Parashat Va'yak'hel Piku'day Ex. 35:1-40:38

This week, it is time to rest.

The last two portions of the Book of Exodus, which are read together – Va’yak’hel and Piku’day – deal in general, like the ones before them, with the building of the Mishkan (in minute detail). But before the text ventures again into the measurements, materials, quantities, blueprints, and drafts, Moshe reminds us of God’s most important decree:

Six days you shall engage in labor, and on the Seventh Day it shall be holy to you, Shabbat [no work] Shabbaton [no work completely] to God it shall be; he who shall be engaged in labor would be put to death; and you shall kindle no fire in any of your dwellings on that Shabbat Day. [Ex. 35:2-3]

I want to talk today on the Shabbat. As a religious concept, it always fascinated me. I will begin with the first Shabbat; move to this week’s portion; and conclude with some lessons for today.

God’s First Shabbat

One of the most puzzling stories in the entire cannon is that of the First Shabbat. Here are some of my questions:

1. After creating the universe in just six days, God, on the Seventh day, concludes his work and stops working. In Hebrew, the text also means that on the seventh day God went on a strike; he made up His mind – in a rare glimpse into his decision-making process – that this Day is not fit for work. Why? What was so unique about that day that made it “unfit” to work? Was the world already perfect by this time?

2. And what kind of a Day was the First Shabbat anyway? All the other six days, to be sure, end with the concluding remark: “And there was evening and there was morning, the [first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth] day.” But nothing like that appears on Shabbat. The length of that day is not clear at all. In fact, one may suggest that this “Godly” Shabbat is still in effect today. Indeed, one could argue that God “worked” throughout the six days – which, according to some commentators, lasted for thousands of years (each) – and then stopped from His “labor,” such that he has created nothing since then. Is it possible that, from His perspective, this is still a Shabbat? Since it has no discernable end as a “Day,” and since God purposefully hasn’t created a thing since then, can we say we are still in a state of Godly Shabbat?

3. Finally, the very idea that God needs a “rest” is also baffling. According to a popular Shabbat song, God not only ceased working, but also “vacationed” on Shabbat (“Shavat Va’Yina’fash.”). Why would God need a vacation?

Now God not only stopped working Himself on Shabbat; he also instructed us to do the same. Note that He never ordered us to imitate anything else He has done – He never instructed us to re-create the heavens or the earth, or to part the sea, or to do anything else He has performed. Obviously, all His other demands – neatly encapsulated within the Ten Commandments, but generally spread over 613 Mitzvot – do not apply to Him. Yet the Shabbat command is the one that reflect the Talmudic statement: “Na’eh Do’resh – Na’eh Meka’yem” (He who demands, should perform first. [If only our politicians could internalize this one…]).

To summarize (and to paraphrase my favorite President of all time): Shabbat is a unique creature; it was made of God, by God, and for God, and it shall not perish from the earth.

This Portion’s Shabbat

It is accustomed to think that a rest at the end of a workweek is a reward; a prize; a kind of consideration for the hard work you put in during the week. That is the non-religious view of Shabbat.

But what some contextual commentators see as one of the earliest examples of advance social legislation, the paramount demonstration of how the Jewish religion value work and care about rest (not only of Jews, btw; the Shabbat decree applies to anyone and everyone working in the household – male, female, Jews and non-Jews alike, even animals – all are forbidden to work), is – as this week’s portion well demonstrates – something entirely different: The Shabbat is not meant for the worker, it was meant for God: “The Seventh Day shall be holy to you; Shabbat Shabbaton to your God.”

Therefore, while it is true that both religious and non-religious may enjoy the effect of the Shabbat in the same way – both don’t work – the understanding of the Shabbat to each is completely different. For the non-religious, it is the time to enjoy, drink, and do all those things that are not “allowed” during the week. For the religious person, the Shabbat means a Godly Restriction, which, if violated, may result in death; nothing less.

Thus, the Shabbat is a right, but also a duty. A prize, but also a burden. A well-deserved rest, but also a responsibility. Only once we comprehend the Shabbat in that way, we can fully appreciate its weight – and begin to understand why it is holy. We are doing every single Shabbat what God has done – and perhaps is still doing – during His own Shabbat. We are emulating God. We are resting not only because it is more comfortable, but because we were ordered to do so by God and for God; if we won’t, we may die (or, to be more realistic, the Jewish religion may begin to eradicate, and finally die).

Today’s Shabbat

Unfortunately, in Israel today many so-called “ultra-religious” people fail to understand the very nature and the importance of the Shabbat. For them, Shabbat is the day of the week in which they have to protest against non-Shabbat keepers, throw stones at them, curse the police, and in general violate the Shabbat in every way imaginable – only to prove, in their own mind, how “good keepers” they are of the actual Shabbat. But this understanding, as I have mentioned, is far away from the original, and truly Jewish, meaning of the day. Shabbat is not meant for you to look at your neighbors, let alone criticize them for not keeping the Shabbat. It is meant for you – for reflection, for enjoyment, for family time (and for prayer, of course; but that is true for all other days as well). But it is not meant for fighting. It is not meant for politics. It is not meant for arguing. We have the other six days to do that – plenty of time.

So when you celebrate the coming of the Shabbat this week, think about the fact that you are doing something holy, something Godly, something heavenly, something you were ordered to do, but probably would like to do anyway. Now you are ready to accept the Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom,

Doron