A Presentation of Partners in Torah & The Kohelet Foundation

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A Presentation of Partners in Torah & The Kohelet Foundation source Material note Mentor Note Mentor summary The purpose of this session is to introduce your partners to the concept of Shabbat

1 A Presentation of Partners in Torah & The Kohelet Foundation source Material note Mentor Note Mentor summary The purpose of this session is to introduce your partners to the concept of Shabbat menucha. t is important to be aware that your partners may observe Shabbat only minimally or not all. They may, for example, regularly have Shabbat dinners with their family but not see driving or turning on a light as inconsistent with the idea of Shabbat rest. Respect for their level of observance or lack thereof is essential. While refraining from melacha is certainly an essential ingredient in achieving menucha, we focus here primarily on understanding what menucha really means. En route to this end we address a few misconceptions about Shabbat that your partners may have. The first of these misconceptions relates to the nature of melacha. Note: W hile this session will primarily focus on the concept of rest as it relates to Shabbat (which literally means rest ), Sources 1 and 2 are included as an introduction. Source 1 clarifies the meaning of melacha (the Torah s term for activities proscribed on Shabbat, often poorly translated as work ). Source 2 addresses the often-asked question: What is the purpose of having (all) these restrictions? series 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 1

2 source 1: The Pentateuch, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, p. 270 T he idea of Melacha (the term used by the Torah to prohibit on Shabbat what we commonly refer to as work ) in no necessary way entails the idea of strenuous physical labor. t occurs nearly 200 times in the scriptures and in no single instance does the word itself indicate strenuous work, just as the slave work in Egypt is never called Melacha. But everywhere the essential idea of the word Melacha seems to be not the greater or lesser amount of bodily fatigue but the intelligent carrying out of an intention. So that if we knew nothing of the oral traditional explanation, simply from the actual meaning of the word, and from the hundred-fold evidence of the way it is used in the Bible we should say that Lo ta aseh kol melacha (You shall not do any work, Exodus 20:10) -- means, You shall not perform any constructive work. You shall not carry out your intention on any thing, make no thing the bearer of your purpose, your ideas; in general, you shall not produce, not construct! Be sure to emphasize for your partners the difference between work and melacha in the source above as this difference is central to the nature of rest we will be presenting. A second misconception your partners may have concerns the massive amount of detail and specificity related to the laws of Shabbat. From the perspective of many beginning students, the laws of Shabbat may appear overwhelming in their minutiae and bereft of spirituality. ndeed, there are nearly 200 chapters in the Code of Jewish Law devoted to discussing the details of Shabbat observance many of which focus on Thou shalt not.... They may ask you why there are so many laws. The following excerpt from an essay by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan sheds light on this question: Source 2: The Sabbath, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Essay on Sabbath Rest f we think of the Sabbath as a day of rest from a hard week s work, then these rules do not make any sense at all... Why are we forbidden to do so many things even when little or no physical work is involved? t is obvious that the restrictions of Shabbos are not directed at physical work, but rather some form of ritual work. What does the Torah mean when it says that G-d rested? Was He tired? Had He worked too hard? Was Creation an exhausting task? This is our definition: Work, in the Sabbath sense, is an act that shows man s mastery over the world by means of his intelligence and skill. We can now understand the Sabbath ritual. We must leave nature untouched. We must not demseries 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 2

3 onstrate our mastery over nature, nor change it in any way. We must not intervene in the natural process. Any change or interference, no matter how trivial or small is a violation of this rest. As explained by Rabbi Kaplan, Shabbat s numerous laws and details clearly define what is and what is not considered an interference in G-d s natural world, and hence, what is prohibited and what is permitted. Note S habbat is often associated with its numerous Thou shalt not laws. As we shall see however, there is much more to the Shabbat story. We start by examining several of the verses in the Torah that discuss Shabbat. While some of the verses seem repetitive, the precise wording in each verse warrants review as they reveal subtle and noteworthy elements of the Shabbat experience. Source 3a: Genesis 2:2 ו י כ ל א - לק ים ב י ום ה ש ב יע י מ ל אכ ת ו א ש ר ע ש ה, ו י ש ב ת ב י ום ה ש ב יע י מ כ ל מ ל אכ ת ו א ש ר ע ש ה. G -d completed on the seventh day His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Source 3b: Exodus 31:16-17 ו ש מ ר ו ב נ י י ש ר א ל א ת ה ש ב ת, ל ע ש ות א ת ה ש ב ת ל ד ר ת ם ב ר ית ע ול ם. ב ינ י וב ין ב נ י י ש ר א ל, א ות ה וא ל ע ל ם כ י ש ש ת י מ ים ע ש ה ה א ת ה ש מ י ם ו א ת ה א ר ץ, וב י ום ה ש ב יע י ש ב ת ו י נ פ ש. T he Children of srael shall observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath an eternal covenant for their generations. Between Me and the Children of srael it is a sign forever that in a six-day period G-d made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. series 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 3

4 Ask your study partner: Do you see an apparent contradiction between Source 3a and 3b? Source 3a indicates that G-d completed His work on the seventh day, which implies that He worked on that day. Source 3b indicates that He worked during the six days, but rested on the seventh day! Which one is it did He finish on the sixth day or on the seventh day? Help your partners see these apparent contradictions, and invite them to offer a solution. The answer will become clear after Source 6 and elaborated upon in the Mentor Summary. You may also want to ask your partner how they understand the idea that G-d rested? (Surely, G-d wasn t tired!) Asking this question lays the foundation for the idea that the rest we are meant to have on Shabbat surely means something more than taking it easy. Source 4a: Exodus 20: 9-10 ש ש ת י מ ים ת ע ב ד ו ע ש ית כ ל מ ל אכ ת ך; ו י ום ה ש ב יע י ש ב ת ל ה א - לק י ך; ל א ת ע ש ה כ ל מ ל אכ ה. S ix days shall you work and accomplish all your work; but the seventh day is Sabbath to Hashem, your G-d; you shall not do any work. Source 4b: Exodus 23:12 ש ש ת י מ ים ת ע ש ה מ ע ש י ך, וב י ום ה ש ב יע י ת ש ב ת. Six days shall you accomplish your activities, and on the seventh day shall you rest. Ask your study partner: f we abstain from work on Shabbat (as indicated by Source 4a), we will be resting; why is there a need for a separate command to tell us to rest (as indicated in Source 4b)? Give your partners an opportunity to suggest possible answers to this question. To help them along, you may want to ask if being on vacation for example, is synonymous with rest. (f they say that vacations for them are restful, ask whether series 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 4

5 their answer would be different if the question was whether vacation is typically synonymous with tranquility.) f not, what is it that gets in the way of achieving real rest or tranquility. Source 5: Talmud: Shabbat, 12a ת נ י א, ח נ נ י א א ומ ר: ח י יב א ד ם ל מ ש מ ש ב ב ג ד ו ע ר ב ש ב ת ע ם ח ש כ ה. א מ ר ר ב י וס ף: ה ל כ ת א ר ב ת י ל ש ב ת. t has been taught: Chananya says: A person is obligated to touch (i.e., inspect) his garment on the eve of the Sabbath just before nightfall. Rabbi Yosef said: This is an extremely important rule for the Sabbath. Your partner may need some introduction to the laws regarding carrying from a private domain to a public one. f it is necessary, please try to give only brief introduction and explain that examining ones clothing serves as a deterrent against violating the law of carrying outside one s domain. Then Ask your partner: f someone is confident than he has nothing in his pockets, does this source imply that he is nonetheless obligated to check his pockets? (t would seem that the answer is yes. Ask: Why would that be? What could checking one s pockets possibly symbolize? Ask your partner as well: T he expression This is a very significant law regarding the Sabbath is not said about any other of the Shabbat laws. What is so significant about this law of examining one s clothing to deserve this appellation? Source 6: R ashi to Genesis 2:2 רש י: מ ה ה י ה ה ע ול ם ח ס ר? מ נ וח ה. ב א ת ש ב ת, ב א ת מ נ וחה. כ ל ת ה ו נ ג מ ר ה ה מ ל אכ ה. W hat was the world [still] lacking at the end of the sixth day? Menucha (tranquility). Sabbath arrived, tranquility arrived. The work was [now] finished and complete. series 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 5

6 We learn from this that on the seventh day G-d both created and rested. Creation, as we know it, was completed on the sixth day. He therefore rested on the seventh from that work but created the phenomenon of rest a creation in ויכל אלקים ביום השביעי מלאכתו אשר עשה says: and of itself. The verse therefore God completed on the seventh day all the work that He had done, including His latest creation: rest a rest that is not only a physical notion, but one in which the body and soul now had the ability to experience tranquility. Source 7: Kol HaTorah, by Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein, pg. 18 וכ ש א ד ם ושב ת מ מ ל אכ ת ו א ין ז ה ק ר וי מ נ וח ה... א ם ה וא קש ט מ ר צ ונ ות יו ש א ין ר צ ונ ות יו ת וב ע ין א ות ו, וה וא י וש ב ב ל א מ ל אכ ה, א ז י ה וא מ ד ב ק ב ה ב ר יא ה ש ל מ נ וח ה, ומ ז ה ה וא מ ק ב ל כ ל ה ע ונ ג. f a person ceases to work, this is not [enough to be] considered menucha (tranquility). Menucha is only achieved when he is calm from his desires, [i.e.,] he feels not even the pull to fulfill his desires while desisting from work. Only then is he truly connected to the creation of menucha, and thereby experiences genuine pleasure. Mentor SUmmary n this session we ve endeavored to highlight and address a large misconception many people have in regards to the celebration of Shabbat: the belief that rest is merely the relaxation attained when work ends. f this were true, then Shabbat in many respects would not differ significantly from the popular concept of a weekend. Rather the rest of Shabbat aims to create a tranquility and equilibrium between myself and the world, and in so doing emulate the rest that G-d created on the seventh day. This tranquility is accomplished first by refraining from various creative activities that G-d deemed contradictory to achieving this rest. But, the obligation of to be tranquil on the seventh day, as we have stated, requires more, וב י ום ה ש ב יע י ת ש ב ת than the prerequisite of refraining from melacha it requires positive actions that lead us to achieving Menucha. 1 As the Talmud (Shabbat 113) says, we must dress, walk, and talk differently on Shabbat. We further develop this tranquility by indulging in physical pleasures (the Mitzvah of Oneg Shabbat), and dedicating time to nourish the soul by engaging in Torah study. (1) See Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat 21:1, and, as further developed in Mishnat harogatchov (pg. 61):.נאמר בשבת תשבות, מצוה זו אינה על ביטול ממלאכה, אלא ציווי על מנוחה series 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 6

7 As the term in Source 5 is l mashmesh (to touch), not livdok (to check, or inspect), we may speculate that the obligation to touch (or inspect) one s garment on the eve of the Sabbath goes beyond the concern that he may be carrying an object into another domain. By going through the motion of touching or checking one s pockets even if he is sure they are empty he may be following a mandate suggested by the Gaon of Rogatchov אדם לפעול את המנוחה השבת of 2.חייב He is thus turning on the menucha switch, and making himself aware that he lacks nothing and needs nothing else. This would indeed deserve the appellation of an extremely important rule for the Sabbath. The greatness of this day can be seen by noting the following challenge. n times when a person is anxious or under stress, those who care for him may awkwardly advise: Just relax! This obviously is not something they can access at will however. As can be intuited, a person can be commanded not to work, but how can be commanded to rest to achieve a sense of tranquility with my surroundings? Therefore, Shabbat becomes a programmed event that, through its many laws and customs, its investment in wholly changing the nature and rhythm of a home in which the day is celebrated, returns to its celebrants the extra-ordinary gift of on-demand tranquility a delight in my ability to not feel pulled by any of the mundane forces that drive the weekday world. This is one way of understanding the common and profound greeting: Shabbat Shalom. (2) Mishnat harogatchov (pg. 61) series 1 volume 14 mentor edition copyright 2010 Partners in torah page 7

A lot of the time when people think about Shabbat they focus very heavily on the things they CAN T do.

A lot of the time when people think about Shabbat they focus very heavily on the things they CAN T do. No cell phones. No driving. No shopping. No TV. It s not so easy to stop doing these things for a