The Most Sacred of Times: Sabbath in the Crossroads of Corona

Rev Lynn Ungar, Pandemic
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love—
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.

שמות כ׳:ח׳-י״א

(ח) זָכ֛וֹר֩ אֶת־י֥֨וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖֜ת לְקַדְּשֽׁ֗וֹ (ט) שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת יָמִ֣ים֙ תַּֽעֲבֹ֔ד֮ וְעָשִׂ֖֣יתָ כָּל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒ (י) וְי֙וֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔֜י שַׁבָּ֖֣ת ׀ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶׂ֣֨ה כָל־מְלָאכָ֡֜ה אַתָּ֣ה ׀ וּבִנְךָֽ֣־וּ֠בִתֶּ֗ךָ עַבְדְּךָ֤֨ וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ וּבְהֶמְתֶּ֔֗ךָ וְגֵרְךָ֖֙ אֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽ֔יךָ (יא) כִּ֣י שֵֽׁשֶׁת־יָמִים֩ עָשָׂ֨ה יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶת־הַיָּם֙ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֔ם וַיָּ֖נַח בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑י עַל־כֵּ֗ן בֵּרַ֧ךְ יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־י֥וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת וַֽיְקַדְּשֵֽׁהוּ׃ (ס)

Exodus 20:8-11

(8) Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. (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. (11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

קוהלת רבה ט׳:ז׳

אַבָּא תַּחֲנָה חֲסִידָא נִכְנַס לְעִירוֹ עֶרֶב שַׁבָּת עִם חֲשֵׁכָה, וַחֲבִילָתוֹ מֻנַּחַת לוֹ עַל כְּתֵפוֹ, וּמָצָא מֻכֶּה שְׁחִין אֶחָד מֻטָּל בְּפָרָשַׁת דְּרָכִים, אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי עֲשֵׂה עִמִּי צְדָקָה וְהַכְנִיסֵנִי לָעִיר. אָמַר, אִם אֲנִי מַנִּיחַ חֲבִילָתִי מֵהֵיכָן אֶתְפַּרְנֵס אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי, וְאִם אֲנִי מַנִּיחַ אֶת מֻכֶּה שְׁחִין אֲנִי מִתְחַיֵּב בְּנַפְשִׁי, מֶה עָשָׂה, הִמְלִיךְ יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר רָע וְהִכְנִיסוֹ לַמֻּכֶּה שְׁחִין לָעִיר, וּבָא וְנָטַל אֶת חֲבִילָתוֹ וְנִכְנַס עִם דִּמְדּוּמֵי חַמָּה, וְהָיוּ הַכֹּל תְּמֵהִין וְאוֹמְרִים זֶה הוּא אַבָּא תַּחֲנָה חֲסִידָא. אַף הוּא הִרְהֵר בְּלִבּוֹ וְאָמַר תֹּאמַר שֶׁמָּא חִלַּלְתִּי אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת, בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה הִזְרִיחַ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הַחַמָּה, דִּכְתִיב (מלאכי ג, כ): וְזָרְחָה לָכֶם יִרְאֵי שְׁמִי שֶׁמֶשׁ צְדָקָה וגו'. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה הִרְהֵר בְּלִבּוֹ וְאָמַר תֹּאמַר שֶׁלֹא נִתְקַבֵּל שְׂכָרִי, יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה לוֹ: לֵךְ אֱכֹל בְּשִׂמְחָה לַחְמֶךָ וּשְׁתֵה בְלֶב טוֹב יֵינֶךָ כִּי כְבָר רָצָה הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, נִתְקַבֵּל שְׂכָרְךָ.

Kohelet Rabbah 9:7

...Abba Tahnah the Pious was entering the city on the Sabbath-eve at dusk with his bundle slung over his shoulder, when he came across a man afflicted with boils lying at the crossroads. The latter said to him: “Rabbi, do right by me, and carry me into the city.” He said: “If I abandon my bundle here [to carry this man], from what will my household and I support ourselves? But if I abandon this afflicted man, I will forfeit my life!” What did he do? He allowed the Good Inclination to prevail over the Evil Inclination, and carried the afflicted man into the city. He then returned for his bundle, and entered [the city] just at sunset. Everyone was astonished, and exclaimed “Is this Abba Tahnah the pious?!” He too felt uneasy in his heart and said, “Do you think that I perhaps desecrated the Sabbath?" At that time the Blessed Holy One, caused the sun to shine, as it is written: But for you who fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise to bring healing (Malachi 3:20). In that moment, he felt uneasy in his heart, and he said: "Surely I will not receive my reward for what I've done." In that moment, the Bat Kol emerged and said, "Go and eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a full heart, because God desired that you do precisely what you did, and you will receive your reward."

ויקרא י״ח:ה׳

(ה) וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֤ם אֶת־חֻקֹּתַי֙ וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה אֹתָ֛ם הָאָדָ֖ם וָחַ֣י בָּהֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃ (ס)

Leviticus 18:5

(5) You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which man shall live: I am the LORD.

אורח חיים שכ״ח:ב׳

(ב) מי שיש לו חולי של סכנה מצוה לחלל עליו את השבת והזריז הרי זה משובח והשואל הרי זה שופך דמים:

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 328:2

(2) For someone who has a dangerous illness, it is a commandment to break Shabbat for him. One who hurries to do this is praised. One who asks about this is a murderer.

יומא פ״ה א:ט״ו-פ״ה ב:ב׳

נענה ר"ע ואמר (שמות כא, יד) וכי יזיד איש על רעהו וגו' מעם מזבחי תקחנו למות מעם מזבחי ולא מעל מזבחי ואמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יוחנן לא שנו אלא להמית אבל להחיות אפילו מעל מזבחי ומה זה שספק יש ממש בדבריו ספק אין ממש בדבריו ועבודה דוחה שבת קל וחומר לפקוח נפש שדוחה את השבת נענה רבי אלעזר ואמר ומה מילה שהיא אחד ממאתים וארבעים ושמונה איברים שבאדם דוחה את השבת קל וחומר לכל גופו שדוחה את השבת רבי יוסי בר' יהודה אומר (שמות לא, יג) את שבתותי תשמורו יכול לכל ת"ל אך חלק רבי יונתן בן יוסף אומר (שמות לא, יד) כי קודש היא לכם היא מסורה בידכם ולא אתם מסורים בידה

Yoma 85a:15-85b:2

Rabbi Akiva answered and said that it is stated: “And if a man comes purposefully upon his neighbor to slay him with guile, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die” (Exodus 21:14). The phrase “take him from My altar” implies that if the murderer is a priest and comes to perform the service, one does not wait for him to do so but takes him to his execution immediately. But one should not take him from on top of My altar. If he already began the service and is in the midst of it, one does not take him down from the altar immediately but instead allows him to finish his service. And Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They taught only that a priest is not removed from the altar in order to execute him for murder, but to preserve a life, e.g., if the priest can testify to the innocence of one who is sentenced to death, one removes him even from on top of My altar, even while he is sacrificing an offering. Just as this priest, about whom there is uncertainty whether there is substance to his words of testimony or whether there is no substance to his words, is taken from the Temple service in order to save a life, and Temple service overrides Shabbat, so too, a fortiori, saving a life overrides Shabbat. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya answered and said: Just as the mitzva of circumcision, which rectifies only one of the 248 limbs of the body, overrides Shabbat, so too, a fortiori, saving one’s whole body, which is entirely involved in mitzvot, overrides Shabbat. Other tanna’im debated this same issue. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says that it is stated: “But keep my Shabbatot” (Exodus 31:13). One might have thought that this applies to everyone in all circumstances; therefore, the verse states “but,” a term that restricts and qualifies. It implies that there are circumstances where one must keep Shabbat and circumstances where one must desecrate it, i.e., to save a life. Rabbi Yonatan ben Yosef says that it is stated: “For it is sacred to you” (Exodus 31:14). This implies that Shabbat is given into your hands, and you are not given to it to die on account of Shabbat.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath

Shabbat comes with its own holiness; we enter not simply a day, but an atmosphere. My father cites the Zohar: the Sabbath is the name of God. We are within the Sabbath rather than the Sabbath being within us. For my father, the question is how to perceive that holiness: not how much to observe, but how to observe. Strict adherence to the laws regulating Sabbath observance doesn’t suffice; the goal is creating the Sabbath as a foretaste of paradise. The Sabbath is a metaphor for paradise and a testimony to God’s presence; in our prayers, we anticipate a messianic era that will be a Sabbath, and each Shabbat prepares us for that experience: “Unless one learns how to relish the taste of Sabbath … one will be unable to enjoy the taste of eternity in the world to come.” It was on the seventh day that God gave the world a soul, and “[the world’s] survival depends upon the holiness of the seventh day.” The task, he writes, becomes how to convert time into eternity, how to fill our time with spirit: “Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else.