Комментарий к Шмот 31:15

שבת שבתון denotes, reposeful rest and not rest of a casual character.

ששת ימים יעשה מלאכה, during the six days of the week which correspond to the days when G’d created the universe you can busy yourselves with working on the construction of the Tabernacle. There is no good reason why this project should override the commandments governing the Sabbath. The only time a commandment overrides such commandments is when the Torah linked the commandment which would override it to a specific time frame, such as the circumcision of a baby on the eighth day after its birth, or the type of sacrificial service in the Tabernacle of which the Torah said that it must be performed every day i.e. including on the Sabbath. Any other commandment that is capable of being performed on a day other than the Sabbath does not override the Sabbath.

ששת ימים יעשה מלאכה, "Six days work shall be done, etc." We neeed to examine why this verse which repeats legislation recorded previously had to be written at all. Besides, why does the Torah write יעשה (passive) instead of תעשה, the active form "you shall perform," as the Torah has written repeatedly? Furthermore, why did the Torah choose to describe the Sabbath as the "seventh day," instead of as "the Sabbath," which was the only way the Torah described this day up until now? Why did the Torah revert to describing the violator as כל העושה מלאכה ביום השבת מות יומת, instead of as כל העושה בו מלאכה, or כל העושה מלאכה ביום השביעי?

A restful rest. . . I.e., a rest that is significantly restful.

V. 15. Auch hier ist יֵעָשֶה verb. impers. und מלאכה Objekt. Das zum Bau des Heiligtums gebotene Werk soll man daher in den sechs Wochentagen ausführen, allein der siebente Tag bleibt selbst dem Heiligtumbau gegenüber ein durch gänzliche Einstellung der Werktätigkeit (siehe oben 2. B. M. 16, 23) zu begehendes Gottesheiligtum in seiner unverletzlichen Heiligkeit; selbst wer zum Heiligtumbau am Schabbat ein Werk verrichtete, hatte das Leben verwirkt.

ששת ימים יעשה מלאכה, “during six days work may be performed.” This verse refers to work being performed if you so desire; another verse says ששת ימים תעבוד, “during six days you are to perform the kind of work which is normally felt as something burdensome.” (Exodus 35,2) The reason why the Torah writes both formulations is to tell us that when we observe the Torah, others may perform this kind of labour on our behalf; if we do not observe the Torah, instead of benefiting by an extra day of work, we will experience all seven days as days when we have to perform demeaning work. The repetition of the instruction was necessary on account of the penalty of מות ימות, “he will be executed,” having been written twice.

‘קדש לה HOLINESS TO THE LORD — The observance of its holiness shall be (it shall be kept holy) to the glory of My Name and by My command (because I have commanded it).

שבת שבתון; this expression alludes to the fact that there are activities and even conversations and thoughts which, though not specifically outlawed by the text, are nevertheless something that interfere with the proper Sabbath observance. We have been told already in Exodus 23,12 וביום השביעי תשבות, that the cessation of work etc., has as its objective קדש לה', that this day is to be holy for the Lord, i.e. we are to make it holy. This means that on the Sabbath we ignore secular matters altogether and devote ourselves to spiritual pursuits, and even the mundane pursuits such as eating festive meals must be perceived as part of our honouring G’d on the Sabbath.

Perhaps the Torah alluded to something the sages told us in Shabbat 69 concerning someone who travels in the desert and has lost count of which day of the week it is. Such a person is supposed to begin counting six days once he has become aware that he does not know which day it is. He will observe the seventh day as Sabbath. The Talmud allows such a person to do what is essential in order to keep alive even on the day which -according to his count- is Sabbath. To the query that if so, how can he distinguish "his" Sabbath from the other six days of the week, the Talmud answers that such a person must recite Kiddush and havdalah at the beginning and end of "his" Sabbath. Tossaphot add that he must not continue on his way on that day. The reason that the Talmud did not give the answer that the traveller in question must not continue on his way is that this is not a sufficient distinction vis-a-vis the other days. It could also be that according to the view of the Talmud such a person might be permitted to continue walking even on the "Sabbath."

כל העושה מלאכה...יומת. It follows that when someone performs secular tasks on the Sabbath he automatically loses track of the purpose of the Sabbath, hence he deserves to be executed.

According to the view of Tossaphot we can explain our verse thus: "Six days, etc," i.e. a person who finds himself in the desert unaware of which day it is, יעשה מלאכה may have work performed on a daily basis for six consecutive days. He is not required to perform work, as would be implied by the active form Taasseh, but he will do the minimum, whatever is needed to ensure his survival. However, ביום השביעי, "on the seventh day, the day which is Sabbath according to his calculations, שבת שנתון, it is a kind of Sabbath," i.e. a Shabbaton, a day on which one refrains from work just as one refrains from working the land in the seventh year. (compare the expression שבתון in connection with the שנת השמטה in Leviticus 25,4). The way a traveller "rests" is by not continuing his journey, just as a farmer rests by not tilling his land. The Torah adds: קדש לה׳ to indicate that such a traveller is to recite the kiddush and the הבדלה at the appropriate time as if this day would be the "real" Sabbath.

According to the view that the only difference between this "subjective" Sabbath and the "real" Sabbath is the recital of kiddush and הבדלה respectively, the words שבת שבתון have to be read in conjunction with the words קדש לה׳. The meaning is that this day has to be sanctified. When the Torah continues with: כל העושה מלאכה ביום השבת מות יומת, this penalty of execution is applicable only to a person who violates a "real" Sabbath, not to someone who violates a "seventh day" by his own count. Such a person is free from this penalty even if he had sanctified the day by reciting kiddush and thereby elevating it to the level of "Sabbath."