Комментарий к Шмот 31:16

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.

(Exodus, Ibid. 16) "And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath for their generations, etc." This is as R. Nathan says: Profane for him (one whose life is in danger) one Sabbath so that he will keep many Sabbaths. R. Eliezer says (Ibid.) "to observe the Sabbath … an eternal covenant (to perform on Sabbath) that which seals the covenant — circumcision. R. Elazar b. Prata says: If one keeps the Sabbath, it is as if he made it, it being written (lit.,) "to make the Sabbath." Rebbi says: If a man keeps one Sabbath as ordained, Scripture accounts it to him as if he kept (all of) the Sabbaths from the day the Holy Blessed be He created the world until the resurrection of the dead, it being written (Ibid. 17) "It is a sign forever."

V. 16. ושמרו. Um so gewisser haben Israels Söhne allen übrigen Beziehungen gegenüber den Schabbat unverletzlich zu hüten und ihn durch den Ernst und die Gewissenhaftigkeit dieser Hut ihren Nachkommen als ברית עולם, als ein in völlig unbedingter Absolutheit gegebenes Gottesinstitut (siehe zu Bereschit 6, 18) für alle Zeiten zu vererben.

ושמרו בני ישראל, “The Children of Israel shall observe, etc,;” they shall have in mind the next Sabbath during the six working days, looking forward to it, and to prepare for it in order not to need to desecrate it when it comes. This expression has also been repeated on account of it having to match the expression ברית עולם, “an everlasting covenant.”

Perhaps the Torah employs the word ושמרו to teach the authorities to surround the basic Sabbath legislation with a סיג, a fence, or a framework, which is designed to prevent a person from not knowing which day is the Sabbath. The words לעשות את השבת would mean some action designed to ensure that we know which day is the Sabbath. It is to avoid situations where one recites kiddush when the day in question is not the real Sabbath such as the example we mentioned when discussing the last verse.

Alternatively, the verse addresses itself to someone who had lost track of time in circumstances we have described. Such a person is obligated to establish his own count so that he does not fail to make one day in seven his own personal Sabbath. Even though in this instance the Torah called that seventh day יום השבת, when in reality it is only that person's "seventh day," the Torah wanted to impress on the individual the absolute need to sanctify the seventh day. The first "seventh" day in such a person's count assumes the designation שבת.

The meaning of the word ושמרו may also follow the meaning of the word in Genesis 37,11 where Jacob is described as awaiting realisation of Joseph's dream and the word chosen by the Torah is ושמר. In our context the Torah means that the Sabbath should not be considered as a burden because many activities are prohibited on that day, but that it should be eagerly awaited and looked forward to. The words לעשות את השבת are designed to counter the prevailing perception that the Sabbath is a day on which one is passive, rests up and treats it as a day on which to indulge one's laziness. The basic purpose of the Sabbath is not to provide physical rest for the body but to actively fulfil the various commandments associated with the Sabbath.

The wording may also allude to what we have learned in Yuma 81 that one must add from the week-day to the Sabbath, i.e. that we do not commence the Sabbath only at sundown but that we light candles, abstain from forbidden activities already some time prior to sundown in order to demonstrate how welcome the Sabbath is for us. This additional time demanded by the rabbis based on this verse includes the exhortation to prepare for the Sabbath not after it has commenced, but one bathes oneself, dresses oneself, etc., all before sunset on Friday. Similarly, one does not conclude the Sabbath the moment the three stars become visible in the sky, but one adds some minutes to demonstrate that one does not wish to get rid of the Sabbath as one would get rid of a burden, i.e. at the first possible opportunity. G'd expresses His willingness to also dignify the extra hours or minutes the Israelites add to the Sabbath of their own volition with the name "Sabbath."

The verse may also reflect a conversation between the Sabbath and G'd reported in Bereshit Rabbah 11,8 according to which the Sabbath complained to G'd that whereas all the other days had been given a בן זוג, a mate, only the Sabbath was left "unattached" so to speak. G'd reassured the Sabbath by assigning Israel as its "mate." The meaning of the story is that at its inception the Sabbath lacked a detail to make it complete. G'd provided this missing detail when He commanded the Jewish people to observe it. לעשות then means "to complete it."

The words: ושמרו את השבת, "to carefully guard the Sabbath," also refer to the need to take care that no secular elements intrude into our Sabbath. A person must not think that it is enough for him not to desecrate the Sabbath and that if someone else desecrates it that this is not his concern. It is our collective duty to be on guard to prevent חלול שבת by other Jews also. We take it for granted that one safeguards oneself against possible thieves and posts guards in one's orchard, etc. One must do no less to safeguard the Sabbath. Such measures designed to "guard" the Sabbath include rabbinic ordinances to make it more difficult for us to desecrate the Sabbath through carelessness on our part. One of the best known examples is found in Shabbat 11 where reading on Friday night [with an oil lamp whose light could be adjusted Ed.] is prohibited so that one does not accidentally adjust the flame in order to be better able to read. Our rabbis have "surrounded" the Sabbath with many such ordinances.

The wording the Torah chose to describe observance of the Sabbath is designed to alert us to the totally unique nature of this "observance." This is the only negative commandment in the Torah whose observance is described as something active, i.e. לעשות את השבת. It is possible that the reason is something we learned in Kiddushin 39 where it is stated that if someone sits with his hands folded, totally inactive, not committing a violation, he receives the reward due to someone who has fulfilled a positive commandment. The Talmud questions the logic of this statement and concludes that in the example quoted the person concerned was confronted with the opportunity and the temptation to violate a commandment and he resisted the temptation by remaining inactive. We may apply this rule to Sabbath observance as opportunities to violate the 39 basic work prohibitions of Sabbath are ever present and there is no lack of temptation to do so. Anyone who even passively refrains from exploiting such opportunities to sin is considered as having actively observed the Sabbath.

The fact that the Torah mentioned the need not to violate the Sabbath and the fact that mere non-violation qualifies for reward might have led people to believe that this applies to one and all; the Torah therefore hastens to add the critical words בני ישראל, the children of Israel. The Sabbath legislation is addressed exclusively to the Jewish people. The Torah phrased the observance here in indirect language, i.e. "they will observe;" because it had already written: "you shall observe the Sabbath." Had the Torah not written also: "the children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath," I would have concluded that whereas only Jews are duty-bound to observe the Sabbath, Gentiles are nonetheless not forbidden to do so. As it is, the wording of the Torah precludes Gentiles from work-abstention on the Sabbath for religious reasons, so much so that it is a capital offence for a Gentile to observe the Sabbath (Sanhedrin 58).

The emphasis of the Torah speaking about את השבת, "the Sabbath," leads one to conclude that observance of a single Sabbath may sometimes be all that is required of a Jew; not only that, but if a Jew prepared all that is necessary for the Sabbath it would be accounted for him as if he had actually observed the commandment of the Sabbath. The words: ושמרו את השבת לעשות את השבת teach that if someone died before he could even observe a single Sabbath he will not be deprived of the reward of having observed many Sabbath days seeing he had intended to observe the Sabbath and had made preparations for such observance (Mechilta).

There may also be another hint here concerning the Torah's foregoing this legislation in the event a person's life is at stake, as we have written on the word אך in verse 13. G'd actually commanded desecration of the Sabbath in life-saving situations. The Torah here limits such exceptions to Jews; a Jew does not desecrate the Sabbath in order to save the life of a גר תושב, a Gentile who observes the Noachide laws (Maimonides Hilchot Shabbat chapter 2, item 20 by inference). The words את השבת are interpreted as an exhortation not to let someone die who is supposed to observe the Sabbath. The verse may be interpreted in the following fashion: If you have the choice between Sabbath observance and death of a fellow-Jew, apply the words ושמרו בני ישראל, preserve the Jew, rather than the Sabbath. This rule does not apply if the choice is between saving a Gentile's life or that of observing the Sabbath. In such a situation we apply the exhortation לעשות את השבת "to observe the Sabbath." The reason the Torah permitted the saving of the Jew is only in order to fulfil the end of the verse, i.e. לעשות את השבת לדורותם, "to enable someone to observe the Sabbath in the future." Seeing that Gentiles are not obligated to observe the Sabbath there is no justification to desecrate the Sabbath on their account.

Our verse may also teach us the following: "When do I (G'd) tell you to preserve the life of a Jew even at the expense of desecrating the honour of the Sabbath?" Answer: "when the situation results in לעשות את השבת, in observance of the Sabbath as a result of what you do." If, however, it is clear according to the available medical evidence, that the patient will not survive for another week even if you save his life at this moment one must not desecrate the Sabbath in order to prolong the life of such a patient.

There is yet another dimension to what is recorded here. We are taught in Rosh Hashanah 31 that the hereafter is known as a world which is "all Sabbath." We are also told in Shemot Rabbah 25,12 that the observance of the Sabbath is equal to the observance of all the other commandments in the Torah. The words ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת reflect this thought. The reason this is so is because by observing the Sabbath, לעשות את השבת, they create for themselves the world known as "all Sabbath," i.e. the hereafter. The Torah adds the word לדורותם so that we do not understand the reward of Sabbath-observance as being experienced in this present world. It is ברית עולם, a covenant which assures our eternal existence in the hereafter.

Another lesson resulting from our verse may be related to what we have learned in Beytzah 16 where we are told that we are equipped with an additional soul on the Sabbath as alluded to in the words שבת וינפש, that the rest resulted in an additional life-force, soul. This is a profound secret G'd did not reveal to the nations of the world. The Talmud states that every commandment G'd gave to the Jewish people He gave them publicly, openly, with the exception of the Sabbath. This is based on verse 17 in our chapter: "between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign forever." To the question: "how could G'd punish the Gentiles for not having accepted the Torah when He had not told them about the Sabbath legislation?" The Talmud answers that all that G'd withheld from the Gentiles was the information that he who observes the Sabbath is equipped with an additional soul (spiritual capacity) on that day. [This is not a contradiction to the statement that Gentiles are prohibited from observing the work-prohibitions of the Sabbath on pain of death at the hands of Heaven. The Talmud refers to the initial rejection of the Torah by the various Gentile Nations when G'd offered the Torah to all the nations and they all rejected it except for the Israelites who welcomed it with open arms. Ed.] G'd "punished" the Gentile Nations for rejecting His rules. Why would these nations not be entitled to argue that had they known about this clause of the Sabbath laws they might have accepted the entire Torah or at least the Sabbath? How could G'd punish people for rejecting something they did not know about? I believe that this is what our sages referred to in Shabbat 10 when they referred to G'd as having offered a "beautiful gift whose name was Sabbath." They meant that the Sabbath is different from other commandments inasmuch as it does not represent a demand made by G'd on man but it is a gift granted by G'd to man (in this instance to the Israelites). One does not receive a reward for accepting a gift; ergo the Gentile Nations have not forfeited a reward by not accepting the Sabbath legislation. They cannot claim that G'd deprived them of an opportunity to accumulate merits, to qualify for a reward. One cannot challenge G'd for His not having chosen to bestow a gift on someone. Besides, you will find that the Israelites had accepted the Sabbath before acceptance of the Torah had become an issue, before G'd had offered the Torah to the other nations. At the time the Israelites accepted the Sabbath legislation (at Marah, Exodus 15,25), the granting of an additional soul on the Sabbath had not been part of their acceptance. It was therefore quite fair for the nations of the world to be punished for their refusal to accept the Sabbath legislation which was given to the Israelites publicly. We regularly witness the punishment the nations suffer for their not having accepted the Sabbath.

The concept of the נשמה יתירה is alluded to by our sages when they described it as "a beautiful gift which G'd had reserved in His treasure chamber," a reference to the Celestial Spheres, a region that the souls are "hewn" from. The reason the gift was called שבת is that it described the world which is "totally Sabbath," i.e. the hereafter, the Celestial Regions. There is no sadness in that world and our sages describe it as a world of joy and rejoicing. In order for our Sabbath in this world to parallel the Sabbath in the Celestial Regions it is imperative that we do not allow secular concerns related to our weekday problems to disturb the Sabbath atmosphere in our world. The additional soul, a "guest" from the Celestial Regions, would feel deeply disturbed if it notices our preoccupation with worldly concerns. It may refuse to remain part of us and leave us even before the Sabbath has expired. This is why the sages have warned us that the major element in the work-prohibition on the Sabbath is connected with the thoughts we entertain when violating the actual prohibition. We have been taught in Beytzah 13 that what is culpable is what the sages call מלאכת מחשבת, performance of deliberate activities. Even conversation which is of a secular character is forbidden (Shabbat 113) as we know from Isaiah 58,13: ממצוא חפצך ודבר דבר, "not to look to your affairs, nor speak about them." All of these prohibitions are designed to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits which accrue to us thanks to the נשמה יתירה, the additional soul G'd has equipped us with on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to give us a taste of the ultimate Sabbath, i.e. the quality of life in the hereafter. All of this is meant when the Torah writes: ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת, i.e. that we are to jealously guard the additional soul called "Sabbath." It alone enables us to fulfil the Torah's directive לעשות את השבת, "to create the true Sabbath." Remember that it is impossible for mortal man to attain a true likeness of the life that awaits him after death even if we do all in our power to observe the Sabbath on earth to the best of our ability. However, in order to attain that kind of life even after we die, we must first have attained a semblance of it by means of true Sabbath observance and all that this entails. The additional soul is our key to such attainment of serenity in the hereafter when the time comes for us to leave this world.

The word לדורותם may also be understood as connected to דירה, residence. The word is spelled defective, i.e. without the letter ו in the middle. This is an allusion to the residence of the souls, i.e. the Celestial Regions which G'd has covenanted with us that He will give to us. This is the meaning of ברית עולם, "the covenant concerning the celestial world." It is also possible that we have here an allusion to the 613 commandments seeing that the Sabbath plus 612 (i.e. the numerical value of the word ברית) add up to 613. The succinct message is that observance of the Sabbath properly is equal to performance of the 613 commandments.

The Torah continues: ביני ובין בני ישראל,"Between Me and the children of Israel, etc." This means that no other nation will be together with us in that world. Perhaps the words even exclude the presence of angels in the Celestial Regions reserved for the Jews who have observed the Sabbath meticulously. The regions reserved for the Jewish people are "higher" than those inhabited by the ministering angels. We may understand Numbers 23,23 כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל קל, "at a time when Jacob and Israel will be told of the works of the Lord," in the sense that our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah 20,20 understood them when they said that the angels themselves will enquire from the Jewish people who are close to the Lord about His accomplishments.

Another meaning of these words is that they are a reference to matters (words) which G'd has articulated but which no human being has ever understood. This is an aspect of what the sages in Beytzah 16 meant when they said that G'd did not announce the fact that He gave the Jewish people an additional soul on the Sabbath because He did not want to acquaint the Gentile Nations with His secrets. This is also what the Psalmist referred to in Psalms 147,19-20: "He reveals His statutes and commands to Israel; He did not do so for any other nation; of such rules they know nothing." Our sages said in Chagigah 13 that the meaning of the words אות היא לעולם, "it is a sign forever," is that we must not reveal the secret of the Sabbath to anyone. How are we to answer in the event someone were to come and enquire about details of the Sabbath legislation wanting to know what distinguishes that day from all other days? The Torah provides the answer by stating: אות היא לעולם, "it will be revealed to the people who will inhabit the Celestial Regions that the six days are radically different from the Sabbath." The revelation is וביום השביעי שבת וינפש, that G'd will then reveal to us exclusively the meaning of שבת וינפש. [The revelation will be that the meaning of shavat when applied to G'd is that He did so because it was Shabbat. ]