with nature. Therefore in order for something to be Melacha on Shabbos is something that is purposeful. Depending on a person's intention, an action that would be considered Melacha is not for example destroying a wall. Destruction is a Melacha but if the intention of doing so was just to demolish then it would not be considered Melacha but if it was destroyed with the intention of creating new space then it would be.
ReplyDeleteI got this idea from the OU and I really like it because before this I never realized that Melacha is all about intentions. For the same action done by two people with different intentions, the outcome can be different. It makes me realize I have to be more mindful with keeping Halachot and Mitzvot.
According to mjl.com one reason keeping Shabbat is so important is because it was commanded to us. Although it says that on the seventh day hashem rested. Later in the in shemot hashem tells the Jews they should remember shabbos and keep it holy. What we learn from the first time when it says hashem rested and later on when it says we should keep that day holy is the concept of imitating hashem. Because hashem rested we rest. Also if hashem needed to take a break after 6 days even more so us humans need to take a break.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a beautiful idea and fits in with what we learned about us being the shadow of gd
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shabbat-themes-and-theology/amp/
Kayla Tarlow
Eden Schechter
ReplyDeleteLubavitcher Rebbe
The heart and mind are elsewhere, and only the person’s practical faculties are engaged in the work. Man is not sustained by his own efforts, but through G‑d’s blessing, wwork merely provides a natural channel for the divine blessing of sustenance, and man must at all times remember that it is no more than a channel. Though his hands prepare the channel, his mind and heart must remain focused on the source of the blessing. work is permissible and desirable. But to go beyond the level of involvement sanctioned by the Torah—beyond the “passive labor” of making a “vessel”—that would be, in the first place, to show a lack of faith and second, it would be “making gestures before the king”—an act of rebellion in the face of G‑d.
According to rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, when HaShem was creating the world it was incomplete, on the 7th day he “rested”. But HaShem is all mighty, he obviously doesn’t need rest. This “rest” refers to a state of perfection. He no longer had to change to world for human being and make it more perfect, it became perfect so HaShem “rested”
ReplyDelete-Hannah
The word “Shabbat” is an acronym for "שנה בשבת תענוג", which can be read in two ways.
ReplyDelete1. Studying Torah on Shabbat is a delight
2. Sleeping on Shabbat is a delight
people who do not have time to study Torah during the week should study Torah on Shabbos while people who study Torah the entire week should fulfill the mitzvah of Oneg Shabbat by eating and drinking since they already experienced the delight of Torah study throughout the week.
Therefore, the acronyms of the word “Shabbat” is teaching us each mode of conduct for shabbos
Chagit Bender from Tiferet says that Moshe repeated this because he wanted everyone to know that it’s ok to repeat things and if you repeat things you are ultimately better educated. Moshe, as a leader, wanted Bnei Yisroel to not feel shy about asking him to repeat himself about working on Shabbos. I really like this idea because it shows how great of a leader Moshe was that he was really thinking about Bnei Yisroel and truly being there for them, even without anything major going on at that moment.
ReplyDelete