Shamor – the “do nots” of shabbat

Shemot 20:8–11 and Devarim 5:12

The first three sources of this block, which contrast the positive and negative aspects of shabbat observance, are also found in the blockZachor – the “dos” of shabbat.  If you have previously taught that block you may wish to reference these texts only, or review them, rather than learn/teach them again.

Shabbat in the two versions of the Ten Commandments: The Shemot text records the Revelation at Sinai along with the Ten Commandments uttered by God upon that occasion as it was happening, so to speak. The Devarim text has Moshe recounting to the new generation of Israelites, the generation about to enter the Promised Land, that which had occurred some 40 years earlier at Sinai in the biblical chronology. Included in his narrative is a reiteration of the Ten Commandments. While there is no difference in content between the two versions of the Ten Commandments, there are variations in the formulation of those commandments.

Differences in the language of the two versions: When it comes to the fourth commandment, the one speaking of Shabbat, the Shemot passage notes that the Israelites are to remember ( זכָוֹר , zakhor) the Shabbat, while the Devarim text commands them to observe ( שׁמָוֹר , shamor) the Shabbat. Two primary points need clarification here:

1. Why is the wording different between these two verses? 
2. What is meant by these two commands/verbs, to “remember” and to “observe”? 

Indeed, both these questions are extensively discussed by the commentaries and the biblical scholars. We will look at one classic interpretation (from the Ramban) that relates to the distinction between the positive mitzvot ( מִצוְותֹ עשֲהֵׂ ) and negative mitzvot (מִצְווֹת לאֹ תַּעֲשֶׂה).

Ramban, Shemot 20:7

Why two versions?: Ramban deals with a basic problem of the biblical text. If the Ten Commandments were uttered by God, how could there be two versions? To argue that the two versions, one or both, are not faithful reproductions of God’s word at Sinai is unthinkable for the talmudic and rabbinic writers. To argue that Shemot is God’s word while Devarim is Moshe’s recollection of the event makes no sense – since Moshe would have had Shemot in front of him already, he could have just cut and paste the text as is into Devarim, so why are there discrepancies? Is Devarim perhaps Moshe’s commentary on Shemot? If it is, how does “observe” expand anyone’s understanding of “remember”? The solution offered by the talmudic scholars offers a new angle.

Two different aspects of shabbat observance: For the Rabbis cited by Ramban, God uttered both zakhor and shamor simultaneously. Why would God have to do that? Why would God not have been able to utter them consecutively? For the Rabbis of the Talmud (Shevuot 20b), it is to create a parallel between what these two words convey. Now what are the ideas communicated via the varied terms of the two versions of the Ten Commandments? Ramban, based on the two talmudic references, explains that shamor (beware to observe) is one of those terms taken by the Rabbis to signal a negative commandment ( מִצְוַת לאֹ תַעֲשֶׂה ). Telling a person to “beware” usually means that the person ought not to do something. The biblical texts are full of verses telling people not to do things on Shabbat . On the other hand, asking a person to zakhor, recall and “remember” something means that there is something they likely need to do – the positive commandments ( מִצוְותֹ עשֲהֵׂ). Seeing this verse as instructing the people to engage in specific activity on Shabbat is a novel way of understanding the verse, one that may very well reflect how the people were actually marking the Shabbat for many generations before the Rabbis came along.

Positive and negative commandments: In this text, Ramban clarifies why the Rabbis associated Shabbat observance with both positive and negative commandments – things one should do on Shabbat and things that should not be done.

Going back to the idea that zakhor and shamor were uttered by God simultaneously – the Talmud (Shevuot 20b) establishes the significance of the simultaneity of the utterance of these two words is to inform that the responsibility of observing the positive and negative aspects of Shabbat devolves upon all Jews—men and women equally.

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 49b and Mishnah, Tractate Shabbat 7:2

The thirty-nine categories of work that are prohibited on shabbat: According to the Rabbis, there are thirty nine categories of מְלאָכהָ (melakhah, work), prohibited on the Shabbat. While the Torah insists that one not perform melakhah on Shabbat, the Torah does not provide any working definition for this term in the context of Shabbat. 

The source of the definition of “work” that is prohibited on shabbat is the construction of the Tabernacle:  Using a midrashic technique to analyze the significance of having two sections of the Torah juxtaposed to each other, the Rabbis began to develop a working definition for the term melakhah. Just prior to the second account of the construction of the Tabernacle to appear in Shemot (35–40), the Torah presents a reminder for the need to observe the Shabbat. Even earlier in Shemot (31), following the appointment of Betzalel and Aholiav to the task of constructing the Tabernacle is yet another reminder for the need to observe the Shabbat. This gave the Rabbis the idea that those activities needed in the construction of the Tabernacle are those activities that  would be prohibited on Shabbat.

For example, elaborate coverings made of animal skins and hair covered the Tabernacle. Because these materials were sewn together, sewing is an activity forbidden on Shabbat (number 23 on the list of the 39 categories provided in Text 9).

Possible philosophical links between shabbat and the Tabernacle: What is the philosophical basis for linking the work in the Tabernacle with the prohibited work on Shabbat? A number of suggestions:

1. If the Tabernacle can be seen as a microcosm of the entire universe, as suggested by some, then the activities needed to build it represent the activities that went into creating the universe. If then Shabbat is a celebration of the completion of God’s creation of the universe, to refrain from those labors as God did is a straightforward form of imitatio dei—emulating God.
2. Given that the Tabernacle was taken to be the holiest space in the Israelite world, keeping from building that holy space (as the Midrash informs no construction of the Tabernacle occurred on Shabbat), keeping from engaging in the activities needed to build any holy space, allows for people to focus on holy time. 

This definition of work renders irrelevant the suggestion that work is a function of the expense of human energy. What matters is the constructive change that is produced, not the amount of energy exerted in a particular activity.

Note on the text:

In the world of halakhah, the categories of labor listed in the Mishnah are just that, categories. Each category may thus have subcategories that may be equally prohibited on Shabbat, even if they are not openly listed by the Mishnah. When dealing with new activities that did not exist in the past, rabbis of the halakhah will make the effort to determine if the new activity can clearly be listed under one of primary categories of labor resulting in the new activity being prohibited on Shabbat, or if the new activity is completely apart from those listed by the Mishnah, in which case it may very well be permitted (however, such latter types of activity may be prohibited by the rabbis and the halakhah for other reasons).

Rabbi Irving Greenberg, The Dream and How to Live It: Shabbat

Even effortless acts can signify mastery: As discussed in the previous text, melakhah is not related to the amount of effort one has to exert. Therefore, what is forbidden may sometimes be actions that require very little effort, as for example turning a light switch or calling up an elevator. For those who observe Shabbat in this way, giving up melakhah is not just a means to an end but is in and of itself a spiritual act, aimed at making a very public theological statement: God is the Creator and Master of the world. By dedicating one day every week to refraining from every activity that signifies human power and mastery of nature, the Jew proclaims God as the source of all power and ingenuity. Any act, however insignificant, that demonstrates human mastery of the world is a melakhah. Another theological way to look at it is that humankind, being chosen to be partners with God in Creation, also partners with God in the resting that God created on the seventh day.

Shabbat prohibitions preserve the spirit of the law: While the benefits of Shabbat observance for the individual, family, and community may be plentiful, according to Greenberg, this is neither the focus nor the central purpose of Shabbat observance. The many prohibitions established by the Rabbis preserve the spirit of the law, not only the letter of the law.

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 49b
Compilation of teachings of 3rd–6th century scholars in Babylonia (amora’im); final redaction in the 6th–7th centuries.