출애굽기 31:16 해설: Sforno, Or HaChaim, Rabbeinu Bahya & Chizkuni

ושמרו במי ישראל את השבת, in this life, לעשות את השבת, on a day that is totally Shabbat. [the afterlife. Ed]

ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת, "The children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, etc." Why did the Torah add another "observance?" Besides, why does the Torah use the verb לעשות, "to do," which expresses an activity when the meaning seems to be that the children of Israel are to observe the Sabbath by "abstaining" from a number of activities? Our sages have pursued their own path in explaining this wording.

לעשות את השבת, “to observe the Sabbath actively.” The plain meaning of this line is: “to provide himself with the necessities required on the Sabbath.” The expression לעשות is found in this context in Genesis 18,7 and 18,8 where the Torah reports Avraham as preparing the luncheon for the three angels who had come to visit him. The basic meaning of the verse is to encourage people to prepare for the Sabbath in time so that they can enjoy the day when it occurs. Our sages (Beitzah 16) understand the exhortation to mean that one is to plan from one Sabbath for the next, and that this is the implied meaning of the prophet (Isaiah 58,13) who said: “you shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight.’” When the prophet employed the word וקראת in that verse, as if one were to “call towards the Sabbath,” he meant we should “invite the Sabbath” as one invites guests to one’s table.