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Meaning in Mitzvot -
Lesson 55

The Spirit Of Shabbat

21.09.2014
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As we explained at length in chapter 75, the Torah commands two main elements in observing Shabbat, "zakhor" and "shamor."  "Zakhor" is a positive commandment involving remembering and mentioning the Shabbat (this is what "zakhor" means), whereas "shamor," "keeping," primarily involves desisting from forbidden work.

 

In the time of the prophet Yishayahu an additional dimension was commanded, an element which until that time had been implicit in Shabbat observance and was then made explicit: the honor of Shabbat.  This dimension is the subject of our chapter.

 

At the end of chapter 58 of Yishayahu, the prophet transmits an inspiring promise to any Jew who properly honors the Shabbat:

 

"If you will restrain your foot because of Shabbat, from pursuing for your affairs on My holy day; and you call the Shabbat a delight, and what is holy to God honorable; and you honor it over going in your accustomed ways, looking after your affairs and speaking aloud. Then you will delight in God, and I will mount you on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you the inheritance of Ya'akov your father - for the mouth of God has spoken."  (Yishayahu 58:13-14)

 

Our Sages explain that this powerful promise is not merely an inspiring oration, but also embodies certain specific directives (see Shabbat 113a):

 

"Call the Sabbath a delight": This is the mitzva of "oneg Shabbat," Shabbat indulgence, which we explained in several places, particularly chapter 72.

 

"Honor it": We should wear special clothing

 

"Over going in your accustomed ways": Our demeanor and habits on Shabbat should be different from the way they are on weekdays (se'if 1).

 

"Looking after your affairs": We are forbidden to take care of business matters on Shabbat, even if no actual melakha is involved (se'if 2).  But this applies only to OUR affairs - mitzva affairs are permitted (se'if 5).

 

"And speaking aloud": We may not talk about business on Shabbat, and should minimize idle talk (even more than on weekdays) (se'if 4). But silent musings are permitted, if they don't interfere with our sense of Shabbat rest and enjoyment (se'if 6).

 

SHABBAT - AND THE LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

 

If we read the above chapter of Yishayahu in its entirety (chapter 58 - please try to do this), we encounter a surprising and even jarring juxtaposition.  The beginning of the chapter is a searing admonition not to be hypocritical in serving God.  The prophet laments how despicable it is that we act with external piety while we oppress the unfortunate.  Our fasts are of no interest to God if they are not accompanied by sincere repentance.

 

What God really wants from us is to

 

"...untangle the snarls of wickedness, and open the ties of perverted justice; to set free the oppressed and undo the miscarriage of justice; to give food to the hungry, and bring the impoverished into you home; if you see the naked then clothe him, and don't neglect your kin." (Yishayahu 58:6-7)

 

The chapter then continues with the passage we cited above, which talks about honoring and even indulging the Shabbat!  No mention whatsoever is made of helping the unfortunate, yet the envisioned reward is similar to the one made in the first part of the chapter!

 

It seems that our fasts are despicable to God if they are not accompanied by social concern, but our "feasts" are acceptable to Him even without such concern!

 

We find a parallel contrast implicit in a similar admonition of the prophet Malachi.  Malachi bewails the fact that the kohanim (priests) in the Temple are bringing the sacrifices in a perfunctory way, without proper awe towards the One to Whom the offerings are brought.  God warns them, "Behold, I rebuke you with [shortage of] seed, and I smear excrement on your faces - the excrement of your holidays [Yom Tov offerings]; and it will draw you near to it" (Malachi 2:3).

 

The Zohar points out that this exhortation refers specifically to Yom Tov offerings, implying that lack of concern for others is a much greater problem on Yom Tov than it is on Shabbat (Zohar Yitro II:88b).

 

This doesn't mean that Shabbat observance is unrelated to social concern.  On the contrary, the Torah repeatedly connects the observance with Shabbat with the message of equality and concern for the needy.  For instance, in the passage introducing the manna, which is the first place we encounter the concept of Shabbat, we learn that each person received an equal amount (Shemot 16:18).  And on Mount Sinai, God commands us to give rest to our servants on Shabbat "so that your manservant and maidservant should rest like you," so that we should remember that we also were slaves in Egypt until God freed us (Devarim 5:13-14).

 

However, social concern as a monolithic religious ideal is inherently limited.  Consider the paradox of the man who has a respectable job and a comfortable house.  Yet despite the fact that he has "everything," he feels a spiritual vacuum, because his life resolves around his own needs.  He decides to devote himself to others, and fights for social equality.  His minor loss of economic well-being is more than made up for by his newly acquired sense of mission.  What will happen if his quest is successful?  Everyone will attain a respectable job and a comfortable house - and everyone will feel the same spiritual emptiness he started with! We see that an exclusive focus on social concern is just a more enlightened form of materialism.

 

Concern for others is certainly an essential value in Judaism.  It is despicable hypocrisy to fast in order to demonstrate that material enjoyments are meaningless to us, while at the same time we rapaciously strive to increase our material well-being at the expense of the downtrodden.  This is the theme of the first half of chapter 58 of Yishayahu.

 

But even after we feed the hungry and clothe the naked, after we free ourselves from obsession with material gain, our material natures remain with us.  We cannot fast the year round!  We have to find a way for rich and poor alike to maintain their connection to material possessions, but to enjoy these possessions in an elevated way - elevated in the sense of "dignified," and elevated in the sense of "sanctified."  This is accomplished through the mitzva of honoring and enjoying the Shabbat day.  In this way we bestow an inner meaning on those of our accomplishments that promote of social justice, as the prophet Yishayahu concludes in the second half of the chapter.

 

(5) MAKING A LIVING

 

While concerning ourselves with our own affairs is forbidden on Shabbat, we are permitted to look after "the affairs of heaven," and to plan for the performance of mitzvot, even those that involve work and will have to be carried out during the week.

 

Our Sages concluded that teaching a trade to a youngster is considered a mitzva, and it is possible to discuss an apprenticeship for him on Shabbat - though discussing details is forbidden.  This shows the great importance of earning a living.

 

The value of work is mentioned occasionally in the Jewish sources.  (See Rashi on Shemot 21:37.)  However, our Sages seldom emphasized the value of work per se, and there is no stigma attached to living off one's wealth.

 

But our sources DO attach immense value to being self-supporting.  We are exhorted to accept even a demeaning job in preference to seeking donations (Bava Batra 110a), and to minimize expenses even for Shabbat if this is necessary to avoid accepting charity (Shabbat 118a).

 

The value of being self-supporting is not primarily practical, but rather, religious.  The Torah relates that after Noach released the dove from the ark, it returned that evening "with an olive leaf in its mouth" (Bereshit 8:11).  Rashi explains that the expression "in its mouth" hints that the dove was trying to say something: "May my livelihood be even as bitter as an olive in the hands of the Holy One blessed be He, and not sweet as honey in the hands of flesh and blood."

 

A livelihood that is earned is considered to come directly from God, as opposed to gifts and donations that reach us only through human agency.  Even though we may receive a salary from an employer, the employer has no choice but to give it to us, since we have rightfully earned it.

 

Of course, our Sages' idea of economic self-sufficiency was much different than ours.  Today we say that we are self-sufficient only when we are really quite wealthy.  But the Talmud teaches, "Anyone who has enough to eat today and asks, 'What will I eat tomorrow?' is of small faith" (Sota 48b).  The ideal is for a man to find a livelihood that provides his family's basic needs, and to devote his primary energies to learning Torah.

 

(The idea of economic freedom as a religious value is also discussed in chapter 65 and at the end of chapter 131.)

 

WORK OF A NON-JEW ON SHABBAT

 

The prohibition of having work done by a non-Jew has two aspects.  One is actually asking the non-Jew on Shabbat to do some work.  This is forbidden because of the prohibition of "looking after your affairs," and is not permitted even if we ask the non-Jew to work AFTER Shabbat.

 

The other aspect is ALLOWING the non-Jew to work for us on Shabbat - even if we don't ask him.  This contradicts the admonition to experience Shabbat as a day of completion, when all of our labors are finished, as the Kitzur explains in se'if 6.  (This prohibition is explained further in chapter 73 and at the end of chapter 80.)

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