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(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) רְאֵ֖ה קָרָ֣אתִֽי בְשֵׁ֑ם בְּצַלְאֵ֛ל בֶּן־אוּרִ֥י בֶן־ח֖וּר לְמַטֵּ֥ה יְהוּדָֽה׃ (ג) וָאֲמַלֵּ֥א אֹת֖וֹ ר֣וּחַ אֱלֹקִ֑ים בְּחׇכְמָ֛ה וּבִתְבוּנָ֥ה וּבְדַ֖עַת וּבְכׇל־מְלָאכָֽה׃ (ד) לַחְשֹׁ֖ב מַחֲשָׁבֹ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֛וֹת בַּזָּהָ֥ב וּבַכֶּ֖סֶף וּבַנְּחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (ה) וּבַחֲרֹ֥שֶׁת אֶ֛בֶן לְמַלֹּ֖את וּבַחֲרֹ֣שֶׁת עֵ֑ץ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּכׇל־מְלָאכָֽה׃ (ו) וַאֲנִ֞י הִנֵּ֧ה נָתַ֣תִּי אִתּ֗וֹ אֵ֣ת אׇהֳלִיאָ֞ב בֶּן־אֲחִֽיסָמָךְ֙ לְמַטֵּה־דָ֔ן וּבְלֵ֥ב כׇּל־חֲכַם־לֵ֖ב נָתַ֣תִּי חׇכְמָ֑ה וְעָשׂ֕וּ אֵ֖ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתִֽךָ׃ (ז) אֵ֣ת ׀ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֗ד וְאֶת־הָֽאָרֹן֙ לָֽעֵדֻ֔ת וְאֶת־הַכַּפֹּ֖רֶת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָלָ֑יו וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־כְּלֵ֥י הָאֹֽהֶל׃ (ח) וְאֶת־הַשֻּׁלְחָן֙ וְאֶת־כֵּלָ֔יו וְאֶת־הַמְּנֹרָ֥ה הַטְּהֹרָ֖ה וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלֶ֑יהָ וְאֵ֖ת מִזְבַּ֥ח הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ (ט) וְאֶת־מִזְבַּ֥ח הָעֹלָ֖ה וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֑יו וְאֶת־הַכִּיּ֖וֹר וְאֶת־כַּנּֽוֹ׃ (י) וְאֵ֖ת בִּגְדֵ֣י הַשְּׂרָ֑ד וְאֶת־בִּגְדֵ֤י הַקֹּ֙דֶשׁ֙ לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְאֶת־בִּגְדֵ֥י בָנָ֖יו לְכַהֵֽן׃ (יא) וְאֵ֨ת שֶׁ֧מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָ֛ה וְאֶת־קְטֹ֥רֶת הַסַּמִּ֖ים לַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ כְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוִּיתִ֖ךָ יַעֲשֽׂוּ׃ {פ}
(יב) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יג) וְאַתָּ֞ה דַּבֵּ֨ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אַ֥ךְ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ כִּי֩ א֨וֹת הִ֜וא בֵּינִ֤י וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם לָדַ֕עַת כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י ה' מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ (יד) וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת כִּ֛י קֹ֥דֶשׁ הִ֖וא לָכֶ֑ם מְחַֽלְלֶ֙יהָ֙ מ֣וֹת יוּמָ֔ת כִּ֗י כׇּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה בָהּ֙ מְלָאכָ֔ה וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמֶּֽיהָ׃ (טו) שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י שַׁבַּ֧ת שַׁבָּת֛וֹן קֹ֖דֶשׁ לַה' כׇּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֧ה מְלָאכָ֛ה בְּי֥וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת מ֥וֹת יוּמָֽת׃ (טז) וְשָׁמְר֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֧וֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֛ת לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם׃ (יז) בֵּינִ֗י וּבֵין֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל א֥וֹת הִ֖וא לְעֹלָ֑ם כִּי־שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים עָשָׂ֤ה ה' אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבַיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י שָׁבַ֖ת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ {ס}
(1) יהוה spoke to Moses: (2) See, I have singled out by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. (3) I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft; (4) to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, (5) to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of craft. (6) Moreover, I have assigned to him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have also granted skill to all who are skillful, that they may make everything that I have commanded you: (7) the Tent of Meeting, the Ark for the Pact and the cover upon it, and all the furnishings of the Tent; (8) the table and its utensils, the pure lampstand and all its fittings, and the altar of incense; (9) the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand; (10) the service vestments, the sacral vestments of Aaron the priest and the vestments of his sons, for their service as priests; (11) as well as the anointing oil and the aromatic incense for the sanctuary. Just as I have commanded you, they shall do. (12) And יהוה said to Moses: (13) Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I יהוה have consecrated you. (14) You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. One who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among kin. (15) Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. (16) The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: (17) it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [God] ceased from work and was refreshed.
אך את שבתותי תשמורו אף על פי שתהיו רדופין בזריזות המלאכה אל תדחה שבת מפניה. כל אכין ורקין מיעוטין, למעט שבת ממלאכת המשכן. לשון רש''י. (רש"י על שמות ל״א:י״ג) ולא נתכון אצלי, כי לפי מדרש רבותינו באכין ורקין ימעט בשמירת השבת, כי המיעוטים אצלם בכל מקום ימעטו בדבר המצווה בו, ואם תדרוש המיעוט בענין מלאכת המשכן יהיה מותר לעשותה בשבת. אבל המיעוט הזה למילה או לפקוח נפש וכיוצא בהן שהן דוחין את השבת. וכך אמרו במסכת יומא (ירושלמי פ''ח ה''ה) ומנין שספק נפשות דוחה שבת, רבי אבהו אמר רבי יוחנן אך את שבתותי תשמורו, מיעוט. ומלאכת המשכן שאינה דוחה שבת, מפני שהזהיר בה בכאן: ועל דרך הפשט הוא כן יאמר תעשו מלאכת אהל מועד אבל שבתותי תשמורו לעולם ובתורת כהנים (ויקרא יא ל) יכול יהא בנין בית המקדש דוחה שבת, תלמוד לומר את שבתותי תשמורו ומקדשי תיראו אני ה'.
ACH’ (BUT) YE SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS. “Even though you may be anxious to do the work promptly, do not set aside the Sabbath on its account. All [Scriptural expressions containing] the words ach (but) or rak (only), intimate limiting qualifications; [in this case] it is to exclude the Sabbath from [the days on which] the work of the Tabernacle may be done.” This is Rashi’s language. But I have not been able to explain it. For according to the method used by our Rabbis to interpret the words ach (but) and rak (only), it should limit the scope of Sabbath-observance [and permit the work of the Tabernacle on the Sabbath], for the limiting qualifications [of ach and rak] everywhere apply to the subject of the commandment itself [and since the verse here speaks of Sabbath-observance, the word ach should be restricting its application]. Thus if we are to interpret [and apply] the limiting nature of the word ach to the subject of the work of the Tabernacle, it should follow that it is allowed to be done on the Sabbath! Rather, the limiting nature of the word ach here applies to circumcision [on the eighth day of the child], or to the saving of human life, and similar instances, [to tell us] that they set aside the Sabbath. And so the Rabbis said in Tractate Yoma: “And whence do we know that even in a doubt whether life is in danger, the Sabbath may be set aside? Rabbi Abohu said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: ‘Ach’ ye shall keep My Sabbaths — [the word ach] has a limiting qualification.” And the reason why the work of the Tabernacle does not override the Sabbath [is not on account of the word ach, but] because He warned [about keeping the Sabbath] here [right next to the subject of the making of the Tabernacle, thus indicating that the Sabbath is not to be set aside on account of it]. And in line with the plain meaning of Scripture the verse states as follows: “You shall do the work of the Tent of Meeting, but My Sabbaths you shall keep forever.” And in the Torath Kohanim [the Rabbis have said as follows]: “I might think that the building of the Sanctuary overrides the Sabbath? Scripture therefore says, Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My Sanctuary: I am the Eternal.”
Abraham Joshua Heschel – The Sabbath (published in France under the title Les Bâttiseurs du Temps [Architecture in Time].
On the 39 Melachot:
What are the kinds of labor not to be done on the Sabbath? They are, according to the ancient rabbis, all those acts which were necessary for the construction and furnishing of the Sanctuary in the desert.5 The Sabbath itself is a sanctuary which we build, a sanctuary in time.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath (FSG Classics) (p. 38). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.
Indeed, the splendor of the day is expressed in terms of abstentions, just as the mystery of God is more adequately conveyed via negationis, in the categories of negative theology which claims that we can never say what He is, we can only say what He is not. We often feel how poor the edifice would be were it built exclusively of our rituals and deeds which are so awkward and often so obtrusive. How else express glory in the presence of eternity, if not by the silence of abstaining from noisy acts?
For all the idealization, there is no danger of the idea of the Sabbath becoming a fairy-tale. With all the romantic idealization, the Sabbath remains a concrete fact, a legal institution and a social order. There is no danger of its becoming a disembodied spirit, for the spirit of the Sabbath must always be in accord with actual deeds, with definite actions and abstentions. The real and the spiritual are one, like body and soul in a living man. It is for the law to clear the path; it is for the soul to sense the spirit. This is what the ancient rabbis felt: the Sabbath demands all of man’s attention, the service and single-minded devotion of total love. The logic of such a conception compelled them to enlarge constantly the system of laws and rules of observance. They sought to ennoble human nature and make it worthy of being in the presence of the royal day. Yet law and love, discipline and delight, were not always fused. In their illustrious fear of desecrating the spirit of the day, the ancient rabbis established a level of observance which is within the reach of exalted souls but not infrequently beyond the grasp of ordinary men. pp. 24-27
A Tabernacle
The seventh day is like a palace in time with a kingdom for all. It is not a date but an atmosphere. It is not a different state of consciousness but a different climate; it is as if the appearance of all things somehow changed. The primary awareness is one of our being within the Sabbath rather than of the Sabbath being within us. p30
Jewish ritual may be characterized as the art of significant forms in time, as architecture of time. Most of its observances—the Sabbath, the New Moon, the festivals, the Sabbatical and the Jubilee year—depend on a certain hour of the day or season of the year. It is, for example, the evening, morning, or afternoon that brings with it the call to prayer. The main themes of faith lie in the realm of time. We remember the day of the exodus from Egypt, the day when Israel stood at Sinai; and our Messianic hope is the expectation of a day, of the end of days.
Holiness of Time as opposed to space
One of the most distinguished words in the Bible is the word qadosh, holy; a word which more than any other is representative of the mystery and majesty of the divine. Now what was the first holy object in the history of the world? Was it a mountain? Was it an altar? It is, indeed, a unique occasion at which the distinguished word qadosh is used for the first time: in the Book of Genesis at the end of the story of creation. How extremely significant is the fact that it is applied to time: “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.”7 There is no reference in the record of creation to any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness. This is a radical departure from accustomed religious thinking. The mythical mind would expect that, after heaven and earth have been established, God would create a holy place—a holy mountain or a holy spring—whereupon a sanctuary is to be established. Yet it seems as if to the Bible it is holiness in time, the Sabbath, which comes first. When history began, there was only one holiness in the world, holiness in time. When at Sinai the word of God was about to be voiced, a call for holiness in man was proclaimed: “Thou shalt be unto me a holy people.” It was only after the people had succumbed to the temptation of worshipping a thing, a golden calf, that the erection of a Tabernacle, of holiness in space, was commanded. 8 The sanctity of time came first, the sanctity of man came second, and the sanctity of space last. Time was hallowed by God; space, the Tabernacle, was consecrated by Moses.
8 See Tanhuma, Exodus 34:1 (31); Seder ‘Olam rabba, ch. 6. Rashi to Exodus 31:18. See, however, Nahmanides to Leviticus 8:2. Holiness of time would have been sufficient to the world. Holiness of space was a necessary comprise with the nature of man. The erection of a tabernacle was not commanded in the Decalogue. It was begun in answer to a direct appeal from the people who pleaded with God: “O Lord of the world! The kings of the nations have palaces in which are set a table, candlesticks and other royal insignia that their king may be recognized as such. Shall not Thou, too, our King, Redeemer and Helper, employ royal insignia, that all the dwellers of the earth may recognize that Thou art their King?” Midrash Aggada 27:1; Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, III, 148f.
Fire
The Sabbath must all be spent “in charm, grace, peace, and great love … for on it even the wicked in hell find peace.” It is, therefore, a double sin to show anger on the Sabbath. “Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day” (Exodus 35:3), is interpreted to mean: “Ye shall kindle no fire of controversy nor the heat of anger.” 6 Ye shall kindle no fire—not even the fire of righteous indignation.
6, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, Shne Luhot ha-Berit, Frankfurt a.d. Oder, 1717, p. 131a.
The Sabbath Replaces the destroyed Temple
The emphasis on time is a predominant feature of prophetic thinking. “The day of the Lord” is more important to the prophets than “the house of the Lord.”
In the Bible, no thing, no place on earth, is holy by itself. Even the site on which the only sanctuary was to be built in the Promised Land is never called holy in the Pentateuch, nor was it determined or specified in the time of Moses. More than twenty times it is referred to as “the place which the Lord your God shall choose.” (Deuteronomy 12:5. 11.14.18.21.26; 14:23.24. 25; 15:20; 16:2.6.7.11.15.16; 17:8.10; 23:17; 31:11.)
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath (FSG Classics) (p. 118). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath (FSG Classics) (p. 82). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.
Zion is in ruins, Jerusalem lies in the dust. All week there is only hope of redemption. But when the Sabbath is entering the world, man is touched by a moment of actual redemption; as if for a moment the spirit of the Messiah moved over the face of the earth. Shrine of the King, royal city, arise!
Come forth from thy ruins.
Long enough have you dwelt in the vale of tears …
Shake off your dust, arise!
Put on your glorious garments, my people …
Be not ashamed nor confounded.
Why are you downcast?
Why do you moan?
The afflicted of my people will be sheltered within you;
The city shall be rebuilt on its ancient site …
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath (FSG Classics) (p. 105). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath (FSG Classics) (p. 38). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath (FSG Classics) (p. 38). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.