Bathing on Shabbat and Melakha Performed By Animals

 

Bathing the whole body at once in hot water was forbidden on Shabbat, because it tempts people to heat the bath water.  The Talmud relates that this prohibition in turn triggered prohibitions on washing the body piecewise or entering a steam bath.  When these were permitted, some people would go to the bathhouse and claim that they had only washed bit by bit or sweated in a sauna.

 

However, the Sages discovered that extending the prohibition to the hotsprings of Teveria (Tiberias) was too much of a hardship for people, and this was permitted.

 

THE HOT SPRINGS OF TIBERIAS

 

We find several other instances where the hot springs of Tiberias constitute an exceptional leniency.  For instance, cooking in these springs on Shabbat is not a Torah prohibition (Shabbat 40b) and the same is true for cooking milk and meat in them (YD 87:6).  What spiritual reality is behind these leniencies?  What is it that warms the hot springs of Tiberias?

 

The Torah says that the flood in the time of Noach was brought on by rains from above and by the bursting of "ALL the fountains of the great abyss" from below (Bereishit 7:11).  Our Sages tell us that these springs flooded mankind with boiling hot water, to punish them for the sins they carried out in the boiling heat of passion.  This recalls the view in the Talmud that these springs pass over the gates of Gehinnom (hell)  (Shabbat 39a).

 

The message is that the fires of hell punish us measure for measure for the excesses of our own passions.  We could even say that when we face judgment and perceive our actions in the Divine light of truth, we are tormented by exactly those passions, which led us astray.

 

When the flood ended, the Torah relates that God sealed up "the fountains of the abyss" - without specifying that He sealed all of them.  Three such fountains were left unsealed, including the hot springs of Tiberias (Sanhedrin 108a). So while the hot springs of Tiberias are heated by the fire of retribution, their water is used for healing and delight! (See Etz Yosef.)

 

The fact that this same fire now benefits us shows that our passions are not all bad.  The Torah relates that after each stage of creation God would see His completed handiwork and conclude that it was good.  When He completed the ENTIRE work of creation, the Torah tells us that it was "very good" (Bereishit 1:31).  The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba) understands the meaning of this superlative as follows: "Good - this is the good impulse; very [good] - this is the evil impulse!"  Our material nature, the so-called "evil" impulse, is only "evil" when it is misused.  When we rule our material nature and control it, then it is a source of strength and motivation.  (See chapter 111.)

 

However, although our base nature can be exploited for good, we should not make the mistake of confusing it with our higher nature.  There is nothing wrong with warming ourselves a bit from hellfire at a safe distance, but it remains hellfire.  A person can exploit his base impulses in God's service, but these impulses can not provide the engine for true spiritual enthusiasm.

 

Our Sages say that there are no hot springs in Yerushalayim, because if there were, people would have them in mind when they made pilgrimages to the holy city (Pesachim 8b).  The warm feeling we get from indulging our passions in moderation is not abhorrent, but sometimes it has to give way to pure devotion to God.

 

A corollary is that no spiritual repair is going to be effected by such a fire.  We can look at this in several ways:

 

Rav Nachman explains that while a gentile can cook food, this cooking does not elevate the food spiritually because pagan worship creates heat, but not light - they excite us but do not enlighten us.  (See chapter 80.)  The same goes for the fires of the physical and moral abyss that heat the hot springs.

 

And pickling is not considered cooking on Shabbat because it doesn't come from a real fire.  It takes the immense power of true fire, like the fire of Torah, to effect a genuine spiritual transformation.  (Also in chapter 80.)  Again, the hot springs do not measure up.

 

We may add that unlike fire, which man can ignite and control, the fires of the abyss are entirely natural.  (See Tosafot Chullin 8a.)  But spiritual repair requires significant human intervention.

 

Since the labors that are forbidden on Shabbat are those which further the spiritual repair of the world during the week, it is logical that the hot springs of Tiberias are not considered actual fire regarding the laws of Shabbat.

 

(3, 4) IMMERSION ON SHABBAT

 

Bathing is restricted only in hot water; it is permitted in cold water.  Even so, the Kitzur needs to tell us that ritual immersion is also permitted.  One reason we might have thought this was forbidden is that bathing can be a form of therapy, which is generally forbidden on Shabbat.  However, there is an additional consideration.

 

The Talmud concludes that it is forbidden to immerse clothes on Shabbat to purify them, because this is a kind of repair.  The Talmud then asks, why are people allowed to immerse?  Immersion of people effects a kind of spiritual repair (Beitza 18a)!  Indeed, immersing a convert on Shabbat is forbidden for this very reason - it is the repair of the human being (Yevamot 46b).

 

In the end, immersion is permitted, and even purifying clothes is only forbidden because it resembles substantive repair.  Even so, the Talmud's very wonder at permitting immersion, as well as the ruling regarding conversion, suggest that Shabbat is not really meant to be a day devoted to spiritual repair.  Immersing is permitted only because it does not really demonstrate that we are trying to fix ourselves.

 

This is another example of what we already learned in the end of chapter 72: The main work of fixing ourselves, like that of fixing our environment, is reserved for weekdays.

 

CHAPTER 87 - LAWS RELATING TO ANIMALS ON SHABBAT

 

The Torah repeatedly instructs us to keep Shabbat not only for ourselves, but also for our beasts.  In the Ten Commandments we are commanded to refrain from work together with our beasts (Shemot 20:9, Devarim 5:13); in addition, the Torah commands us to refrain from work in order to give rest to our beasts (Shemot 23:13, cited by the Kitzur in se'if 1).

 

Our Sages inferred that there are two distinct laws involved.  One is the prohibition of mechamer - driving any beast to do work (Shabbat 153b); the other is a positive obligation to give rest to our own animals by preventing them from doing melakha on Shabbat.  But since this latter restriction is for the purpose of letting the beast rest, we shouldn't prevent the animal from doing things for its own enjoyment - like grazing, which is technically considered "gathering" on Shabbat (Rashi; see se'if 13 in the Kitzur).

 

It is easy to understand why we may not drive beasts to do work on Shabbat.  Driving beasts is one of the most important ways work is done during the week (especially in ancient times), and someone who does work this way is not exactly resting from labor.

 

But we need to explain why we must give rest to our animals.  Even non-Jewish people are not required to keep Shabbat; why should animals have to do so?  We can understand this prohibition on several levels.

 

We mentioned above that this prohibition applies only to animals we own.  We have an intimate connection with our possessions, which can be considered an extension of our selves.  (See chapter 34.)  Indeed, one opinion in the Talmud (Beit Shammai) learns from the same passage in the Torah that not only one's animals but even one's objects should not do any work on Shabbat!  And even the other opinion (Beit Hillel) acknowledges that it is improper for ordinary weekday labors to continue on Shabbat - for instance, running a mill or factory even without human involvement (Shabbat 18a).

 

The sense of connection to our possessions is even greater with our animals, with whom we share a certain empathy.  This empathy is behind the many laws that command us to act humanely towards animals.  Our Sages even acknowledged a certain moral sense in animals.  (See Rashi on Bereishit 6:7, 6:12.)

 

This empathy is so great that the animal of a saintly person absorbs some of its master's qualities, so much so that our Sages say that "God does not bring about a mishap through the beast of a tzaddik" (Chullin 6a).  The Talmud relates that the sheep of Rebbe Chanina ben Dosa would not damage other people's property (Ta'anit 25a), and the donkey of Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair refused to eat produce that wasn't tithed (Chullin 7a).  There is also a famous story of a cow that became so accustomed to resting on Shabbat that even when she was sold to a non-Jew she refused to do any work on Shabbat (Maharil Likutim 104).

 

Finally, it is natural to feel a certain sense of gratitude towards our animals, which help us in so many ways - whether they provide us with work like a draft animal, with food or clothing like farm animals, or with companionship and loyalty like pets.  Expression of gratitude is an overarching Torah value (see Rashi Shemot 7:19; see Introduction to Chovot Ha-Levavot), and giving rest to our animals on Shabbat gives us an outlet for our sense of appreciation.

 

(2, 3, 7) EXCESSIVE RESTRAINT; (20,21) TRAPPING ANIMALS

 

Even though we need to keep our animals from doing any labor on Shabbat, a central focus of the discussion in the Talmud, as well as in the Kitzur here, is specifically on carrying items which constitute "excessive restraints" on the animal - restraints which are over and above the normal requirements to keep the animal from running away.

 

Choosing this focus serves to remind us that one way we give rest and satisfaction to animals is by acknowledging their natural desire for freedom.  While the Torah permits us to own and subordinate animals, avoiding excessive restraint reminds us that their natural state is one of liberty and independence.  (Chapter 42 gives another law with a similar message.)  Acknowledging this ideal of freedom is especially appropriate on Shabbat, when our own rest is meant to demonstrate our liberation from slavery in Egypt.

 

The melakha of trapping animals is another reminder of this ideal.