Are you ready for this?
Exodus 16:13 gives us our first Shabbat laws in the Manna story. And what do we learn?
16:23 And he [Moses] said to them: This is what YHWH said: A Shabbat of Shabbats Holy to YHWH Tomorrow! That which you bake, bake! And that which you boil, boil! And all the excess leave for yourselves for safekeeping until the morning.
טז: כג וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם, הוּא אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה’–שַׁבָּתוֹן שַׁבַּת-קֹדֶשׁ לַה’, מָחָר: אֵת אֲשֶׁר-תֹּאפוּ אֵפוּ, וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר-תְּבַשְּׁלוּ בַּשֵּׁלוּ, וְאֵת כָּל-הָעֹדֵף, הַנִּיחוּ לָכֶם לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת עַד-הַבֹּקֶר. כד וַיַּנִּיחוּ אֹתוֹ עַד-הַבֹּקֶר, כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה מֹשֶׁה; וְלֹא הִבְאִישׁ, וְרִמָּה לֹא-הָיְתָה בּוֹ. כה וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אִכְלֻהוּ הַיּוֹם, כִּי-שַׁבָּת הַיּוֹם לַה’: הַיּוֹם, לֹא תִמְצָאֻהוּ בַּשָּׂדֶה. כו שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, תִּלְקְטֻהוּ; וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת, לֹא יִהְיֶה-בּוֹ. כז וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, יָצְאוּ מִן-הָעָם לִלְקֹט; וְלֹא, מָצָאוּ.
What I get out of this text is what I see as one of the overarching elements of Shabbat: preparing for things in advance. The only way to truly have rest and cease from labor is to have it all done. In fact, that is the reading of the Mekhilta on the verse in Exodus, the 4th Utterance of the Aseret haDibrot:
20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. Exodus 20:9-10
Rest as if all your work is done. A number of chapters of the Talmudic tractate of Shabbat deal with the laws of muqtseh, items that are set aside from use on Shabbat. While an academic argument could likely be made about which laws the Rabbis created, which ones they continued, which ones they changes, and which ones they banned, they general principle I get from Shabbat observance is: Be Prepared.
Cook in advance. Clean in advance. Schedule with your friends in advance. Pick out your clothes in advance. Do your errands in advance so you don’t worry and stress on Shabbat.
It is this structure of preparation that creates a space for singing and eating and drinking and enjoying one’s time without worry from “the six days of all your labor”.
Now, back in the parasha, the Israelites collected a double portion of Manna on Friday. To emphasize the importance of Shabbat observance, manna usually went bad, melted, or was collected by ants the next day, but on Shabbat it remained good. And those that did not trust that God would provide found no manna when they went out on to collect on Shabbat. The Torah then says:
טז:כח וַיֹּאמֶר ה’, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה: עַד-אָנָה, מֵאַנְתֶּם, לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֹתַי, וְתוֹרֹתָי. כט רְאוּ, כִּי-ה’ נָתַן לָכֶם הַשַּׁבָּת–עַל-כֵּן הוּא נֹתֵן לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי, לֶחֶם יוֹמָיִם; שְׁבוּ אִישׁ תַּחְתָּיו, אַל-יֵצֵא אִישׁ מִמְּקֹמוֹ–בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי. ל וַיִּשְׁבְּתוּ הָעָם, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִעִי
And YHWH said to Moshe: How long will you all refuse to keep my commandments and teachings. See, that YHWH has given you all the Shabbat, therefore he gives you on the sixth day food for two days. Return each one to his own, do not go out each one from his place on the seventh day. And the people ceased on the seventh
This rebuke to those who went out to collect on Shabbat is the basis for the prohibition of traveling on Shabbat outside of the Sabbath limits, 2000 amah in Rabbinic Judaism. However, in context, the rebuke underscores God’s providence in supplying his people with food if they only prepare in advance. ”Don’t Worry”, God says. “I will provide for you if you– just prepare in advance.”
A similar argument is made with regard to the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, that God will provide if you just stop on the seventh year. Although the Sabbatical Shemittah as a whole year has more logistical issues than one day a week, the principle remains the same. If you prepare in advance, you will reap the benefit of rest. As it says in Parashat Mishpatim:
Exodus 23:11 And on the seventh [year] you shall release [your field] and abandon it, and the destitute of your people shall eat, and what remains, the wild animals of the field will eat. So you shall do to your vineyards and olive trees. Six days you shall do your doings, and on the seventh, cease, in order that he may rest, your ox, your donkey, and be refreshed the son of your maidservent and the sojourner.
כג:יא וְהַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ, וְאָכְלוּ אֶבְיֹנֵי עַמֶּךָ, וְיִתְרָם, תֹּאכַל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה; כֵּן-תַּעֲשֶׂה לְכַרְמְךָ, לְזֵיתֶךָ. יב שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי תִּשְׁבֹּת–לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ, שׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרֶךָ, וְיִנָּפֵשׁ בֶּן-אֲמָתְךָ, וְהַגֵּר.
The beauty of a God-mandated day of rest is held in this verse. There is a domino effect that not just free men and women must rest, but also domestic animals, servants, and resident aliens– the entire economy. Which is of course why it is so difficult to be a Shabbat-observant Jew in businesses that don’t observe a Sabbath.
Working in advance to prepare for Shabbat makes Shabbat possible, even in environments where it is difficult. Shammai the Elder used to buy nice things during the week and save them for Shabbat. But if he found something nicer, he would buy that and save that. If you prepare in advance God will help you create a space for rest and rejuvenation. Shabbat Shalom
Recent Comments