This week’s Parsha, which we will read B’ezrat Hashem, is Parshat Vayakhel, and it opens with a focus on Shabbat:
ֹאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אֵלֶּה הַדְּ בָרִים אֲשׁ ֶר ּ ַקְהֵל מֹשׁ ֶה אֶת כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַי ּ וַי צִוָּה ה' לַעֲשׂת אֹתָם׃ וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יִהְיֶה ּ שׁ ֵשׁ ֶת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַי לָכֶם קֹדֶשׁ שׁ ַבַּת שׁ ַבָּתוֹן לַה' כָּל הָעֹשֶׂה בוֹ מְלָאכָה יוּמָת :לֹא תְבַעֲרוּ אֵשׁ בְּכֹל משׁ ְ בֹתֵ יכֶם בְּ יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת:
And Moshe gathered all the congregation of Bnei Yisrael and said to them: These are the things that Hashem has commanded to do them. Six days shall work be done, and on the seventh day it shall be to you a holy Shabbat of rest to Hashem; whoever does work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in all your dwellings on Shabbat day.
Moshe’s gathering of Bnei Yisrael was done via words and it took place the day following Yom Kippur when he descended from Har Sinai, explains Rashi. The Midrash (Shocher Tov, Tehillim 26), in explaining the Pasuk מְ רֵ עִ ים קְ הַ לשָׂ נֵאתִ י – I detest the assembly of evil men, explains that the group in reference is the assembly of Korach, as it says: עֲלֵיהֶם קֹרַח ַקְ הֵ ל ּ וַי. In contrast, which assembly does Hakadosh Baruch Hu love? That of Moshe Rabbeinu: מ ֹ שׁ ֶ ה ַקְ הֵ ל ּ וַ י. Furthermore, Chazal say (Midrash Lekach Tov, Shemot 35), this assembly of Moshe Rabbeinu comes and atones for the previous assembly of Aharon HaKohen, which nefariously gathered at Cheit Ha’egel: ֹאמְרוּ אֵלָיו קוּם עֲשֵׂה לָנוּ אֱלֹהִים ּ הָעָם עַל אַהֲרֹן וַי ִקָּ הֵ ל ּ וַי.
Sefer Avnei Baraket explains Moshe’s gathering was at the directive of Hakadosh Baruch Hu with the purpose of atoning for Cheit Ha’egel. Everything said regarding the Mishkan came to atone for what was done with the golden calf; after all, the calf came to remove the Shechinah, whereas the Mishkan specifically came to bring Hakadosh Baruch Hu and His Presence to each and every one of Bnei Yisrael. He brings the Midrash (Torah Shlemah, Vayakhel 4) that demonstrates the parallels between the two stories, including similar wording used within both. These include the gathering initiated by Moshe rectifying the gathering led by Aharon during the sin; Moshe’s verbal instructions countering the people’s verbal demands to construct the golden calf; and the offering of gold towards the Mishkan redeeming the gold used to form the idol.
At Cheit Ha’egel, four forces acted – the assembly, the verbal instruction, the understanding of the act, and the involvement of wealth. The first three are the primary forces of action of the person himself: speech, deed, and understanding. Wealth, on the other hand, is not inherently the person himself, but it is acted upon by the person, and through it he achieves his goal. Just as these four forces were used for evil in the incident of Cheit Ha’egel, they all came to their tikkun (rectification) through their use for good in the Mishkan’s construction.
If one looks closely at the instructions relayed by Moshe Rabbeinu to Bnei Yisrael, they’ll notice that Moshe altered the commands given to him. In Parshat Ki Tisa, Hakadosh Baruch Hu first instructed Moshe regarding the Mishkan and then about Shabbat, whereas here, when Moshe gathered Bnei Yisrael to relay the orders, he chose to present Shabbat before the command of the Mishkan. Chazal express wonder as Moshe’s decision and ask why he changed the order.
The Midrash (Torah Shlemah, Vayakhel 35:7) says, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded Moshe Rabbeinu about the Mishkan first because it is known that Moshe observes Shabbat and is careful about not desecrating it. Moshe, however, knew that there were some frivolous people among the nation, and he was concerned that if he mentioned the Mishkan first, they would perform its construction work even on Shabbat. Therefore, he first warned them about Shabbat before presenting the building plan. He preceded the warning of Shabbat to say that it does not override Shabbat.
The commentators address this issue at length, namely, why here the command to observe Shabbat was placed first, and what the connection is between Shabbat and the Mishkan. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh states a principle: Both the Mishkan and Shabbat came to atone for Cheit Ha’egel, and not the Mishkan alone, as is commonly believed. Why is this? He says: כָּל הַמּוֹדֶה בַּעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה כְּכוֹפֵר בְּכָל הַתּוֹרָה – Anyone who admits to idolatry is as if he denies the entire Torah. Thus, from the moment of Cheit Ha’egel forth, Bnei Yisrael needed to rectify all 613 Mitzvot, which they tarnished through the sin. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s commandment was relayed to them with an emphasis on being diligent in the Mitzvah of Shabbat, as Chazal say Shabbat is equivalent to the entire Torah: הַשַּׁבָּת שׁ ְ קוּלָה כְנֶגֶד כָּל הַמִּ צְווֹת (Shemot Rabbah 25:12). Through Shabbat, they’d be able to rectify the blemish caused to the entire Torah.
The Ohr HaChaim continues and says Moshe’s statement of “לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָם צִוָּה ה' אֵלֶּה הַדְּ בָרִ ים” is made in the sense of tikkun. Which דְּ בָ רִ ים (things) will allow for that rectification? The answer lies in the continuation: וֹם הַשְּׁ בִ יעִי ּ וּבַי ...שׁ ֵ שׁ ֶ ת י ָ מִ י ם. Through this – i.e., Shabbat – the blemishes of Bnei Yisrael will be corrected. This approach resolves the additional difficulty of why Hakadosh Baruch Hu repeated the command about Shabbat after already commanding it prior on Har Sinai, and why He commanded it adjacent to the Mitzvah of the Mishkan’s construction. It also fits well that Hakadosh Baruch Hu first commanded the tikkun of the past so they would then be worthy of the Shechinah dwelling among them; achievable through the completion of the Mishkan, which was presented next. The Ohr HaChaim concludes by saying the Mitzvah of Shabbat, which is equivalent to the entire Torah, is the rectification of idolatry, as it says: אַשְׁרֵי אֱנוֹשׁ יַעֲשֶׂה־זֹּאת וּבֶן־אָדָם יַחֲזִיק בָּהּ שׁ ֹמֵר שׁ ַבָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ וְשׁ ֹמֵר יָדוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת כׇּל־רָע׃
Happy is the mortal who does this, the one who holds fast to it: Who keeps the Shabbat and does not profane it and holds back from doing any evil.
Based on this, Chazal teach (Shabbat 118b): One who observes Shabbat properly, even if he worshipped idolatry like the generation of Enosh, is forgiven – מָחוּל לוֹ in place of מֵ חַ לְּ ל ו ֹ.
The book Sefer Chasidim writes (468): A father directing his child to perform tasks should present them so that the one he wants done first is stated last. Examples are then provided. Firstly, the Mishkan’s work was told to Moshe first, and the observance of Shabbat last, yet Moshe commanded Shabbat first to Bnei Yisrael. Similarly, the dreams a person sees last are the ones closer to being fulfilled first, and what he sees at the beginning of the night is fulfilled last. It follows from the words of the Sefer Chassidim, that if you want to send your child to the store, the post office, or the bank, you should tell them the most important thing last. Why did Moshe prioritize Shabbat? He said: “If the last thing Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded was Shabbat, it is a sign that it is the most important to Him,” and thus Moshe led with it.
The Kli Yakar disagrees as to the reason. He says, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded Moshe first about the Mishkan and Moshe then preceded Shabbat because Shabbat involves only the honor of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as He renewed His world on that day. The Mishkan, however, reflects the honor of Bnei Yisrael, in that Hakadosh Baruch Hu conceded to them and caused His Shechinah to dwell among them and forgave them for Cheit Ha’egel. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is exceedingly considerate of Bnei Yisrael’s honor; therefore, He mentioned the Mishkan first. And, so they would not in thinking it was mentioned first to indicate the Mishkan’s work overrides Shabbat, He added the word nevertheless in Ki Tisa: שׁ ַ ב ּ ְ ת ֹ ת ַ י תּ ִ שׁ ְ מ ֹ ר ו ּ אֶ ת ְ אַ ך. Moshe Rabbeinu, on the other hand, thought that for the honor of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, it is fitting to mention Shabbat first, and only afterward the Mishkan. From this rationale, says the Kil Yakar, it is automatically understood that Shabbat overrides the Mishkan’s work, for the lesser is overridden by the greater.
We also find another reason why the Mishkan is overridden by Shabbat, as it is from the Mishkan’s work that Chazal derive all the מְלָאכוֹת הָאֲסוּרוֹת – the forbidden labors on Shabbat. The Gemara says (Shabbat 70a), from the opening words of שׁ ֵשׁ ֶת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה ...אֵלֶּה הַדְּ בָרִ ים, there is a hint to thirty-nine elements in total – i.e., the ל"ט אֲבוֹת מְלָאכָה that were taught to Moshe Rabbeinu at Har Sinai.
In another explanation of the two topics being coupled, the Ba’al HaTurim writes that our Parsha juxtaposes the section (at the conclusion of last week’s Parsha) detailing how Moshe Rabbeinu’s face shone, to say that the radiance of Shabbat is not like that of other days. And the reason it says ַקְ הֵ ל ּ וַי is because he came to mention the Parsha of Shabbat, hinting that on Shabbatot and festivals, the people gather to hear a sermon of אֵלֶּה הַדְּ בָרִ ים.
Beyond the connection of Shabbat and the Mishkan, Chazal learn a very significant yesod here. The Midrash says (Yalkut Shimoni, Vayakhel 408), from the beginning of the Torah to its end, there is no Parsha that begins with ַקְ הֵ ל ּ וַי (and he gathered) except this one alone. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: “Gather large assemblies and present before them, in public, the Halachot of Shabbat, so that future generations will learn from you to gather assemblies every Shabbat and convene in houses of study to teach and instruct Bnei Yisrael in matters of Torah and Halacha, so that My great Name will be glorified among My children.”
The question arises – what lies in this gathering of all Bnei Yisrael to teach them the laws of Shabbat? The Gemara says (Shabbat 86b): וּדְכוּלֵּי עָלְמָא בְּשׁ ַבָּת נִיתְּנָה תּוֹרָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל – Everyone agrees that the Torah was given to the Jewish people on Shabbat. This is derived from the word זָכוֹר (remember) appearing with regards to Yetziat Mitzrayim (וֹם הַזֶּה ּ זָכוֹר אֶת הַי) and then again in the Aseret Hadibrot (זָכוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁ וֹ). Just as there, regarding remembering Yetziat Mitzrayim, the command was given on the very day they were commanded to remember – i.e., the day of the exodus – so too here, regarding remembering Shabbat, the command was given on the very day they were commanded to remember – Shabbat.
Why was it so important to Hakadosh Baruch Hu to give the Torah on Shabbat? What is special about this?
כִּי לֶקַח טוֹב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם תּוֹרָתִי אַל־תַּעֲזֹבוּ׃
For I give you good instruction; Do not forsake my teaching.
Chazal say (Midrashim d’Rabbi Akiva, 1), when told not to forsake the Torah, this teaches that at the time of Matan Torah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu called to Bnei Yisrael and said to them: “My children, I have a good acquisition in the world, and I am giving it to you forever – if you accept My Torah and keep My commandments.” They responded: “Ribbono Shel Olam, what is this good acquisition You are giving us if we keep Your Torah?” Hakadosh Baruch Hu responded: “It is Olam Haba,” to which Bnei Yisrael replied: “Ribbono Shel Olam, show us an example of the World to Come.” Hakadosh Baruch Hu responded and said to them: “The example is Shabbat, which is one-sixtieth of Olam Haba; and Olam Haba is entirely Shabbat.”
From this Midrash we see that the Mitzvah of Shabbat was given to us as a reward for studying the Torah. Tanna debei Eliyahu Rabbah says (1): ָ רוּ ּ יָמִ ים יֻ צ )ולא( וְלוֹ אֶחָד בָּהֶם – זֶה יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל ... אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּ בָּ"ה לְיִשְׂ רָ אֵל: ל ֹא כָּתַ בְ תִּ י לָכֶם בְּ תוֹרָ תִ י : לֹא יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה אעפ"י שׁ ֶאַתֶּם עוֹשִׂים מְלָאכָה כָּל שׁ ֵשׁ ֶת יָמִים, שׁ ַבָּת יַעֲשֶׂה כֻּלָּהּ ָ מִפִּיך לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת וּלְבֵית ְ תּוֹרָה, מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ יַשְׁכִּים אָדָם וְיִשְׁנֶה בְּשׁ ַבָּת וְיֵלֵך הַ מִּ דְ רָ שׁ וְ יִ קְ רָ א בַּ תּ ו ֹרָ לְבֵיתוֹ וְיֹאכַל ְ ה וְיִשׁ ְ נֶה בַּנְּבִיאִ ים וְאַחַ"כּ יֵלֵך ֵם מָה שׁ ֶנֶּאֱמַר ּ וְיִשְׁתֶּה לְקַי: וּשׁ ֲתֵה בְלֶב טוֹב ָ אֱכֹל בְּשִׂמְחָה לַחְמֶך ְ לֵך וְגוֹ' שׁ ֶאֵין לוֹ מְנוּחָה להקב"ה אֶלָּא עִם עוֹשֵׂי תּוֹרָה בִּלְבַד, שׁ ֶנֶּאֱמַר ָ יֵינֶך : וְאֶ ת כָּל אֵלֶּה יָדִ י עָשָׂתָה וְגוֹ'.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to Bnei Yisrael: “Did I not write for you in My Torah that this book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth? Even though you work all six days, Shabbat shall be entirely for Torah.” From here it is derived that a person should rise early and study Torah on Shabbat, go to the shul and the house of study, read the Torah, study the Nevi’im, and then go home, eat, and drink to fulfill what is said: “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a good heart,” for Hakadosh Baruch Hu has no rest except with those who engage in Torah.
There is another connection between Shabbat and the Torah, this time in the context of the nations of the world. The Gemara says (Sanhedrin 58b): ָ י ב מִ י ת ָ ה ּ נ ׇ כ ְ רִ י שׁ ֶ שׁ ּ ָ ב ַ ת ח ַ י – A gentile who observes Shabbat is liable for death. The Midrash (Devarim Rabbah 1:21) explains the rationale behind this severe penalty: The way of the world is that when a king and a noblewoman are sitting and conversing with one another, one who comes and inserts himself between them, does he not incur liability to be put to death? This is the same for Shabbat between Bnei Yisrael and Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as it says: בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂ רָ אֵל – Between Me and the children of Israel. That is why any idolater who comes and inserts himself between them is liable to be put to death. This is essentially what we say in our Tefillah each week:
וְלא נְתַתּו ה' אֱ -להֵינוּ לְגויֵי הָאֲרָצות. וְלא הִנְחַלְתּו מַלְכֵּנוּ לְעובְדֵי פְסִילִים. וְגַם בִּמְנוּחָתו לא יִשְׁכְּנוּ עֲרֵלִים. כִּי נְתַתּו ָ לְיִשרָאֵל עַמְּך בְּ אַהֲבָה לְזֶרַע יַעֲקב אֲשׁ ֶר בָּם בָּחָרְ תָּ:
And You did not give it, Hashem our G-d, to the nations of the lands, nor did You bequeath it, our King, to idol worshippers; even in its rest the uncircumcised do not dwell, for to Your people Yisrael You gave it in love, to the seed of Yaakov whom You chose.
And just as it is forbidden for a gentile to observe Shabbat, the Gemara (Sanhedrin 59a) says a gentile who engages in Torah is liable for death, as it says: תּוֹרָה צִוָּה לָנוּ מֹשׁ ֶה מוֹרָשׁ ָה; an inheritance for us (לָנוּ) and not for them. Consequently, we have an additional connection between the Torah and Shabbat in the context of the nations of the world.
The Tur writes (290:2): וְאַחַר הַשֵּׁנָה קוֹבְעִין מִדְרָשׁ – After sleeping following the morning meal, one establishes Torah study. The Rema adds: Workers and homeowners who do not engage in Torah during the weekdays should engage more in Torah on Shabbat than Torah scholars who engage all week long. And the Torah scholars should engross more in the enjoyment of eating and drinking, a bit, because they take delight in their weeklong study of Torah. The Tur then continues and says: As it is stated in the Midrash, the Torah said before Hakadosh Baruch Hu: “Ribbono Shel Olam, when Yisrael enter the land, this one runs to his vineyard and that one to his field—what will become of me?” He responded to the Torah: “I have a counterpart that I am pairing with you, and its name is Shabbat, when they are free from their work and can engage in you.”
Hakadosh Baruch Hu arranges a match for the Torah – i.e., Shabbat – but what is the connection here to a match? If we reflect, we see that all matters of Shabbat are hinted at in matters of a bride and groom. As just one example, the Gemara says (Shabbat 119a): Rabbi Yannai would wear his Shabbat garments on Shabbat eve and say, “בּ ו ֹאִ י כַ לָּה בּ ו ֹאִ י כַ לָּה – Enter bride, enter bride.”
Rabbeinu Bachya writes (Ki Tisa), after Moshe received the Torah, it says כְּ כַ לּ ֹת ו ֹ – which can be translated to as His bride, for the Torah was given to him as a gift like a bride given to a groom. Without this gift, he could not have learned the Torah in forty days. Furthering this analogy, Reish Lakish said: Anyone who produces words of Torah that are not pleasing to their listeners, like this bride who is pleasing to her husband, it would be better for him not to have said them, for when Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave the Torah to Yisrael, it was beloved to Yisrael like this bride who is beloved to her husband. And Rabbi Shimon said: Just as this bride needs twenty-four types of adornments – Hakadosh Baruch Hu adorned Chava with twenty-four types of adornments – so too a Torah scholar must be proficient and adorned with twenty-four books. Similarly regarding, Shabbat, which is called a bride, we find that Rav Ashi composed twenty-four chapters in Massechet Shabbat. And with regards to the Shabbat Tefillah of לֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ רְ צֵה נָא בִּמְ נֻתָּחֵנוּ -לֹהֵינוּ וֵא-אֱ, the Avudraham says, because Shabbat and Knesset Yisrael are called a bride, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu is called a groom, we say to Him: “May You be pleased that we be as Your bride.”
Related, the Chida cites the Mishnah at the beginning of the second chapter of Kiddushin: ה ָ אִ י שׁ מְ ק ַ ד ּ ֵ שׁ – A man sanctifies, which states that a man can betroth a woman by himself or by means of his agent. The Gemara (Kiddushin 41a) asks: הַשְׁתָּא בִּשְׁלוּחוֹ מְקַדֵּשׁ , בּוֹ מִיבַּעְיָא?! אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: מִ צְוָה בּוֹ יוֹתֵ ר רֵישׁ ָא, רָבָא מָלַח שִׁיבּוּטָא. ְ מִבִּשְׁלוּחוֹ. כִּי הָא דְּרַב סָפְרָא מְחָרֵיך
If we’re told he can sanctify through his agent, is it necessary to say that he can sanctify her himself? Why did the Mishnah need to state this? The Gemara says the Mishnah comes to teach us with the addition of the word “himself” that it is a Mitzvah for him directly more than through his agent. It then compares it to the examples of Rav Safra, who would himself singe the animal’s head in fire (to remove its hair before cooking) and prepare it for the Shabbat meal; and Rava, who would salt a large fish himself in preparation for Shabbat.
The Chida asks: What relevance do Shabbat preparations have with sanctifying a woman? He answers, it is based on Shabbat being the secret of pairing. Meaning, since the entire idea of Shabbat is an idea of marriage between Knesset Yisrael and Shabbat, we therefore bring proof that it is a bigger Mitzvah for him directly than through his agent, from Kiddushin. The direct Shabbat preparations of Rav Safra and Rava, also involving sanctification, are the best examples.
Some also explain the Chida homiletically – הַדְּ רוּשׁ ְ בְּדֶ רֶ ך. The Gemara says (Shabbat 119b): Anyone who davens on Shabbat eve and says וַיְכֻלּוּ, the two ministering angels who accompany a person place their hands on his head and say to him: “תְּ כֻ פּ ָ ר ָ וְ חַ טָּ אתְ ך ָ וְ סָ ר עֲו ֹנֶך – And your iniquity is removed, and your sin is atoned.” Sefer Ginzei HaMelech
