Shabbat Under Surveillance

"More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews." - Achad Ha'Am

Who has kept Shabbat in secret? What are the secrets that Shabbat can reveal or conceal? In a time of state repression and surveillance, how might Shabbat help us protect each other and build olam haboh, even in the furthest reaches of exile?

שמות ל״ה:א׳-ב׳

(א) וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יהוה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃ (ב) שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶשׁ שַׁבַּ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן לַיהוה כׇּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה ב֛וֹ מְלָאכָ֖ה יוּמָֽת׃

Exodus 35:1-2

(1) Moses then gathered the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that יהוה has commanded you to do: (2) On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

משנה תורה, הלכות שבת כ״ד:ז׳

אֵין עוֹנְשִׁין בְּשַׁבָּת אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהָעֹנֶשׁ מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה אֵינָהּ דּוֹחָה שַׁבָּת. כֵּיצַד. הֲרֵי שֶׁנִּתְחַיֵּב בְּבֵית דִּין מַלְקוֹת אוֹ מִיתָה אֵין מַלְקִין אוֹתוֹ וְאֵין מְמִיתִין אוֹתוֹ בְּשַׁבָּת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לה ג) "לֹא תְבַעֲרוּ אֵשׁ בְּכל משְׁבֹתֵיכֶם בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת" זוֹ אַזְהָרָה לְבֵית דִּין שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׂרְפוּ בְּשַׁבָּת מִי שֶׁנִּתְחַיֵּב שְׂרֵפָה וְהוּא הַדִּין לִשְׁאָר עֳנָשִׁין:

Mishneh Torah, Sabbath 24:7

Punishments may not be administered [by the court] on the Sabbath. Although [administering] punishment fulfills a positive command [of the Torah], the observance of a positive commandment does not supersede [the observance of] the Sabbath [laws].What is implied? A person who was sentenced to be lashed or executed by [the court] should not be lashed or executed on the Sabbath, as [Exodus 35:3] states: "Do not kindle a fire in all of your dwellings on the Sabbath." This [verse serves as] a warning to the court not to [execute a person by] burning on the Sabbath. The same principle applies regarding other punishments [administered by the court].

הגדה של פסח, מגיד, מעשה שהיה בבני ברק א׳

מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן-עֲזַרְיָה וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי-בְרַק וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִים בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל-אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית.

Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Story of the Five Rabbis 1

It happened once [on Pesach] that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak and were telling the story of the exodus from Egypt that whole night, until their students came and said to them, "Rabbis, the time for reciting the morning prayers (Shema) has arrived."

Oneg Shabbat Archives

"We reached the conclusion that the Germans took very little interest in what the Jews were doing amongst themselves… it was not surprising that the work of Oneg Shabbat could develop successfully." - Emanuel Ringelblum

Read this article about the Oneg Shabbat Archives, an underground archive constructed in secret by historians and activists in the Warsaw Ghetto, using the cover of Shabbat to conduct their meetings.

Hush Harbors in Antebellum America

Read this article about the tradition of Hush Habors, "invisible institutions" of worship, resistance, and rebellion created by enslaved people in the American South.

Quotes from The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

“The seventh day is a palace in time which we build. It is made of soul, of joy and reticence. In its atmosphere, a discipline is a reminder of adjacency to eternity.”

“It must always be remembered that the Sabbath is not an occasion for diversion or frivolity; not a day to shoot fireworks or to turn somersaults, but an opportunity to mend our tattered lives; to collect rather than to dissipate time. Labor without dignity is the cause of misery; rest without spirit the source of depravity.” - The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel

Questions

In a time of state repression, what parts of Shabbat can keep us safer and more sustained? Are there other ritual practices that do this for us?

After reading the excerpt from Mishnah Torah about punishment, what's the significance of not exacting punishment on Shabbat? Is there a modern or interpersonal equivalent of this? Do you think there's a conflict between the pasuk from Exodus describing a death penalty for not keeping Shabbat, and the Mishnah Torah prohibiting punishment on Shabbat? During a time of exile, why might the Beit Din, the Jewish court, not meet on Shabbes?

Read the story from the Haggadah about the rabbis learning until dawn. Some commentaries say that the student who came to announce that "it is time for the morning Shema" was actually speaking in code to warn them that the Roman police were coming and that they should cease studying. Why would they have to tell the story of the exodus in secret? Why that story, specifically? Are there other instances of Jewish practice being a code for communal protection?

In what ways does our tradition already contain blueprints for resisting oppressive circumstance?

Reading and learning is highly encouraged on Shabbos. What is the value of analog practices in an era of digital censorship, algorithms, media narratives, and surveillance?

Have you ever revealed or uncovered a secret during Shabbat?

Jews are among many peoples who have had to practice religion in oppressive circumstances and conduct resistance in secret. After reading the articles on the Oneg Shabbos Archive and Hush Harbors, what strategies might we find in other spiritual traditions about how religious practice can be a tool for resisting injustice in times of danger?

Many Jews keep Shabbat by turning off their phones and abstaining from electricity. How might having networks of people who, for 25 hours each week are offline or analog, be useful when state surveillance puts people in peril?

Shabbos is a taste of olam haboh, the world to come. How can we bring that taste into our olam hazeh, the world as-it-is, during the week?

What Shabbat practices do you currently observe? Can you think of any new Jewish observances we should create in response to living under surveillance?