Halakhah su Esodo 31:78

The Tur (Orach Chaim 561) writes that one must rend his garments upon seeing “cities of Israel” in ruins. Rav Yosef Karo (Beit Yosef ad loc.) notes, however, that the Gemara mentions only cities in Judea, so the Tur’s reference to cities from anywhere in the Land of Israel is not specific.⁴¹. The Gemara derives this principle from the verse “And the Jewish people shall guard Shabbat” (Shemot 31:16). Rashi (s.v. Veshamru) explains that “guarding” any particular Shabbat includes ensuring that future Shabbatot will also be observed. (The same Hebrew word - “lishmor” - means both “to guard” and “to observe.”)

And know indeed that the status of the souls in the world of souls comes right as one dies, while the world to come is after the resurrection. And it is the hope of all hopes, it cannot be compared or likened to anything in this world, nor pictured in the mind, because its image cannot be comprehended in the heart of “anyone artistically skillful,”⁸⁷“Kol hakham lev,” any “artistic genius.” R. Bahya uses an expression from Ex 31:3-5 that describes the great architect and builders of the mishkan, Bezalel and his assistants: “I have filled him [Bezalel] with a divine spirit of skill [hakhmah]…to make designs…and work in every kind of craft. Moreover I have assigned to him Oholiab…and I have granted skill [hakhmah] to all who are skillful [kol hakham lev]…”surpassing their ability to picture its essence and quality – what it is like and how the souls take delight in it. The reason for this is because of our being sunken in the world of thick and coarse bodies, which is totally thickness and coarseness, while the upper world is totally elevation, refinement, and purity. Indeed, the two are opposites; it’s impossible to think of what we are diametrically opposed to. Just as for fish, because they exist in the element of water, and need it to exist and live, it would be impossible for them to turn to the element of fire because it is its opposite, so these two worlds are opposites, and “every man is proved dull, without knowledge”⁸⁸Jer 10:14. of the quality of the world to come while in this world, and even the wisest of the wise are fools about this. And you already knew that our rabbis z”l said that even the prophets didn’t prophesy about it due the fact that it was hidden for the most part, which is what they said in Sanhedrin:⁸⁹B. Sanhedrin 99a. “All the prophets prophesied all the good things with regard to the days of Messiah; but as for the world to come ‘No eye has seen, O God, but You.'” However, we know in general through what we can infer through reason and from the Torah “which makes wise the simple”⁹⁰Ps 19:8. that just as the body enjoys and takes delight [mitaden] in a pleasant aromatic meal according to the body’s standards of pleasure, so the soul will enjoy and take delight in this upper world. However, its way of taking delight there is not measured like bodily things, which have measures and dimensions, but the upper beings have no measure and dimension, because their status is great, beyond conception, and their way of taking delight deeper than any measure. And even though the power of the body is weak and unable to picture in the heart the existence of the upper beings and their delight that is without measure, the power of the upper beings and their perfection is not diminished by lesser beings, composed of matter, who are unable to conceive of them, just as the human wisdom and virtue is not diminished by a fool or beast who cannot imagine or conceive of it.

Even Sabbath regulations, despite their status as testimony to the doctrine of divine creation, are suspended when life is in danger. The Gemara, Yoma 84b, declares, " 'For it is holy unto you' (Exod. 31:13)—the Sabbath is given over into your hands, but you are not given over into its hands." One talmudic explanation of the subordination of other laws to the preservation of life is based on the line of reasoning that it is preferable to violate one Sabbath in order that the patient be enabled to observe many Sabbaths (Yoma 85b). Implicit in this formulation is the notion that the observance of divine law must be maximized. In effect, a calculus of observance is established. Hence, temporary abrogation may be sanctioned for the sake of subsequent observance.

Here are honest witnesses that the day begins with dusk. Similarly for all the holidays and the Sabbath, for all are “appointed seasons of God, holy gatherings” (ibid. 23:4). Only the Sabbath is called “a Sabbath for God” (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14), for God rested during Creation. Since both the year and the day are dependent on the sun, for both motions are similar one to another, therefore the seventh year is comparable to the Sabbath day. Hence it is also written with regard to the seventh year “a Sabbath for God” (Leviticus 25:2). Therefore, just as the Sabbatical year begins with the autumn season, so the beginning of the Sabbath day is in that period of the day corresponding to autumn, which begins with dusk.

The individual shakes off mundane routine frequently— every week. “Shabbat comes and so does rest!”¹²Rashi on Gen. 2:2. Rashi’s full comment reads: “What was lacking [in Cre-ation]? Rest. Enter Sabbath, enter rest; and then the work of Creation was finished.” Creation was not complete until rest was made to complement and balance creative activity. The soul begins to shed her harsh chains. “The Lord has given you rest from your sorrow and trouble and from the hard service that you were made to serve.”¹³Isa. 14:3. The soul then seeks higher pathways of spiritual desire that are consonant with the nature of her source. “It is good to praise the Lord, to sing hymns to Your name, O Most High, to proclaim Your steadfast love at daybreak, Your faithfulness each night with a ten-stringed harp with voice and lyre together.”¹⁴Ps. 92:1–4. This is the “Psalm for the Sabbath Day.” “It shall be a sign for all time between me and the people of Israel.”¹⁵Exod. 31:17. This is a holy day when the innate inclination of the people for a godly life emerges from its hiddenness and is a sign for the people that its soul treasure contains within it the need and the ability to rejoice in God, in the delight of the divine. This is concentrated in the point of the extra soul¹⁶Rav Kook refers to the “extra soul” that, according to tradition, Jews possess on the Sabbath. The talmudic source is Beitza 16a, which in-terprets the words shavat vayinafash (Exod. 31:17) as Vay nefesh! (“Alas for the soul that is lost!”— at the end of Sabbath). Interpretations of this idea have ranged from the more rational, e.g., Ibn Ezra and Radak, who argue that the soul that “is given rest on this day from the affairs of the world can occupy itself with wisdom and the words of God” (commentary to Gen. 2:3), to the more mystical, e.g., Naḥmanides, who takes issue with Ibn Ezra and writes that “although his view of this is right to those who believe in it, for this is not something that can be tested by experience, … nonetheless you must understand that on the Sabbath, there is in truth an additional soul.” (See also Zohar II 204a–b.) Rav Kook draws on elements of both schools here in understanding the “extra soul” as something that is always within us that we are able to access on Sabbath when the rush of weekday activity is stilled. that dwells within each one of the people’s children.

The Gemara (Yoma 82a) asserts that piku’ach nefesh overrides every Torah law except for the prohibitions of idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder. A few pages later (85a-85b), it offers numerous sources for why piku’ach nefesh overrides Shabbat. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah reasons that if circumcision overrides Shabbat despite affecting only one organ of the body, so the vital needs of the entire human body surely override Shabbat.²The Gemara thoroughly discusses the laws of circumcision on Shabbat in the nineteenth chapter of Shabbat. Rabbi Shimon Ben Menasya presents the famous principle, "Violate one Shabbat for [the endangered individual’s] sake so that he will observe many future Shabbatot.”³The Gemara derives this principle from the verse “And the Jewish people shall guard Shabbat” (Shemot 31:16). Rashi (s.v. Veshamru) explains that “guarding” any particular Shabbat includes ensuring that future Shabbatot will also be observed. (The same Hebrew word - “lishmor” - means both “to guard” and “to observe.”)
Although this reason implies that we may save only a Jew’s life on Shabbat in order that he will observe future Shabbatot, the Biur Halachah (329 s.v. Ela) writes that in practice one should violate Shabbat even to save a Jew who clearly will not observe Shabbat in the future (see, also, Halichot Olam 4:226 and Teshuvot Minchat Shlomo 2:34:39 and 40). Shmuel adds that the Torah (Vayikra 18:5) urges us to “live” by its laws (“Vachai bahem”), implying that observing the Torah should not cause death (“Velo sheyamut bahem”).

However, Tosafot, Eruvin 44b, speak of the dispensation regarding the carrying of arms on the return journey as an instance of invocation of the principle of hittiru sofan mishum teḥillatan.⁴Teshuvot Adnei Neḥoshet, no. 72, sec. 2, suggest a minor emendation in the caption of Tosafot with the effect that Tosafot’s statement is limited to travel within 2,000 cubits. See also Teshuvot Adnei Neḥoshet, no. 72, sec. 5. A literal reading of Rashba, Beizah 11b (rather than as understood by Shitah Mekubezet), yields a similar impression. If this analysis of the position of Tosafot and Rashba is correct, it would appear that, according to those authorities, all persons engaging in life-saving activities may ignore even biblical proscriptions on their return journey. This is indeed the position of R. Moses Sofer, Teshuvot Hatam Sofer, Oraḥ Hayyim, no. 203, Hoshen Mishpat, no. 194, and VI, no. 99 and apparently also of R. Jacob Emden, She 'ilat Ya'avez, I, no. 132, s.v. u-de-kashya. In Hoshen Mishpat, no. 194, Hatam Sofer implies that a physician called on Shabbat to the bedside of a gravely ill patient may disregard biblical prohibitions if it is necessary for him to do so in order to return to his home. Responding to the argument that the Sages do not have the power to sanction overt suspension of biblical law, Hatam Sofer, VI, no. 99, s.v. de-ika, responds that authority to do so is limited to infractions of Sabbath laws which may be suspended solely to encourage life-saving activity. The Gemara, Yoma 85b, apparently understanding the word "ve-shameru" which occurs in Exodus 31:16 as connoting "The children of Israel shall preserve the Sabbath," formulates the dictum "Better to violate one Sabbath in order to observe many Sabbaths" as justification for the violation of Sabbath restrictions for the sake of preserving life. Hatam Sofer argues that the same rationale may be employed in the context of hittiru sofan mishum teḥillatan in order to assure that "many Sabbaths" be observed.⁵In the context of ignoring Sabbath restrictions Ḥatam Sofer’s explanation must be understood as meaning that it is necessary to permit such acts in order to encourage life-saving activity so that those whose lives are saved may “observe many Sabbaths.” Cf., R. Eliezer Waldenberg, Ẓiẓ Eli ‘ezer, XI, no. 39, sec. 6, who apparently misses the thrust of Ḥatam Sofer’s point. See also Kiryat Sefer, Hilkhot Shabbat 2:23.

(Samekh) ‘Paved is the path of the straight’ that walk ‘in the way of charity,’ which is [what provides for] the maintenance of the world. ‘Happy is the one who reflects upon the destitute,’ and especially on the day of a joyful party and a holiday, as it is elucidated in the Zohar 2: 88b. And these are its words:
Come see that on all the other times and festivals, a man must rejoice and make the poor rejoice. And if he rejoices alone and does not give to the poor, his punishment is great, etc. About him it is written (Mal. 2:3), “And I will strew dung upon your faces, the dung of your festivals.” But if he rejoices on Shabbat – even though he does not give to the other – He does not give him a punishment like the other times and festivals, as it is written, “the dung of your festivals,” and not “the dung of your Shabbats.” And it is [also] written (Isaiah 1:14), “Your new moons and your holidays My soul does hate,” but Shabbat is not mentioned. And for this reason, it is written (Exod. 31:17), “Between Me and between the Children of Israel.” To here [are its words].
[However we need to understand] the reason that on festivals one needs to make the poor rejoice more then on Shabbat; and also what is the relevance of new moons here, such that it is written, “Your new moons and holidays My soul does hate,” whereas in the Zohar it is not mentioned that one needs to rejoice on new moons; and also that which it says, “And that is what is written, ‘Between Me and between the Children of Israel.’” It appears to me that the holy days are supernal guests, and one needs to make the guests rejoice. And this is their joy – to have the miserable poor rejoice. From this they take their portion. In order to grasp the point of the matter, I will tell you a parable about a king who visited a villager under his rulership. And [the villager] recognized him, but did not put his attention to honoring him properly. And [so] the king got angry with him. But when [the king] raised his eyes, a messenger came to him sent by another villager. [The message was], “If it would be good for the king, let him come to a party that I will make for him.” And [so] he came to the house of that man. But behold that man also did not pay attention to the king, and he also did not honor him. Then ‘the king broke out into a great anger.’ He said ‘with rage and fury,’ “[He] ‘shall be [torn by his] limbs and his home shall be a dunghill,’” as the act of this one was worse than the first man. [That is] because the king came to the first on his own, whereas this one sent for him. And the king also got angry at the messenger, as he was the [immediate] cause of his embarrassment. And behold, on Shabbat which is ‘fixed and standing’ and the [supernal] guests come on their own, He does not punish [those that do not share with the poor] much. But [this is not the case] on festivals and holidays which are [set] by Israel, like the statement of [the Sages], may their memory be blessed, “‘Which you shall proclaim them (otam)’ (Lev. 23:2) – [do not] read [‘them,’ but rather], ‘you (atem)’” (Rosh Hashanah 24a). And if one does not honor the guests then, his punishment is great. For this reason, it stated, “Your new moons and holidays My soul does hate” – since the [holidays] are [established by way] of the new moons, and He gets angry with the messenger as well. And for this reason, it said, “And that is what is written, ‘Between me and between the Children of Israel.’” [This is] since Shabbat is ‘fixed and standing,’ and we accordingly say (in the holiday prayers), “Who sanctifies the Shabbat, Israel and the [holidays]” – as Shabbat is a sign between Him and the Children of Israel, whereas the festivals are a sign between the Children of Israel and Him. And [it is also] because the Shabbat is ‘fixed and standing,’ whereas holidays are [established] by Israel. And understand [this]. And [it is] also because one needs to appear before the Lord on festivals and [holidays] – as it is stated (Deut. 16:16), “all your males shall appear” – [hence] at least at these times, he should be in the image and the likeness, the rich and the poor, together. And [he should then] not, God forbid, be like a beast.

Said R. Yosi the son of Hanina: A gentile who observes the Sabbath prior to accepting circumcision upon himself is liable to the death penalty. Why? Because he was not commanded concerning it. And what causes you to say that a gentile who observes the Sabbath is liable to the death penalty? Said R. Hiyya the son of Abba in the name of R. Yoḥanan: In the practice of the world [if] a king and a courtesan sit and converse with one another, one who comes and interposes himself between them, is he not liable to the death penalty? So is the Sabbath between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said "between Me and between the children of Israel (Exodus 31:13)." Therefore, a gentile who comes and interposes himself between them prior to accepting circumcision upon himself is liable to the death penalty. The Sages said: Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Sovereign of the universe! Since gentiles have not been commanded with regard to the Sabbath, if they observe it, will you be gracious unto them?" Said the Holy One, blessed be He, "Of this you are afraid? By your life! Even if they observe all of the commandments of the Torah I will cast them before you."

It seems to this writer that Mor u-Kezi'ah regarded the establishment of halakhic time, and hence of the Sabbath, in the places under discussion to be a matter of unresolvable doubt. To be sure, as clearly enunciated by R. David ibn Zimra, Teshuvot ha-Radvaz, I, no. 76,⁸See also Parashat Derakhim, Drush 23, s.v. od nakdim; R. Israel Lipschutz, Tiferet Yisra’el, Berakhot, note appended to Bo‘az, end of chapter 1; R. Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Birkei Yosef, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 242:1; R. Joseph Saul Nathanson, Teshuvot Sho’el u-Meshiv, Mahadura Revi’a’ah, no. 154; and R. Benjamin Aryeh Weiss, Teshuvot Even Yekarah (Lemberg, 5654), no. 11. determination of the onset and conclusion of Shabbat is determined locally. Leviticus 23:3 mandates that the Sabbath be observed "in all your habitations." That phrase is understood by Radvaz⁹A similar interpretation of that verse was earlier advanced by Seforno in his commentary ad locum. See also the interpretation of Exodus 31:16 advanced by the Zohar, Genesis 56a. The verse “And the children of Israel observed the Sabbath to make the Sabbath for their generations (le-dorotam)” is rendered by the Zohar as “to make the Sabbath for their dwellings (le-dirotam).” as signifying that the onset and conclusion of Shabbat is to be determined in accordance with sunset at each particular "habitation."¹⁰R. Abraham ibn Ezra, in his commentary to Genesis 33:10, understands the verse “And the sun rose upon him” (Genesis 32:32) as reflecting this underlying solar phenomenon, i.e., the sun rose for Jacob in the locale in which he found himself but did not rise simultaneously in other areas.
R. Isaac di Trani, renowned as the author of Teshuvot Maharit, declares in his Ẓofnat Pa‘aneaḥ (Venice, 5413), Drush le-Parashat Bereshit, that the work of creation did not cease throughout the globe at a single instant. Rather, the process of creation came to a halt at each point when night fell at that spot. In effect, in observing Shabbat as determined by local sunset, man emulates the Creator who ceased from the process of creation at different times in different places. Ḥatam Sofer, cited by R. Israel David Jaffe, Ḥazon le-Mo‘ed, no. 8, sec. 7, also stated that this was the case during each of the six days of creation: the work of each day did not take place simultaneously throughout the world; rather, the entities created on each day of the week were created in every geographic area while it was day in that locale. This, Ḥatam Sofer asserts, applied even to the “ten things” which the Mishnah, Avot 5:6, declared to have been created on the sixth day between sunset and nightfall, i.e., those objects were created in different places at different times. Ḥatam Sofer interprets the verse “And God finished on the seventh day… and He rested on the seventh day” (Genesis 2:2) as referring, not to a single act of cessation of labor, but to a divine comportment at two different places, viz., God completed the work of creation at one locale while at the same time resting at another locale. See also R. Yechiel Michal Tucatzinsky, Bein ha-Shemashot (Jerusalem, 5729), p. 53; idem, Yomam (Jerusalem, 5703), p. 73; and R. Ben-Ẓion Uziel, Mishpetei Uzi’el, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, II, no. 29. Cf., R. Menachem Kasher, “Shabbat Bereshit u-Shabbat Sinai,” Talpiyot, vol. I, no. 1 (Tishri 5704), pp. 415-420.
Cf., however, Teshuvot Sho’el u-Meshiv, Mahadura Revi’a’ah, who candidly acknowledges that, in observing Shabbat according to local time “in all their habitations,” Jews do not observe Shabbat during the same time period in which the Creator ceased from the work of creation. Moreover, he regards that concept to be reflected in the otherwise problematic words of the musaf prayer: “a people who sanctify the seventh day (am mekaddeshei shevi‘i).” Jews sanctify the month and hence the festivals which are calendar dependent. Shabbat, however, is predetermined and does not require sanctification of the new moon by the Bet Din. Nevertheless, explains Sho’el u-Meshiv, since Jews must observe Shabbat “in all their habitations” at different times they are indeed a “people who sanctify the seventh day.” Shabbat is designed as a "sign between Me and between you" (Exodus 31:13) and accordingly, is to be observed during the period representing the culmination of six days of labor in each person's locale. The Sabbath day, which includes a period of darkness and a period of daylight, is roughly twenty-four hours in length in all places other than in the extreme northern and southern regions. As a result, the Sabbath is observed on the same day of the week in all parts of the globe. Accordingly, Mor u-Kezi'ah assumes that in locales in which that cannot be the case there is no discernible method for determining the days of the week. Hence, determination of the advent of Shabbat remains either a matter of irresolvable doubt or, alternatively, there is no concept of halakhic time in such places. Therefore, Mor u-Kezi'ah rules that a person finding himself in such a place faces a problem that is no different from that confronting a person lost in the desert or confused with regard to a sequence of days and must conduct himself in an identical manner. That is precisely the import of Mor u-Kezi'ah's concluding phrase "in the manner indicated earlier with regard to one who travels in the desert," i.e., he may perform no forbidden act on any day of the week and must recite kiddush and havdalah on the seventh day of every seven-day cycle subsequent to his arrival.

It seems to this writer that Mor u-Kezi'ah regarded the establishment of halakhic time, and hence of the Sabbath, in the places under discussion to be a matter of unresolvable doubt. To be sure, as clearly enunciated by R. David ibn Zimra, Teshuvot ha-Radvaz, I, no. 76,⁸See also Parashat Derakhim, Drush 23, s.v. od nakdim; R. Israel Lipschutz, Tiferet Yisra’el, Berakhot, note appended to Bo‘az, end of chapter 1; R. Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Birkei Yosef, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 242:1; R. Joseph Saul Nathanson, Teshuvot Sho’el u-Meshiv, Mahadura Revi’a’ah, no. 154; and R. Benjamin Aryeh Weiss, Teshuvot Even Yekarah (Lemberg, 5654), no. 11. determination of the onset and conclusion of Shabbat is determined locally. Leviticus 23:3 mandates that the Sabbath be observed "in all your habitations." That phrase is understood by Radvaz⁹A similar interpretation of that verse was earlier advanced by Seforno in his commentary ad locum. See also the interpretation of Exodus 31:16 advanced by the Zohar, Genesis 56a. The verse “And the children of Israel observed the Sabbath to make the Sabbath for their generations (le-dorotam)” is rendered by the Zohar as “to make the Sabbath for their dwellings (le-dirotam).” as signifying that the onset and conclusion of Shabbat is to be determined in accordance with sunset at each particular "habitation."¹⁰R. Abraham ibn Ezra, in his commentary to Genesis 33:10, understands the verse “And the sun rose upon him” (Genesis 32:32) as reflecting this underlying solar phenomenon, i.e., the sun rose for Jacob in the locale in which he found himself but did not rise simultaneously in other areas.
R. Isaac di Trani, renowned as the author of Teshuvot Maharit, declares in his Ẓofnat Pa‘aneaḥ (Venice, 5413), Drush le-Parashat Bereshit, that the work of creation did not cease throughout the globe at a single instant. Rather, the process of creation came to a halt at each point when night fell at that spot. In effect, in observing Shabbat as determined by local sunset, man emulates the Creator who ceased from the process of creation at different times in different places. Ḥatam Sofer, cited by R. Israel David Jaffe, Ḥazon le-Mo‘ed, no. 8, sec. 7, also stated that this was the case during each of the six days of creation: the work of each day did not take place simultaneously throughout the world; rather, the entities created on each day of the week were created in every geographic area while it was day in that locale. This, Ḥatam Sofer asserts, applied even to the “ten things” which the Mishnah, Avot 5:6, declared to have been created on the sixth day between sunset and nightfall, i.e., those objects were created in different places at different times. Ḥatam Sofer interprets the verse “And God finished on the seventh day… and He rested on the seventh day” (Genesis 2:2) as referring, not to a single act of cessation of labor, but to a divine comportment at two different places, viz., God completed the work of creation at one locale while at the same time resting at another locale. See also R. Yechiel Michal Tucatzinsky, Bein ha-Shemashot (Jerusalem, 5729), p. 53; idem, Yomam (Jerusalem, 5703), p. 73; and R. Ben-Ẓion Uziel, Mishpetei Uzi’el, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, II, no. 29. Cf., R. Menachem Kasher, “Shabbat Bereshit u-Shabbat Sinai,” Talpiyot, vol. I, no. 1 (Tishri 5704), pp. 415-420.
Cf., however, Teshuvot Sho’el u-Meshiv, Mahadura Revi’a’ah, who candidly acknowledges that, in observing Shabbat according to local time “in all their habitations,” Jews do not observe Shabbat during the same time period in which the Creator ceased from the work of creation. Moreover, he regards that concept to be reflected in the otherwise problematic words of the musaf prayer: “a people who sanctify the seventh day (am mekaddeshei shevi‘i).” Jews sanctify the month and hence the festivals which are calendar dependent. Shabbat, however, is predetermined and does not require sanctification of the new moon by the Bet Din. Nevertheless, explains Sho’el u-Meshiv, since Jews must observe Shabbat “in all their habitations” at different times they are indeed a “people who sanctify the seventh day.” Shabbat is designed as a "sign between Me and between you" (Exodus 31:13) and accordingly, is to be observed during the period representing the culmination of six days of labor in each person's locale. The Sabbath day, which includes a period of darkness and a period of daylight, is roughly twenty-four hours in length in all places other than in the extreme northern and southern regions. As a result, the Sabbath is observed on the same day of the week in all parts of the globe. Accordingly, Mor u-Kezi'ah assumes that in locales in which that cannot be the case there is no discernible method for determining the days of the week. Hence, determination of the advent of Shabbat remains either a matter of irresolvable doubt or, alternatively, there is no concept of halakhic time in such places. Therefore, Mor u-Kezi'ah rules that a person finding himself in such a place faces a problem that is no different from that confronting a person lost in the desert or confused with regard to a sequence of days and must conduct himself in an identical manner. That is precisely the import of Mor u-Kezi'ah's concluding phrase "in the manner indicated earlier with regard to one who travels in the desert," i.e., he may perform no forbidden act on any day of the week and must recite kiddush and havdalah on the seventh day of every seven-day cycle subsequent to his arrival.

It is from the roots of this commandment that we should be free from our preoccupations in honor of the day [of Shabbat], in order to instill within our souls faithfulness to the [concept of the] universe's creation, which is [a concept that affects many fundamental principles in Judaism] (lit. a rope that drags along all the foundations of our religion). And we remember once a week, every week, that the universe was created in six distinct days, that nothing was created on the seventh day, and that different [types of creations] were brought into being each day. [All of this confirms the Torah's philosophical idea of God's] Simple (Single) Will, which differs from the philosophers' view, that disgusts us in their idea regarding this matter that [alongside] the Blessed One['s existence] was everything. And through our rest on the seventh day we are reminded of the universe's creation; because, when everyone simultaneously rests once a week, curious people will ask what is the point of this rest? And the answer will be "because [in] six days God created, etc." (Exodus 31:17). [And through that answer], everyone will be strengthened in the true faith. And in addition to remembering the universe's creation, there is in [Shabbat] also a remembering of the miracle of [the exodus from] Egypt - that we were slaves there and we were not able to rest whenever we desired to rest, and God saved us from their hands and commanded us to rest on the seventh day (Shabbat). Therefore, the second root is mentioned in Deuteronomy (lit. the repetition of the Torah), as it states in the [context of] the commandment of Shabbat, "And you should remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, etc. therefore the Lord, your God, commanded you to [observe] (lit. make) the day of Shabbat" (Deuteronomy 5:15).

If one is being forced to transgress even a serious sin for the moment,²⁶Even idolatry. Where there is a possibility that he may be willing to die rather than transgress, it is obligatory to violate Shabbos to save him. [Mishnah Berurah 328: 31] the Shabbos should not be violated in order to save him from committing the transgression. But, if he is being forced to convert and to leave the fold of the Jewish people, even if he is a minor, it is obligatory to exert all effort to save him, even if it is necessary to violate Shabbos by [transgressing] a d'oraisa prohibition,²⁷Concerning a minor, the author accepts the ruling of Eliyahu Rabba, as does the Mishnah Berurah. Chayei Adam (68: 13), however, allows violating only d’rabanan prohibitions. just as it is obligatory to violate Shabbos for someone who is critically ill; for it is written:²⁸Exodus 31: 16. "The people of Yisrael shall keep the Shabbos." The Torah tells us: Violate one Shabbos for his sake so that he may keep many Shabbosos. Even where it is doubtful whether the intervention will succeed or not, nevertheless it is obligatory to violate Shabbos and attempt to do whatever is possible, just as we violate [Shabbos] for a possible life-threatening situation. However, one who is faithless and wants to convert, Shabbos must not be violated for him [by doing] a d'oraisa prohibition, because since he is at fault, we do not say to anyone: "Sin for the benefit of your friend." Nevertheless, when it involves a d'rabanan prohibition, such as walking beyond the techum, or to ride a horse, or to ride on a wagon, as well as handling money; according to some poskim it is permissible to violate Shabbos to save him.²⁹Eliyahu Rabba, Peri Megadim, Mishnah Berurah 306: 56. Magein Avraham (254) disagrees.