Parashat Vayakhel (5760)

With God's help, eve of the holy Sabbath, Parashat Vayakhel, 5760

The Sabbath and the Workdays, or: Sin and Its Punishment

At the beginning of the portion, the Torah repeats the commandment to observe the Sabbath, and the question arises why this

repetition is necessary, when this commandment already appears at the beginning of the previous portion

(Ki Tissa). We shall try to understand this by considering the differences between the portions. The command in Ki Tissa

begins with the obligation to observe the Sabbath, and afterward moves on to refer to the six workdays. This

is formulated as follows: “Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord” (Exodus 31:15).

By contrast, in our portion the formulation begins with reference to the six days of labor, and only afterward comes

the command to cease on the Sabbath. The wording of the command itself is also slightly different: “Six days you shall do work, but on

the seventh day it shall be holy for you, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord” (Exodus 35:2).

It appears that the first command, stated before the sin of the calf (whose description comes later in Ki

Tissa), is the ideal, original Sabbath, the one that ought to have been ours before the sin. In that state,

the Sabbath would have had intrinsic value, even without being integrated into the framework of the workdays.

After the sin, the people of Israel descend in level and become more closely bound to the framework of the six days of action. In that state

the Sabbath does not possess a dominant intrinsic value; rather, the dimension of cessation from the six days of action

becomes its significant aspect. Therefore, the description of the ideal Sabbath does not come against the backdrop of the six

workdays; they draw nourishment from it, not it from them.

In the description of the Sabbath after the sin, the Sabbath draws nourishment from the six workdays; it is perceived only as rest

from action, and therefore the reference to them precedes the command to cease.

Perhaps this is also reflected in the verbal form “shall be done” as opposed to “you shall do.” “Shall be done” means of itself; the work

is done by itself, and man's performance of it is not a value in itself. “You shall do” means action

by human beings.[1] After the sin, when they descended to the level of the world of action, there is already value in human

labor, in place of the earlier state in which the work was done of itself.

In this sense, the sin of the calf is a continuation of Adam's sin, which was the first link in the chain

of man's descents into the world of action. Following Adam's sin, the serpent falls to the ground

(goes upon its belly), and man is sentenced: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your

life. And thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you…” and afterward: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:14, 17-19). The entire world descends

toward the earth, becoming lower and less spiritual, and consequently labor acquires more and more significance, and is even

regarded as an obligation.

We find different approaches in the attitude of the Sages toward labor, manual work, and man's

mundane activity in this world in general. There are clearly approaches that praise labor as a value

in itself (“Six days you shall do work” [Exodus 35:2]). On the other hand, there is a tendency to see it as a necessary payment

for our being inhabitants of this world, and to try to avoid it as much as possible (“and on the seventh day there shall be holiness” [Exodus 35:2]).

The arguments have continued throughout all the generations down to our own day.

Indeed, labor contains an ex post facto element, a payment for our descent into this world, except that we must not

forget that all creation was intended in order to create this world (to make a dwelling for the Divine Presence in the lower realms).

Although this has costs, and we may not ignore the fact that they are costs (to think that the value of labor is

equal to the value of Torah and the commandments), on the other hand, in a given situation, the ex post facto is sometimes the ideal from the outset. The situation

of the ideal is different, and there is no point in trying to realize it fully in our present condition, after

those sins.

By this an additional difference in wording between the two above portions becomes clear. In our portion the word “holiness”

appears before the words “a sabbath of complete rest,” the reverse of the command in Ki Tissa. There is an emphasis here that even

in the Sabbath after the sin there is a dimension of holiness in itself, and not as many perceive it today

only in the social aspect, as rest from labor. This mistaken view is another facet of the view

that labor is equal in value to Torah and the commandments (= the Sabbath).

Have a peaceful Sabbath

It may be brought for respectful disposal at any synagogue or academy of Torah study. Comments and responses will be welcomed.

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[1] Although the form “you shall do” is also written with an “e” vowel under the initial letter, it nevertheless seems to me that these are the differences

in meaning. There are places in Scripture where the word appears with an “a” vowel under the initial letter.

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