D1. Resting from Work & Assembling on the Weekly Sabbath. [Make a Comment]
We are to rest, refrain from work, and conduct a holy convocation on the weekly Sabbath.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
Genesis 2:2-3
On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. God blessed
the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested
from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.
Exodus 20:8-11
(Maimonides RN320; Meir MN6; Chinuch C32)
Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your
God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work - not you, your son or your
daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the
foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six
days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on
the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and
separated it for himself.
Exodus 23:12
(Meir MP20; Chinuch C85)
For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so
that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl's son and the
foreigner be renewed.
Exodus 31:12-17
ADONAI said to Moshe, "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'You are to
observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your
generations; so that you will know that I am ADONAI, who sets you apart for
me. Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you.
Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does
any work on it is to be cut off from his people. On six days work will get
done; but the seventh day is Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for
ADONAI. Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat must be put to death.
The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat
through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between
me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made
heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and
rested.'
Exodus 34:21
(Maimonides RP154)
Six days you will work, but on the seventh day you are to rest - even in
plowing time and harvest season you are to rest.
Exodus 35:1-3
(Maimonides RN322; Chinuch C114)
Moshe assembled the whole community of the people of Isra'el and said
to them, "These are the things which ADONAI has ordered you to do. On six
days work is to be done, but the seventh day is to be a holy day for you, a
Shabbat of complete rest in honor of ADONAI. Whoever does any work on it is
to be put to death. You are not to kindle a fire in any of your homes on
Shabbat."
Leviticus 19:1-3
ADONAI said to Moshe, "Speak to the entire community of Isra'el; tell
them, 'You people are to be holy because I, ADONAI your God, am holy.
Every one of you is to revere his father and mother, and you are to keep my
Shabbats; I am ADONAI your God."
(See also, Leviticus 19:30 and
26:2)
Leviticus 23:3
(Maimonides RP154)
Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete
rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a
Shabbat for ADONAI, even in your homes.
Numbers 28:9-10
(Maimonides RP41; Chinuch C405)
On Shabbat offer two male lambs in their first year and without defect, with
one gallon of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, and its
drink offering. This is the burnt offering for every Shabbat, in addition
to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as ADONAI your God
ordered you to do. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the
seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it you are not to do any
kind of work - not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female
slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the
foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property - so that your
male and female servants can rest just as you do. You are to remember that
you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and ADONAI your God brought you out
from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore ADONAI your
God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat.
Isaiah 56:1-7
Here is what ADONAI says: "Observe justice, do what is right, for my
salvation is close to coming, my righteousness to being revealed. Happy is
the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and
does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. A foreigner
joining ADONAI should not say, 'ADONAI will separate me from his
people'; likewise the eunuch should not say, 'I am only a dried-up
tree.'" For here is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my
Shabbats, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: in my
house, within my walls, I will give them power and a name greater than sons
and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
And the foreigners who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the
name of ADONAI, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not
profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy
mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings
and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a
house of prayer for all peoples."
Isaiah 58:13-14
If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my
holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI's holy day, worth
honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your
interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight in
ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with
the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has
spoken.
Matthew 12:1-8
One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields.
His talmidim were hungry, so they began picking heads of grain and eating
them. On seeing this, the P'rushim said to him, "Look! Your talmidim
are violating Shabbat!" But he said to them, "Haven't you ever read
what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He entered the House
of God and ate the Bread of the Presence!" - which was prohibited, both to
him and to his companions; it is permitted only to the cohanim. Or
haven't you read in the Torah that on Shabbat the cohanim profane
Shabbat and yet are blameless? I tell you, there is in this place something
greater than the Temple! If you knew what 'I want compassion rather
than animal-sacrifice' meant, you would not condemn the innocent. For
the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat!"
Hebrews 4:2-11
... for Good News has also been proclaimed to us, just as it was to them.
But the message they heard didn't do them any good, because those who
heard it did not combine it with trust. For it is we who have trusted who
enter the rest. It is just as he said, "And in my anger, I swore that they
would not enter my rest." He swore this even though his works have been in
existence since the founding of the universe. For there is a place where it
is said, concerning the seventh day, "And God rested on the seventh day from
all his works." And once more, our present text says, "They will not enter
my rest." Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter it, and those
who received the Good News earlier did not enter, he again fixes a certain
day, "Today," saying through David, so long afterwards, in the text already
given, "Today, if you hear God's voice, don't harden your hearts."
For if Y'hoshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of
another "day." So there remains a Shabbat-keeping for God's people.
For the one who has entered God's rest has also rested from his own
works, as God did from his. Therefore, let us do our best to enter that
rest; so that no one will fall short because of the same kind of
disobedience.
Supportive Scriptures
Isaiah 66:23-24
Every month on Rosh-Hodesh and every week on Shabbat, everyone living will
come to worship in my presence," says ADONAI. As they leave, they will look
on the corpses of the people who rebelled against me. For their worm will
never die, and their fire will never be quenched; but they will be abhorrent
to all humanity." ["Every month on Rosh-Hodesh and every week on Shabbat,
everyone living will come to worship in my presence," says ADONAI.]
Matthew 12:9-13
Going on from that place, he [Yeshua] went into their synagogue. A man
there had a shriveled hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something,
they asked him, "Is healing permitted on Shabbat?" But he answered, "If you
have a sheep that falls in a pit on Shabbat, which of you won't take
hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!
Therefore, what is permitted on Shabbat is to do good." Then to the man he
said, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, it became restored, as sound
as the other one.
Mark 2:23-28
One Shabbat Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields; and as they went
along, his talmidim began picking heads of grain. The P'rushim said to
him, "Look! Why are they violating Shabbat?" He said to them, "Haven't
you ever read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and
needed food? He entered the House of God when Evyatar was cohen gadol and
ate the Bread of the Presence," - which is forbidden for anyone to eat but
the cohanim - "and even gave some to his companions." Then he said to them,
"Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat; So the Son of Man is
Lord even of Shabbat."
Mark 3:1-5
Yeshua went again into a synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was
there. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, people watched him
carefully to see if he would heal him on Shabbat. He said to the man with
the shriveled hand, "Come up where we can see you!" Then to them he said,
"What is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or
killing?" But they said nothing. Then, looking them over and feeling both
anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he
said to the man, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, it became
restored.
Luke 6:6-10
On another Shabbat, when Yeshua had gone into the synagogue and was
teaching, a man was there who had a shriveled hand. The Torah-teachers and
P'rushim watched Yeshua carefully to see if he would heal on Shabbat,
so that they could accuse him of something. But he knew what they were
thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Come up and stand
where we can see you!" He got up and stood there. Then Yeshua said to them,
"I ask you now: what is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil?
Saving life or destroying it?" Then, after looking around at all of them,
he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." As he held it out, his hand was
restored.
Luke 13:10-17
Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat. A woman came up
who had a spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years; she was bent
double and unable to stand erect at all. On seeing her, Yeshua called her
and said to her, "Lady, you have been set free from your weakness!" He put
his hands on her, and at once she stood upright and began to glorify God.
But the president of the synagogue, indignant that Yeshua had healed on
Shabbat, spoke up and said to the congregation, "There are six days in the
week for working; so come during those days to be healed, not on Shabbat!"
However, the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Each one of you on Shabbat
- don't you unloose your ox or your donkey from the stall and lead him
off to drink? This woman is a daughter of Avraham, and the Adversary kept
her tied up for eighteen years! Shouldn't she be freed from this
bondage on Shabbat?" By these words, Yeshua put to shame the people who
opposed him; but the rest of the crowd were happy about all the wonderful
things that were taking place through him.
Luke 14:1-6
One Shabbat Yeshua went to eat in the home of one of the leading
P'rushim, and they were watching him closely. In front of him was a
man whose body was swollen with fluid. Yeshua spoke up and asked the Torah
experts and P'rushim, "Does the Torah allow healing on Shabbat or not?"
But they said nothing. So, taking hold of him, he healed him and sent him
away. To them he said, "Which of you, if a son or an ox falls into a well,
will hesitate to haul him out on Shabbat?" And to these things they could
give no answer.
John 5:8-17
Yeshua said to him, "Get up, pick up your mat and walk!" Immediately the
man was healed, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now that day was
Shabbat, so the Judeans said to the man who had been healed, "It's
Shabbat! It's against Torah for you to carry your mat!" But he
answered them, "The man who healed me - he's the one who told me,
'Pick up your mat and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who
told you to pick it up and walk?" But the man who had been healed
didn't know who it was, because Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd.
Afterwards Yeshua found him in the Temple court and said to him, "See, you
are well! Now stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you!" The man
went off and told the Judeans it was Yeshua who had healed him; and on
account of this, the Judeans began harassing Yeshua because he did these
things on Shabbat. But he answered them, "My Father has been working until
now, and I too am working."
John 7:22-24
Moshe gave you b'rit-milah - not that it came from Moshe but from the
Patriarchs - and you do a boy's b'rit-milah on Shabbat. If a boy
is circumcised on Shabbat so that the Torah of Moshe will not be broken, why
are you angry with me because I made a man's whole body well on
Shabbat? Stop judging by surface appearances, and judge the right way!"
Commentary
The Sabbath was first described in Genesis 2:2-3 as the seventh day that God rested, and declared holy, following the six days of creation. Later, God commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath as a day to rest, refrain from work, and conduct a holy convocation (Leviticus 23:3)1. He also made the Sabbath applicable to Gentiles - not as a commandment - but as a source of blessing (Isaiah 56:1-7). My belief is, therefore, that keeping the seventh day Sabbath is law for the Jew, and blessing for the Gentile. Conversely, not to keep the Sabbath is sin for the Jew and a blessing lost for the Gentile. In the New Covenant Scriptures, Hebrews 4:1-11 compares "Sabbath rest" with "spiritual rest" that is received through having faith in Messiah Yeshua; that, of course, is applicable to Jew and non-Jew alike.
Since rest is the cessation of work, it is important to know the kind of work that is prohibited on the Sabbath. Exodus 23:12 provides part of the answer, for if we are to work six days of the week and rest on the seventh, the work referred to must be ordinary work of the kind we engage in for our livelihood and sustenance2. This would seem to mean that, on the Sabbath, carpentry is forbidden for the carpenter and cooking is forbidden for the cook, leaving open the possibility that such activities might be engaged in by persons who do them for pure enjoyment or recreation. Some would say that it is not so, because Isaiah 58:13-14 prohibits our pursuing personal interests on the Sabbath. I do not interpret the Scripture that way; I believe it is warning us away from pursuing interests that are at odds with God's interests and from doing usual things that would detract from making the Sabbath day special. So, for example, if immersing ourselves in outdoor nature adds to our Shabbat shalom, the fact that we find it interesting and pleasurable should not render it a prohibited activity. On the other hand, we should probably not use the Sabbath to continue our methodical study of birds that we began earlier in the week (restful though it may be) because then we would not be treating the day as special. Such decisions are personal and should be resolved through communion with the Holy Spirit.
I would be remiss were I not to mention that the Rabbinical understanding of what constitutes work includes things that are creative, the reason being that when God rested on the seventh day, He rested from "creating". That is why the rabbis forbid Sabbath activities that include writing and composing. It is also why the Pharisees in the First Century objected to Yeshua healing on the Sabbath (see Luke supra); healing and performing miracles was considered creative, and therefore a violation of the Sabbath (healing to save a life has always been permitted as an exception).
Messianic Judaism follows Yeshua's example in desiring to see healings and other miracles occur on the Sabbath, and we therefore have no hesitation in "laying on of hands" and praying for healing. Nor do we hesitate to write down godly inspirations we may receive, or do other things to make the Sabbath a delight rather than a burden. When God looked over what He had made, declared it "good" and later rested and gave us a Sabbath of rest as well, He was not supposing that we were engaged in creating things the previous six days and therefore needed to stop. He was summoning us to a day of rest in Him by reflecting on His Creation and affirmatively seeking His power for our restoration. Our position on this is that we may be creative on the Sabbath so long as it is not our usual work, and is an appropriate reflection of Him, and a reminder that we were created in His image.
There is a category of ordinary work that is clearly not forbidden on the Sabbath. It is work that is ministerial, because it is analogous to the work of the cohanim who were required to conduct Sabbath sacrifices in the Temple as part of their priestly duties.
Modern Judaism is split on works of compassion - e.g. works that heal or maintain safety, but there is uniform agreement that working to save a life is permitted. Messianic Judaism, in contrast, follows the example of Yeshua, and considers that works of compassion are not only permitted on the Sabbath, but are encouraged.
A rare category of work that is permitted on the Sabbath is work that must be undertaken so as not to violate another commandment of God. Thus a mohel is permitted to circumcise on the eighth day after the birth of a Jewish boy even if it falls on a Shabbat. These exceptions to the Mitzvah are generally accepted within Messianic Judaism and Judaism broadly; other possible exceptions need to be discerned through prayerfully seeking guidance from the Ruach HaKodesh.
Abstaining from work on the Sabbath is not only an act of obedience - it is an act of faith for, by so doing, we are trusting God to provide for us. An example of this is found in Exodus 16:22-30, where the Israelites had to trust God to provide them with food during the Shabbat when they were not allowed to gather manna.
1. See also, Isaiah 66:23-24 and Hebrews 10:24-25.
2. The Orthodox Rabbinical community goes beyond this by adhering to a complex set of rules and a list of prohibited activities that are derived from the Babylonian Talmud (Shab. 75a)
Commentary by Daniel C. Juster
The issue of Sabbath is paradoxical for Gentiles:
Classical Commentators
Maimonides comments very little. HaChinuch states that the underlying meaning of the mitzvah to not work on the Sabbath is to refrain from the work of our normal occupations. In our rest, we are to remember each day of the creation of the world as well as the miracle of Israel's exodus from Egypt. HaChinuch and Meir state that the sages list 39 activities that are prohibited on the Sabbath (Shab. 73a); these are intended as a fence around the Torah. Of the three commentators, Meir is the only one who states that it is forbidden for a Jew to ask a Gentile to do work in his behalf on the Sabbath, and he also states that doing work on the Sabbath is permitted if it is to save a human life. None of the traditional mitzvot addresses the requirement of Leviticus 23:3 that the Sabbath should be a day of "holy convocation".
Special mention is made of Maimonides' RN322 and HaChinuch's C114, in which they profess that we must not inflict punishment on Shabbat. The Scripture upon which they rely is Exodus 35:3, which states:
You are not to kindle a fire in any of your homes on Shabbat.
The logic of relying on this seemingly inapplicable Scripture is that one of the ways of punishing according to the Mosaic Law is burning.
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