Commentary for Exodus 31:17

וינפש AND WAS REFRESHED — Take it as the Targum renders it: ונח “and He rested”. Every form of נפש is derived from the noun נֶפֶש, soul; the idea is, that one calms his soul and takes breath when one reposes after the toil of labour. — And He of Whom it is written, (Isaiah 40:28) “[… the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth] fainteth not nor is He weary”, and Whose every action is accomplished by His mere command had the term “repose” written of (ascribed to) Himself in order to make comprehensible to the human ear what it can understand.

וביום השביעי שבת, seeing that on that day the creative activity of G’d had been completed, completion spells rest,

ביני ובין בני ישראל אות היא לעולם, “between Me and the Children of Israel it is an everlasting symbol.” It is possible to understand that the word לעולם in this verse means that the Sabbath is a symbol attesting to the fact that G’d created the world out of nothing. This is why our verse describes how the Sabbath functions as a sign (proof) for the entire world. Cessation of creative activity signals that the person so refraining believes that G’d made the world in six days (without drawing on existing raw materials).
The words ביני ובין בני ישראל, “between Me and between the Children of Israel,” teaches that there was a hidden aspect which had been conveyed to the Israelites privately. There is a mystical, hidden aspect to the Sabbath.” When a king issues a command to a son or trusted servant, something not everyone knows about, he is apt to say to his son: “remember the thing that is between me and you.” These are the things which had been agreed upon between father and son without any written protocol having been made of them. This is the reason our sages explained in Beitzah 16 in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that G’d gave the Israelites all the commandments in public with the exception of the Sabbath. He based himself on the words in our verse [the word לעולם, derived from נעלם, “hidden, secret,” is probably the way Rabbi Shimon understood our verse. Ed.]. Seeing that the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and as such was certainly given to the Jewish people in public at Mount Sinai, what did the Rabbi mean when he spoke of the Sabbath having been given secretly, in private? Moreover, Isaiah 48,16 states specifically that “from the beginning I did not speak to you in secret, etc.” How do we reconcile his words with those of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai? Also, in Psalms 138,4 David exclaims: “All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, for they have heard the words You spoke.” What did Rabbi Shimon have in mind? The sages referred to a hidden, mystical element which is part of the entire complex of the Sabbath laws and concept, not to the actual positive and negative commandments which have all been spelled out in public.”

Now He, about Whom it is written. . . This is a question: I.e., “Hashem, about Whom it is written, ‘He does not become faint’. . . [how could He attribute rest to Himself?”]

V. 17. Oben (V. 13) war die שמירה, war die Werkunterlassung als אות bezeichnet, hier ist es der Tag an sich. Der Tag an sich ist das Denkmal für Gottes freie Weltschöpfung, unsere Werkunterlassung an diesem Tage das Denkmal für unsere Anerkennung des Schöpfers als unseres Herrn und unsere Berufung durch ihn in seinen Dienst. — נפש :וינפש bezeichnet ja die Individualität, das individuell persönliche Wesen (siehe Jeschurun VIII, S. 435, und Bereschit zu 1, 20). הִנָפֵש heißt somit: sich in seine Persönlichkeit zurückziehen, im Gegensatz zu einer nach außen strebenden Tätigkeit, weshalb es auch ausruhen von einer Anstrengung, buchstäblich: das Zusichkommen, bedeutet (Schmot 23, 12; Sam. II. 16, 14). Hier steht es in der ursprünglichsten Bedeutung. Jetzt erscheint uns Gott nirgend in seiner Schöpfertätigkeit, שoוינ, er hat sich zurückgezogen, es ist Schabbat in der Schöpfung. Allein der Schabbattag ist das Denkmal: dass dieser — s.v.v. — dieser Zurückgezogenheit, diesem Schabbat, eine freie Schöpfertätigkeit vorangegangen: dass sechs Tage Gott Himmel und Erde gebildet und mit dem siebten Tage zu bilden aufgehört hatte, als er sich in die uns jetzt erscheinende Unwahrnehmbarkeit zurückzog. (Siehe zu Bereschit 2, 1 — 3.)

וביום השביעי שבת וינפש, “but on the seventh day He rested and withdrew into His essence.” Rabbi Yehudah Hachassid said that from this verse we can deduce that the Jew receives an additional soul on the Sabbath. When you read the respective last letters in the last four words of the verse backwards, you get the word שתים, “two.” The Talmud relates an interesting conversation between Rabbi Akiva and Turnusrufus, the wicked Roman governor during part of his life when the latter met him once on the Sabbath. Upon seeing him, the governor asked Rabbi Akiva what was so special on that particular day, to which Rabbi Akiva replied: “how are you different from anyone else?” Turnusrufus wanted to know what kind of an answer this was to his question. The Lord had singled him out to be more honoured than other human beings. Rabbi Akiva told him that the same Lord had singled out the Sabbath to be more honoured than any other day He had created. Turnusrufus then wanted to know why that same G–d performs all manner of work on the Sabbath, such as letting the wind blow, the rain fall, etc., whereas He denied the Jews to work on the Sabbath and to travel on the Sabbath? Rabbi Akiva replied that he was aware that the governor was familiar with the Torah G–d had given the Jews, so that he could ask him, why if two Jews share the same courtyard in front of their houses, what is the reason for the law whereby if each of the homeowners does not enter into an arrangement whereby he foregoes his legal claim to the courtyard, neither of them can move his chattels in that courtyard on the Sabbath, whereas when they each waive their claim, they can both use that courtyard freely? How come, he continued, that if a Jew has a palace owned exclusively by himself, and surrounded by a courtyard as large as the city of Damascus, he is free to move all his chattels all over that courtyard on the Sabbath? Similarly, the Lord Who owns both heaven and earth exclusively, is free to let the wind blow and to let the rain fall without thereby violating the laws of His Sabbath. He added, that if proof were needed for what he had told the Roman governor, let him reflect on the fact that that same Creator observed the Sabbath by not having given the Jews in the desert their heavenly bread, manna on that day, but giving them a double portion on the Sabbath eve, so that they would not go hungry on that day. (Tanchuma, section 33 on this portion)

וינפש, this is why the seventh day is one devoted to the נפש, the spirit, resulting in G’d giving Jews an additional soul for use on that day. This additional soul assists us in concentrating on the spiritual dimension of the day. When man was created, G’d made him in His image, i.e. first and foremost concerned with spiritual concerns. The extra soul granted us on the Sabbath is to help us live up to that vision G’d had of man when He created him. (compare Beytzah 16)

Attributes “rest” to Himself. . . I.e., He says that “rest” should be written about Himself.

Der Schabbat ist das Denkmal für unsere Beziehungen zu Gott, der Tempel das Denkmal für unsere Beziehungen zu seinem Gesetz. Es begreift sich, dass der Tempelbau vor dem Schabbat zurücktreten müsse. Der Tempel selber hat seine Voraussetzung im Schabbat. Vor פקוח נפש, vor Lebensrettung tritt der Schabbat zurück, פקוח נפש רוחה שבת wie es in allgemeiner Beziehung auch hinsichtlich anderer Gebote heißt: אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם ולא שימות בהם, Wajikra 18, 5, oder wie es in betreff des Schabbat speziell angedeutet ist: כי קדש היא לכם היא מסורה בידכם ולא אתם מסורים, בידה (V. 14): eure Heiligung ist Zweck des Schabbat, darum darf seine Erhaltung nicht euer Dasein bedrohen, oder (V. 16): ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת חלל עליו שבת אחת, כדי שישמור שבתות הרבה, der Schabbat bedarf seiner Hüter in Mitte des Menschenkreises, darum verletze um einen Gefährdeten einen Schabbat, damit er deren noch viele hüte (Joma 85 b). In dem erhaltenen Hüter erhältst du den Schabbat selber, sowie in dem gefährdeten Hüter der Schabbat selber gefährdet erscheint.

Only to accustom the ear. . . This is the conclusion of the answer.