91快播

Parashat Ki Tissa covers many topics. They include fashioning utensils for the Tabernacle, constructing the golden calf, and Moses seeing God鈥檚 image. Sandwiched in between these weighty matters are some very famous verses about the Sabbath.

Following the instructions for preparing incense for future offerings, six verses speak of the Sabbath (Exod. 31: 13-18). Two of them appear in our siddur and are sung in most synagogues on Friday night and Shabbat morning (vv. 16-17). Probably because the words are so familiar, I have tended to overlook their precise meaning.

When I did pay attention to these six verses recently, I noticed two peculiarities. The first is that v. 14 says that those who desecrate the Sabbath will be put to death, but then goes on to say that an individual who performs labor (melakhah) on the Sabbath will be 鈥渃ut off from his people.鈥� These two different punishments appear in the same verse for essentially the same transgression. Even if we don鈥檛 know the exact meaning of 鈥渂eing cut off鈥� (karet), it is surely not the same as being put to death.

The second peculiarity is found in v. 16, which first says 鈥渢he people of Israel will observe the Sabbath鈥� (veshameru . . . et hashabbat) and then goes on to say that they will 鈥渕ake鈥� or 鈥渄o鈥� the Sabbath (濒补鈥檃蝉辞迟 et hashabbat). The verb 濒补鈥檃蝉辞迟 appears several other times in these six Sabbath verses and consistently means 鈥渢o perform labor,鈥� or 鈥渢o create,鈥� as in 鈥淕od created the heavens and the earth in six days鈥� (v. 17). How are we supposed to 鈥渄o鈥� or 鈥渃reate鈥� the Sabbath?

Traditional and even contemporary commentators all say that the phrase 濒补鈥檃蝉辞迟 et hashabbat means that we must perform work before the Sabbath so that we benefit from it on the Sabbath. To my mind, such an interpretation does not do justice to the simple meaning of the words. My interpretation of this unusual phrase is that we 鈥渄o鈥� or 鈥減erform鈥� the Sabbath by giving it positive content. Yes, the Mishnah鈥檚 list of 39 forbidden Sabbath labors is very well-known (Shabbat 7:2). It says no plowing, no harvesting, no baking, no building, no sewing, and so on. And there are not just 39 forbidden labors but many, many more. The Rabbis add, for example, no cooking and no laundering, also called 鈥渓abors鈥� in Mishnah Ketubot (5:5), which records the tasks a wife is expected to perform for her husband.

So what does it mean to 鈥渄o鈥� the Sabbath? Unlike the traditional commentators, I think there is great ingenuity in using the same verb, 濒补鈥檃蝉辞迟, to describe what we are told not to do on the Sabbath and what we are told to do. Far too often the Sabbath gets a bad reputation among Jews and non-Jews because it has so many restrictions. To counteract that perception, we need to stress how to actively 鈥渄o鈥� the Sabbath. Many of these acts are already suggested in the Talmud and might even represent how the rabbis understood the phrase 鈥�濒补鈥檃蝉辞迟 et hashabbat.鈥� Here they are: Recite Kiddush over wine Friday night (M Berakhot 8:1); eat a lavish Friday night meal by candlelight (M Shabbat 2:6, BT Shabbat 118a); engage in sexual activity (BT Ketubot 62b); attend prayer services at which the Torah is read (M Meg 4:2); attend a study session in the afternoon (M Shabbat 16:1); have three meals on the Sabbath, not just the standard morning and evening meals (BT Shabbat 118a ff.); recite Havdalah at the end of the Sabbath over a cup of wine with spices to smell and a lamp to light (M Berakhot 8:5). These kinds of activities can aptly be described as 鈥渄oing鈥� or 鈥減erforming鈥� the Sabbath. They turn the Sabbath into a period of pleasure and holiness rather than a day of denial.

Returning to the first peculiarity, why does v. 14 prescribe two different punishments for a person who violates the Sabbath? The great commentator Rashi claims that the severe punishment of the first part of the verse is for those who violate the Sabbath after being warned not to do so, whereas the more lenient punishment of the second part of the verse is for those who violated the Sabbath but were not previously warned. Here is another possibility: God says that one who desecrates (诪讞诇诇 / [mehallel]) the Sabbath, who turns it into an ordinary day (讞讜诇 [hol]), should be put to death. The reason for this punishment appears in the next part of the verse: because someone who does so cuts herself off from the Jewish people. The ways to 鈥渄o鈥� the Sabbath鈥攎eals, prayer, study鈥攁ll involve others. One who avoids engaging with others on the Sabbath is, in effect, distancing herself from them. It is as if God first says, a Sabbath violator should be put to death, but then goes on to say, no need to execute her. She has already left the community by performing labor on the Sabbath, by turning her back on 鈥渄oing鈥� the Sabbath together with fellow Jews.

So these six verses about the Sabbath encapsulate two great ideas: a Jew needs to actively celebrate the Sabbath, and the celebratory acts need to be performed together with other Jews. These concepts perhaps explain the comment of the great essayist Ahad Ha鈥檃m in an 1898 article (鈥淪habbat and Zionism鈥�): 讻讬 讬讜转专” 诪砖讬砖专讗诇 砖诪专讜 讗转 讛砖讘转 砖诪专讛 讛砖讘转 讗讜转诐, more than the Jews have preserved the Sabbath, the Sabbath has preserved the Jews”. 

The publication and distribution of the 91快播 Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (锄鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (锄鈥漧).