Razor’s Edge Shabbat

Funny thing about a razor. No matter which way you move it, it cuts. That’s the way I am feeling about the wonderful discussion concerning activities prohibited on Shabbat. Now that Shabbat is over (for me), I thought I would write a few of my own thoughts (and spill a bit more blood).

Today, while I was reading a book by Jonathan Sacks during my quiet time on Shabbat, I saw a lizard trapped between the window and the screen. Of course, left alone the lizard would die in there. In fact, several already had. So I got up, went outside, removed the screen and freed the lizard. Now this sort of activity required me to get tools, lift things, do something creative and perform an action that would be considered manual labor. But I am sure (I hope) that you will agree that saving the life of even a lowly creature like a Florida lizard was worth violating the strict application of rabbinic Shabbat prohibitions (at least some of them).

That little lizard got me thinking about Shabbat in general. I decided to investigate where the ideas that we typically associate with prohibited actions come from. Of course, as soon as I starting thinking about this topic, my mind starting writing these words that you now read. I had not committed them to the computer screen but I was obviously composing them in my thoughts. Was that a violation as well? It was “creative” activity, even if it was only mental. Is there really a significant difference between composition in your mind versus composition on paper?

That raised a few other cultural questions. Shabbat is a time of fellowship, study and communal involvement. But I live in the country. It is simply not possible to spend time with other followers on Shabbat without driving. So that violated the prohibition concerning electricity (“kindling a flame” interpreted as closing a circuit), travel and probably carrying. Does that mean that I should refrain from seeing anyone on Shabbat? Should I just determine that I will not attend a Shabbat service because I would have to drive to it? Shabbat restrictions on travel might work in an environment where I can walk to the synagogue, but that hardly fits any environment I know in America other than orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.

Of course, there are other technical considerations. I get my water from a well, so no human being is involved in delivery of water to my house on Shabbat. But that isn’t true for a lot of people. Public water supply requires human monitoring. If I turn on the faucet in my city home, am I contributing to the labor requirements of those who monitor the supply on Saturday? And even if no one is on that job, doesn’t the use of public water imply that I have engaged in a business transaction, even if I don’t pay for the use until later? The same can be said for the power grid.

Suddenly it all becomes far too technical. I am reminded of Yeshua’s remark that the Shabbat was made for man, not man for the Shabbat. Haven’t we ignored that implication? We are so preoccupied with the details of what is permitted and what is restricted that we have lost sight of the overall picture. Shabbat was never supposed to be a constricting web. It was intended to provide rest and reflection, not casuistry.

So I decided to investigate exactly what the Torah says about Shabbat. First I looked here:

Chabad

What I found is rabbinic tradition. There were no specific verses listed regarding the exact activities prohibited. The list of 39 was the development of rabbinic thought. So I looked further.

From “My Jewish Learning” I gathered this:

The Bible does not specifically list those labors that are prohibited on the Sabbath, although it alludes to field labor (Exod. 34:21; Num.15:32-36), treading in a winepress and loading animals (Neh. 13:15-18), doing business and carrying (Isa. 58:13; Jer. 17:22; Amos 8:5), traveling (Exod. 16:29-30), and kindling fire (Exod. 35:2-3) as forbidden work.

Allusions are not the same as direct prohibitions. After all, the Bible does not  allude to the prohibition against murder. That is as plain as it could be. So why are the prohibitions concerning Shabbat not equally as plain if they are so important? I kept exploring:

From The Jewish Encyclopedia

A comparison between rabbinicial Sabbath legislation and the data of the Bible, Apocrypha, and Pseudepigrapha must establish the fact that the Talmudical conception of what is implied by Sabbath “rest,” with the practical determination of what may and what may not be done on that day, is the issue of a long process of development. Even the commandment (“remember”) in Exodus presupposes the previous existence of the institution; indeed, tradition assumes that the Sabbath law had been proclaimed at Marah, before the Sinaitic revelation (Rashi on Ex. xv.; Maimonides, “Moreh,” iii. 32; Sanh. 56b). The restoration of Sabbath observance in Ezra and Nehemiah’s time in no sense transcended the Pentateuchal ordinances. By “no manner of labor” (Ex. xx. 10, Hebr.), as the context shows, were indicated domestic and agricultural occupations (comp. B. Ḳ. v. 7). The special mention of plowing and harvesting, and probably the direct prohibition of kindling fire, the explicit mention of which the Rabbis attempt to explain away (Shab. 70a), suggest that, in the main, field- and household-work were covered by the Biblical idea of labor (Ex. xxxiv. 21, xxxv. 3). Carrying of loads “in and out” can not be held to be an exception (Jer. xvii. 21-22). Probably Jeremiah’s censure had reference to carrying to market the yield of field and farm, or the articles manufactured at home (comp. Amos viii. 5). It is just this that Nehemiah deplores (Neh. xiii. 15).

The Maccabean rebellion marks the beginning of an altogether different conception of the term “labor.” The rigorists regarded self-defense, even against a mortal attack, as included in the prohibition (Josephus, “Ant.” xii. 6, §§ 2-3). The stricter construction, then, must have been devised among the Ḥasidim, Mattathias representing the broader view. That for a long time the question of what was permitted in this direction on the Sabbath remained open is shown by a comparison of I Macc. ix. 34, 43; II Macc. viii. 26; Josephus, “Ant.” xii. 6, § 2;xiii. 1, § 3; 8, § 4; xiv. 10, § 12; xviii. 9, § 2; idem, “B. J.” ii. 21, § 8; iv. 2, § 3; idem, “Contra Ap.” i. § 22; Ta’an. 28b, 29a; ‘Ar. 11b. Rabbinical law is still busy debating in Shab. vi. 2, 4 whether weapons may be carried on the Sabbath, and what are weapons and what ornaments. Some latitude is allowed soldiers in camp (‘Er. i. 10; Dem. iii. 11), and such as had gone forth carrying arms on the Sabbath to wage war were permitted to retain their weapons even when returning on the Sabbath (Yer. Shab. i. 8; ‘Er. iv. 3; 15a; Maimonides, “Yad,” Melakim, vi. 11, 13).

Now I realized that the “long process of development” actually might have been responsible for nearly all the prohibitions we believe God instituted concerning Shabbat. That took me to the text itself. I determined directly from the text that the following are prohibited:

  1. no work (but without a definition of what “work” actually means) – Exodus 20:10
  2. no cooking – Exodus 16:4-5 and 16:22-24
  3. no gathering – Exodus 16:23-30 and Numbers 15:32-36
  4. no plowing or harvesting – Exodus 34:21
  5. no kindling a fire – Exodus 35:3

Other than these specific prohibitions, I found some allusions and other verses about prohibited actions. They are:

  1. no travel – Exodus 16:29
  2. no carrying a load – Jeremiah 17:19-27
  3. no selling grain for profit – Amos 8:5
  4. no doing your own “pleasure” – Isaiah 58:13-14
  5. no treading wine presses – Nehemiah 13:15
  6. no bringing sacks of grain or loading donkeys – Nehemiah 13:15
  7. no selling food – Nehemiah 13:15-18

These required further investigation. What I discovered is this:

  1. Exodus 16:29 is about remaining in one’s “place,” that is, within the space of the family residence of the tent rather than going out to gather manna on Shabbat. It is a prohibition that parallels YHVH’s provision of the double portion of manna on the day before Shabbat. It is not about traveling. It is about the restriction not to be involved in ignoring the double provision on the previous day by going outside to gather manna on Shabbat. Rabbinic extension of the idea might be applied to travel, but the text doesn’t say that. It says not to leave the household because ample food has already been provided. Rather than being about a journey, it is about daily food collection.
  2. Jeremiah 17:21 clearly informs all who come through the gates of Jerusalem prior to the Babylonian captivity “not to carry any load on the sabbath day.” Of course, like the other prohibitions, we need to remove the purely cultural circumstances. We aren’t entering through the gates of Jerusalem prior to the exile, but the idea of carrying a load on Shabbat still stands. So here we have a clear prohibition, unless of course, it only applies to those entering Jerusalem’s gates. But the problem still remains. What does “load” mean? A book? A dish? Ten pounds? One hundred pounds?  Again, left unspecified.
  3. Amos 8:5 is more problematic. It is addressed to Israel in its disobedience, not merely of violations of Shabbat but of using dishonest measures (scales) to enhance profit.    The force of the prophet’s condemnation is that these people deliberately cheat others  even on Shabbat. The straightforward application is not necessarily that selling is prohibited on Shabbat but rather that any day when dishonest scales are used is heinous, especially on the Sabbath. Whether or not this is a general prohibition against buying and selling on Shabbat is not specifically made clear.
  4. Isaiah 58:13-14 is particularly ambiguous. What does “seeking your own pleasure” mean? The Hebrew haphets is usually translated “desire,” but clearly YHVH does not mean that Shabbat should be a day without desire. After all, we are to desire Him above all else on that day.       Nor can the word mean that Shabbat is to be a day without emotional attachment or joy. The context suggests that our  personal desires are to be set aside in favor of the desire for God and His ways, but that implies individual application since my personal desires may be quite different than yours.  Even this is not clear since sexual intercourse is considered an appropriate activity between husband and wife on Shabbat and that certainly involves  personal desire. So while the general principle is understandable, the actual application is still unspecified, and must remain so if the general principle is to be coherent. The passage doesn’t really help us in a communal setting. It provides no specific prohibitions.
  5. Nehemiah 13:15-28 provides very specific prohibitions. Nehemiah castigates the people for “treading the winepress,” “bringing in grain,” “loading donkeys” and “selling food” on Shabbat.       The prohibitions seem clear enough until we consider the circumstances of Nehemiah’s complaint.       Nehemiah is concerned to re-establish the unique identity of Israel after the Captivity by instituting very strict measures to ensure the people are following Torah. With this in mind, he even commands men who have married foreign women to divorce their wives and their children in order to protect the purity of the genetic lines. Given his circumstances, this might seem necessary, but for most of us today, the idea of abandoning wives and children because they did not come from the same tribal background would seem overly zealous. Nehemiah’s reforms are couched in dire political and national issues. It is difficult to determine, therefore, how much of Nehemiah’s Sabbath prohibitions are the result of Torah exegesis or the product of his desire for national identity separation. Even if we allow that Nehemiah is correctly interpreting Sabbath prohibitions, we are still left with the specific prohibitions covering winepresses, donkey loads and selling food. Only by extension can these prohibitions be used to cover  all commercial transactions.

So we might be back at the same place we started, namely, the lack of specification in the Torah concerning what is and what is not allowed on Shabbat. This problem results in considerable debate and discussion, sometimes bordering on the nearly ridiculous (in my humble opinion). For example, the following extended argument about texting or writing on the computer on Shabbat:

CLICK HERE

In addition, the following article provided some much needed clarity about the actual Hebrew words used in some of the related texts:

Word study on Shabbat

And finally, there is the scholarly piece by Alex Jassen, “Tracing the Threads of Jewish Law: The Sabbath Carrying Prohibition from Jeremiah to the Rabbis.” (available as a PDF file from academic resources online). Jassen shows that the rabbinic development is crucial for understanding what is typically claimed as Torah observance of Shabbat.

In the end, I realized that Yeshua’s comment is really the true guideline. Shabbat was never designed to be a web of restrictions creating endless lists of prohibitions to satisfy even the most scrupulous. Just like tithing mint and dill, Shabbat regulations seem to me to have become enormous burdens causing division, accusation and confusion to many. The reality appears to be more like this: There are very few specific prohibitions from the written Torah and even those often have cultural perspectives rarely directly applicable to believers today. The ones that are absolutely clear and contemporary are fairly easily followed. All the rest seem to be inferences made by one or another rabbinic authority, and the set of restrictions to follow becomes a matter of which rabbinic authority one chooses. But no matter what authority issues crop up, Shabbat was intended to provide a temporal respite for the enjoyment of life, God and others. Whenever our noble efforts to be as meticulous as possible not to violate God’s intention become burdensome casuistry, it’s time to step back and ask whether we are keeping Sabbath or conforming to tradition.

And now back to the research.

 

 

 

 

 

Subscribe
Notify of
17 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Paul Michalski

Skip–a wonderful decluttering of religion to bring God’s word back to its beautiful intention. I recommend the book “24/6: A prescription for a healthier, happier life” by Matthew Sleeth, MD (forward by Eugene Peterson). Sleeth is a former ER doctor. Like you, he is a believer who loves exploring God’s word. It is written to help people understand and live the Sabbath commandment in today’s world. Blessings to you brother.

Linda

AMEIN AND AMEIN PAUL!

Let the de-cluttering and the de-programming continue.
Religiosity is a lot of work!
I too live far out in the country Skip and I am always assembled on Shabbat, with just The Four Of Us! It is awesome!
MORE meaningful then any church or messianic service I ever attended.
As always Skip, spot on!
Father told me years ago whoever loves the most wins. Whoever is at peace among all men wins. We cannot love and be at peace with our fellow man when were arguing over rules and regulations. I do not believe for one nanosecond Elohim intended all this arguing to be among his children. Shabbat shalom to you all soon. Blessings Linda

Michael Stanley

Not to take away from your near casuistry (thanks for the new word) or become casuistrious myself, but there is the verse in Exodus 12:16 which seems to allow for the preparation of food on the High Sabbath days of Passover.
“On the first and seventh days, you are to have an assembly set aside for God. On these days no work is to be done, EXCEPT what each must do to prepare his food; you may do only that.” CJB by David H. Stern (caps added for emphasis) Again, what that actually means is open to interpretation, including determining if the rules for the 7th day Sabbath are different from the festival Sabbaths, but it does seem to concede some leeway against a total prohibition of any cooking/fire starting/food preparation on those Sabbaths. So things are not as cut and dry in Torah after all and certainly not as fixed as I had them in my little mind. Guess it is time to be a little more ‘open minded’. Thanks for the clarion call.

Derek S

” Shabbat was never supposed to be a constricting web. It was intended to provide rest and reflection, not casuistry.” I like the sounds of it.

It’s funny though because it makes me want to ask the question, “Well then what are we suppose to do and not do”.

Maybe with working through the nuances you are suppose to adopt the mentality, worry about what you are suppose to do more then what you are not suppose to do. Just like filling up a cup if you are concerned more about ‘what to do’ it will soon allow no room for, ‘what not to do’. Maybe? Thoughts? Does it boil down to there are a loose ideas connected to Shabbat (like broad ‘rules’) and then we are going to have our own personal conviction of how we want to honor Shabbat?

Pam

So grateful for this discussion. It is very timely as I am trying to help some other women come to grips with the need to keep the Sabbath while not turning it into a burden that must be carried. In our mind the Sabbath prohibitions are imposed for the purpose of staying free from obligations that enslave us to a worldly lifestyle that makes Sabbath keeping difficult or impossible. If I may I would like to share with you how my husband and I determine whether or not something is a suitable obligation for us at all.

1. Will this daily/or weekly obligation allow me to rest on Shabbat?
Ex 5:5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens!”
Ex 16:23 And he said unto them, “This is that which the LORD hath said: ‘Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the LORD. Bake that which ye will bake today, and boil what ye will boil; and that which remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’”

2. Will this weekly/daily obligation enslave me to a worldly activity on The Shabbat?
Le 26:13 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

3. Am I using this freedom from work to worship YHVH?
Ex 3:18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
Ex 5:3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
Ex 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of
”’the holy Sabbath unto the LORD”’: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remains over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Ex 16:25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is ”’a Sabbath unto the LORD”’: to day ye shall

For me the issue is living a life that is purposefully arranged and set apart from the bondage of the world/Egypt on the Shabbat. It is one thing to be set free. It is quite another to remain free. It takes thoughtful planning and total heart, mind, strength, and everything else commitment to YHVH with every daily choice we make. The big question is, “will I commit myself to something during the week that will enslave me to it on Shabbat and divide my attention from Him?

He set us free so that we could worship Him by keeping His ways. Sabbath keeping came first even before Sinai. It was given to them as a gift and a test to see if they would follow His instructions. But they didn’t want to keep His ways. They chose their own understanding.

Is. 57:20-21 “But the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”

Shalom Shalom

Michael C

I like this. Thanks.

CW

My experiences of attending only here outside Israel, many say it is harder here; but we still go; now attending everything I am able in my strength in my struggles of illness and surgeries for 3 almost 4 years now in several different Jewish Synagogues, home and communicates Sabbaths dinners, services and events at Chabad, Orthodox Yeshiva classes, Conservative and the Reformed. All there own world and very very different .

Shabbat is out side time and holy in it self belongs to Adonai it is his. We can’t change others but don’t let it stop those with a heart for the love of Shabbat , love Israel, love Torah, and his people. stop you from going.
We can’t expect or condemn those to do what they don’t understand or hold them accountable . You could be the example.

CW

Mussar Pathways
Family Mussar
Mussar Leadership

77 Positive Commandments Which Can be Observed Today

This summary of the positive mitzvot is based on the Rambam and the Chofetz Chaim and compiled by Rabbi Yonah Bookstein (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth). The mitzvot below are arranged according to where they appear in Rambam’s Mishna Torah.

Sefer HaMada: Foundations of Faith

To believe that God exists (Ex. 20:2; Deut. 5:6)
To know that God is One, a complete Unity (Deut. 6:4)
To love God with all one’s heart, spirit and might (Deut. 6:5)
To fear God (Deut. 6:13; 10:20)
To sanctify God’s name publicly (Lev. 22:32)
To imitate God’s good and upright ways (Deut. 28:9)
To cleave to those who know Him — to torah scholars and their disciples (Deut. 10:20)
To learn Torah and teach it (Deut. 6:7)
To honor the old and the wise (Lev. 19:32)
To turn away from sin and confess one’s sins before God (Num. 5:6-7)
To bear affection for everyone in Jewry as for oneself (Lev. 19:18)
To bear affection for a convert, stranger, proselyte (Deut. 10:19)
To rebuke the sinner (Lev. 19:17)
Sefer Ahava: Love and Remember HaShem

To pray to God everyday (Ex. 23:25; Deut. 6:13)
To bind tefillin on the arm (Deut. 6:8)*
To bind tefillin on the head (Deut. 6:8)*
To put tzitzit on the corners of one’s clothing (Num. 15:38)*
To recite the Shema in the morning and at night (Deut. 6:7)
To affix the mezuzah to the doorposts of one’s house (Deut. 6:9)
To recite grace after meals, after eating bread (Deut. 8:10)*
That every person shall write a scroll of the Torah for himself (Deut. 31:19)*
To circumcise every boy on the eighth day after birth (Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3)
That the kohanim are to bless the Jewish people (Num. 6:23)
Sefer Zmanim: Sacred Moments and Festivals

To sanctify Shabbat (Ex. 20:8)
To rest on Shabbat (Ex. 23:12; 34:21)
To rejoice on the festivals (Deut. 16:14)
To remove chametz on the Eve of Passover (Ex. 12:15)
To eat matzah on the first night of Passover (Ex. 12:18)
To discuss the departure from Egypt on the first night of Passover (Ex. 13:8)
To rest from work on the first day of Passover (Ex. 12:16; Lev. 23:7)
To count seven whole weeks from the second day of Pesach (Lev. 23:15)*
To rest from work on the seventh day of Passover (Ex. 12:16; Lev. 23:8)
To rest from work on the festival of Shavuot (Lev. 23:21)
To rest from work on Rosh Hashanah (Lev. 23:24)
To hear the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah (Num. 29:1)*
To rest from work on Yom Kippur (Lev. 23:32)
To fast on Yom Kippur (Lev. 23:27)
To rest from work on the first day of Sukkot (Lev. 23:35)
To dwell in the sukkah all seven days of the Festival (Lev. 23:42)*
To take up the lulav and esrog on Sukkot (Lev. 23:40)*
To rest from work on the eighth day of Sukkot [Shmini Atzeret] (Lev. 23:36)
Sefer Nashim: Family and Sexual Relations

To marry in order to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28)
To marry with kiddushin (Deut. 24:1)
To marry the wife on ones brother who has died without children (a yevamah) (Deut. 25:5)
That a yevomah (childless widow) should remove the shoe of the yavam (husband’s brother) if he does not want to marry her (Deut. 25:7-9)
Sefer Kedusha: Purity of Food and Sexual Relations

To ritually slaughter a domestic or untamed animal, or fowl, to prepare it for eating (Deut. 12:21)
To cover the blood of the ritually slaughtered pure untamed animals or fowl (Lev. 17:13)
To send the mother away from the nest when taking the eggs (Deut. 22:6-7)
Sefer Haflaah: Vows and Oaths

To fulfill the words that come from one’s lips (Deut. 23:24)
To judge about inheritance of land (Num. 27:8-11)
To judge cases of nullifying vows and oaths (Num. 30:2-17)
Sefer Zeraim: Produce, Wealth and the Land

That whoever slaughters a pure animal is to give the foreleg, cheeks, and maw to the kohen (Deut. 18:3)
To give the kohen the first wool (Deut. 18:4)
That a Jew is to redeem a son who is first born to his Jewish mother (Ex. 13:13; Ex. 34:20; Num. 18:15)
To consecrate firstborn males (Ex. 13:13; Ex. 34:20; Num. 18:15)
To redeem a first born male donkey or lamb (Ex. 13:13; Ex. 34:20)
To break the neck of a first born donkey or lamb if it is not redeemed (Ex. 13:13; Ex. 34:20)
To separate challah from bread and give it to a kohen (Num. 15:20)
To give charity to poor Jews (Deut. 15:11)
To release a loan in the year of shmittah (Deut. 15:2)
Sefer Avoda: Temple and Offerings

To have a reverent fear of the Sanctuary (Lev. 19:30)
To accord honor to a kohen (Lev. 21:8)
Sefer Nezikin: Injury to Person and Property

To return whatever one has stolen (Lev. 5:23)
To return a lost item (Deut. 22:1)
To unload the burden of another person’s animal (Ex. 23:5)
To help another person load their animal (Deut. 22:4)
To make a fence around a roof, and remove other hazards from one’s house (Deut. 22:8)
Sefer Kinyan: Commerce and Chattels

To judge on matters of buying and selling (Lev. 25:14)
Sefer Mishpatim: Compensation and Transfer of Property

To lend money to a poor person (Ex. 22:24)
To give a pledge object back to its owner if he needs it (Deut. 24:13)
That an owner should allow a field-hand to eat from the work of his hands (Deut. 23:25-26)
To give wages on the same day that a person works (Deut. 24:15)
Sefer Shofetim: Judges and Judgment

To respect ones father and mother (Ex. 20:12)
That a kohen is to defile himself for a close kin in attending their burial (Lev. 21:3)
To have reverence for one’s father and mother (Lev. 19:3)
To remember what Amalek did to us (Deut. 25:17)
To destroy the descendants of Amalek (Deut. 25:19)
_________________________________________
* Traditionally applies to men but not to women.

CW

The Chofetz Chaim (Parables of the Chofetz Chaim p.102) explains the special significance of Shabbos observance with a beautiful parable. When a person opens a business he usually places a sign overhead notifying everyone what he does and to show that he is open for business. Even when he is on vacation and the store is closed, the fact that the sign is still there shows us that he will be back. However, once he removes the sign we know that he is out of business and is not coming back. Shabbos is called an “os” – a sign. As long as a Jew keeps Shabbos, even if he may be on vacation on some Mitzvos, it is a sign that he is still a Jew and eventually he will return. If chas v’shalom a Jew removes that sign of shabbos, then he is out of business.

Suzanne

hmm… that parable is good 🙂 Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Chris

“The Messiah never broke the Shabbat…even though he was accused of doing so. He did take issue with the myriad of man-made laws that made Shabbat a burden. Messiah wanted to bring back the true Torah teaching that it was to be a day of joy and blessing, not a day of multiplied things one could not do.

So, what was Yeshua’s custom?

Luke 4:16 (CJB)
Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,

Obviously, if it was the custom of Yeshua to be among those gathered together who were the people of Adonai on Shabbat, wouldn’t it be the thing for us as his talmidim…his disciples… to do as well? ” excerpt from “It Is Often Said” by Tim Hegg (TorahResource)

Personally, I find tremendous power in the thought that believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are reading and studying the same Scriptures as we are all over the world in every time zone, in every language on the same day. Shabbat! Very, very powerful. The Son only does what He sees the Father doing…Amen? Amen!

Karen Pauls

I so enjoy and appreciate Today’s Word. The LORD has used it powerfully in my life. Thank you Skip. I have been reading for many years. For many reasons I refrain from comment. But the main reason is because HaShem is teaching me so much about who I am and who He is…I hope. The more I say, I realize the less I know. But I digress–Shabbat.

It seems this post may have more of the opportunity to tear down the people of G-d than to build up. As non-Jews, or messianic Jews who have been removed from the religious culture of the Jewish people almost all of our lives it seems a bit arrogant to assess, evaluate and pontificate on what G-d really meant by keeping Shabbat, even if we are very well-studied on the issue. Couldn’t thousands of years of being called by G-d to be His people carry some credential due respect, or even carry the possibility that we have something to learn–even if we don’t understand? If I live primarily on the outside and criticize and evaluate Shabbat traditions of the Jewish people, it seems that is out of the boundary to which I have been called. As “christians”, or whatever we call ourselves at this juncture– most of us can speak to the nature and climate of the church. But do we have authority to speak to the issues of the religious Jewish community?

Isn’t it all about knowing G-d? — Through Shabbat, through His ways, as we live as His people. I have read comments about community from time to time on this blog, but doesn’t community only exist in the mutual submission to each other and our combined desired effort to seek our Creator and our King, following our Messiah? Our Jewish brothers and sisters have many reasons for the halakha of Shabbat, of which I claim no expertise. What do I do on Shabbat in my community to enhance the knowledge of G-d in my life and advance His kingdom in the world? What I think is right? What I understand the text to say? Being willing to recognize we probably don’t have a clue what God thinks about our efforts at Shabbat may be a step in the right direction, it would seem to me. Being willing to humble ourselves before the generations of G-d’s holy, set-apart people, who have kept the light of Torah alive–through whom our Messiah came, calling us out of darkness and into His marvelous light– and learn from them what they understand about Shabbat– that could be paradigm changing.

Jenafor

Exo 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.
Exo 20:9 “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath1 of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 “For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.

Isa 66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me,” declares יהוה, “so your seed and your name shall stand.
Isa 66:23 “And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” declares יהוה.

For me all this questioning regarding how to keep the Sabbath is answered simply from the above texts. If I will be in worship before YAH on the Sabbath day, I will not need to worry about carrying loads, buying and selling my wares, using false weights, cooking or gathering food.

Fellow believers, look to the life of Yahshua to see how He kept the Sabbath: He healed, He taught, He walked (traveled) to worship. He is our Saviour and example to follow.

Allow your minds to dwell in those heavenly places with Elohim and the things of this earth will fade away into nothingness as you spend those precious Sabbath hours in worship of our Creator.

Shalom

Michael C

With all there is to read in books and observe in Shabbat observing believers, it is very confusing. There are so many interpretations, traditions and ways attributed to proper Shabbat observance.

On the other hand, even in the midst of discovery regarding this mitzvah, I am finding myself enjoying the journey of discovering what it means in application for my life. I am finding myself in a better frame of mind. Before I looked at the “law” and viewed it was something I just had to do, void of any investment personally. It was cold, calculated, and raw.

Now, however, I look at torah not as law as I once viewed it. It is instruction and direction for my own good and the enrichment of my walk with YHVH. It is a joy, a delight, an energetic desire to decipher and then obey as best I can. It’s a walking, talking and growing experience with YHVH each time Shabbat rolls around.

My attitude is one of love instead of stiff compelling out of formal and rigid actions. I don’t feel like running and avoiding it as before with the “law.” Now, I see it as loving instructions from my father who wants to teach me how to be like him so that I will experience life in fullness.

It’s working. I delight in Shabbat and look forward to it. And it is slowly helping me to make efforts to work harder the other six days in order to fulfill my obligations fully within the allotted time in preparation for the Shabbat. That’s when I can put all aside and focus, contemplate, enjoy and relate to him. What a great time it is becoming.

Skip delineations regarding breaking down what is actually in the text about Shabbat observance has really helped. Also, hearing how everyone else is dealing and learning is a tremendous help and encouragement.
Thanks to all.

Suzanne

One of the things I’ve noticed in “stopping work” for Shabbat is the awareness of the little tasks, which in and of themselves might not be “work”, but they cause me to stray if I do them. Let me explain: I’m walking in the garden on Shabbat, and I see a spent blossom, so I pull it off the bush, but then I notice something else out of order and I think to myself, “it only takes a second to set right – so it’s not really work,” until suddenly I find I am immersed in the very work I sought to avoid. A few months ago, Skip wrote a TW in which he talked about stopping sin by going backward and seeing where it started and then avoiding that set of circumstance the next time. (Sorry, I can’t remember the title.)

That’s a summary of how I try to “not work” on Shabbat. If I start to do something that seems pressing, and I realize the “pressing need” could really be taken care of on the other six days, for me to proceed is work. It holds the potential for distraction from the focus of the day. (That automatically precludes emergencies for life.) So if I’m putting away Shabbat food and I notice the refrigerator needs cleaning, but then I refrain from doing the cleaning – I have prevented myself from moving into work. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s work if I find myself musing about something I’ve read; but if I stop and put those thoughts on paper or laptop, which inevitably leads to editing – now I’m working. I think it’s the progression as much as the single action.

For me, that also explains the fences put up by the rabbis. I see Rabbinic rules as helpful guidelines, but we don’t all require fences in the same places. Fencing needs are determined by our personalities, our environment and the times in which we live. I need to look at where fences have historically been placed because the same need may exist today; but I also need to be aware that even physical geography changes – the fence that was protective before can become a restriction without meaning. So, if I think that an activity might be wrong, it behooves me to stop until I know one way or another. If on further study, I am convinced that the fence is without purpose today, then I might choose to proceed. I am finding that when I focus on what I should be “doing” to keep Shabbat, I have less reason to worry about what I should not do during Shabbat.

Michael C

Good post, Suzanne. Thanks.