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(א) וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃ (ב) שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶשׁ שַׁבַּ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן לַיהֹוָ֑ה כׇּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה ב֛וֹ מְלָאכָ֖ה יוּמָֽת׃ (ג) לֹא־תְבַעֲר֣וּ אֵ֔שׁ בְּכֹ֖ל מֹשְׁבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּי֖וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃ {פ}
(1) Moses then convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that יהוה has commanded you to do: (2) On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. (3) You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the sabbath day.
ששת ימים. הִקְדִּים לָהֶם אַזְהָרַת שַׁבָּת לְצִוּוּי מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, לוֹמַר שֶׁאֵינוֹ דוֹחֶה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת (מכילתא):
ששת ימים SIX DAYS [MAY WORK BE DONE] — He intentionally mentioned to them the prohibition in reference to the Sabbath before the command about the building of the Tabernacle in order to intimate that it does not set aside (supersede) the Sabbath (cf. Mekhilta).
לא תבערו אש. יֵשׁ מֵרַבּוֹתֵינוּ אוֹמְרִים הַבְעָרָה לְלָאו יָצָאת, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים לְחַלֵּק יָצָאת (שבת ע'):
לא תבערו אש YE SHALL NOT KINDLE A FIRE [THROUGHOUT YOUR HABITATIONS ON THEE SABBATH DAY] — There are some of our Rabbis who say that the law about kindling fire is singled out (more lit., goes forth from the general proposition; i. e. it is specially mentioned here although it is included in לא תעשה כל מלאכה, the law prohibiting all work on Sabbath) in order to constitute it a mere negative command (thus indicating that, like all other negative commands, its infringement is punishable by lashes but does not make the offender liable to death as does the doing of other work on Sabbath). Others, however, say that it was singled out in order to separate the various kinds of work comprised in the term כל מלאכה (thus indicating that each transgression of the Sabbath law is to be atoned for separately if several of them have been committed at the same time and under the same circumstances) (cf. Shabbat 70a; Yevamot 6b; Sanhedrin 35b; cf. also Pesachim 5b).
וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש. שלא יהיו ישראל אומרים הואיל ומותרין אנו בעשיית מלאכה במקדש, מותרין אף בגבולין, ת״ל יהיה לכם קדש, לכם הוא קדש, אבל למקום, חול הוא לענין קרבנות.
And the seventh day should be to you holy. So that the Israelites should not say since it is permissible for us to do work in the Temple, it is also permitted in our domains. Therefore it is written "To you holy"... to you it is holy, But to God, it is a normal day with regard to sacrifices.
הֲדוּר יָתְבִי וְקָמִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: הָא דִּתְנַן אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת, כְּנֶגֶד מִי? אָמַר לְהוּ רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר חָמָא: כְּנֶגֶד עֲבוֹדוֹת הַמִּשְׁכָּן. אֲמַר לְהוּ רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן בְּרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, כָּךְ אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן לָקוֹנְיָא: כְּנֶגֶד ״מְלָאכָה״ ״מְלַאכְתּוֹ״ וּ״מְלֶאכֶת״ שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת.
The Gemara relates that those same Sages who sat and discussed the issue of hides, sat again and they raised a dilemma: That which we learned in the mishna: The primary categories of labor, which are prohibited by Torah law on Shabbat, are forty-less-one; to what does this number correspond? That is to say, what is the source of this number? Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama said to them: They correspond to the labors in the Tabernacle. All types of labor that were performed in the Tabernacle are enumerated as primary categories of labor with respect to Shabbat. However, other labors, even if they are significant, are not enumerated among the primary categories of labor since they were not performed in the Tabernacle. Rabbi Yonatan, son of Rabbi Elazar, said to them that so said Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yosei ben Lakonya: They correspond to the instances of the words labor, his labor, and the labor of, that appear in the Torah a total of forty-less-one times.
147They also avoid spitting in the midst of them, or on the right side. Moreover, they are stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not remove any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool thereon. See: The Wars of the Jews, 2.147 Flavius Josephus translated by William Whiston
(כט) רְא֗וּ כִּֽי־יהוה נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֣ם הַשַּׁבָּת֒ עַל־כֵּ֠ן ה֣וּא נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶ֛ם בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁ֖י לֶ֣חֶם יוֹמָ֑יִם שְׁב֣וּ ׀ אִ֣ישׁ תַּחְתָּ֗יו אַל־יֵ֥צֵא אִ֛ישׁ מִמְּקֹמ֖וֹ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃
(29) Mark that it is יהוה who, having given you the sabbath, therefore gives you two days’ food on the sixth day. Let everyone remain in place: let no one leave the vicinity on the seventh day.”
Josephus says that the Essenes are "stricter than all the Jews in abstaining from work on the Sabbath" (Jewish Wars. II.147). In all probability, (and based on a strict interpretation of Exodus 35:3 [Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations] the Essenes sat in the dark on the Sabbath rather than benefit from a lit candle and the Samaritans were even stricter then the Essenes.
(א) לא תבערו. בעבור שהזכיר ביום הראשון ובשביעי בחג המצות כל מלאכה לא יעשה בהם להתיר אוכל נפש. אמר עתה בשבת לא תבערו אש לאפות לחם ולבשל בשר. כי האש צורך לכל מאכל. והגאון רב סעדי' חבר ספר נכבד תשובות על החולקים על קדמונינו על נר שבת:
(1) YE SHALL KINDLE NO FIRE. Since Scripture earlier mentioned with regard to the first and the seventh day of the festival of unleavened bread, no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat (Ex. 12:16), namely, that it is permitted to prepare food on these days, it now states with regard to the Sabbath, ye shall kindle no fire to bake bread or to cook meat, for fire is required in preparing all food. Rabbi Saadiah Gaon composed a very important work refuting those who dispute with the ancients regarding the Sabbath lights. [The reference is to the Karaites, who prohibit a candle that is lit before the onset of the Sabbath from continuing to burn on the Sabbath.
]
… Those Samaritans are reported to have refrained from travelling from house to house, taking their hands out of their sleeves and even try to remain in the position in which he or she was overtaken on the Sabbath, until the Sabbath was over. It seems that these Samaritans had a very strict interpretation of Exodus 16:29, "Remain every man where he is; let no man go from his place on the seventh day". According to Josephus, the Essenes would not move a vessel or …… go to the bathroom on the seventh day! (Josephus Jewish Wars. II.147).. See: The Samaritans: Their Religion, Literature, Society and Culture by Alan David Crown , Mohr Siebeck, 1989 - History - 865 pages pages 315 331-332
Shaye Cohen, a groundbreaking scholar at Harvard has shown in an article entitled Dancing, Clapping, Meditating: Jewish and Christian Observance of the Sabbath in Pseudo-Ignatius that Jews clapped, danced (men), danced on balconies (women), swam and even went to the theater in their observance of a day of rest.
לא תבערו אש ... לא תבערו אש למה נאמר לפי שהוא אומר (ויקרא ו' ו') אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה שומע אני בין בחול בין בשבת ומה אני מקיים מחלליה מות יומת (ל"א י"ד) בשאר כל המלאכות חוץ מן המערכה או אף במערכה מה אני מקיים לא תכבה בשאר כל הימים חוץ מן השבת או אף בשבת ת"ל לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם במושבותיכם אי אתה מבעיר מבעיר אתה במקדש.
You shall not kindle a fire - Why is this said? Since it says (Leviticus 6:6), "A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out", one might think this applies both on weekdays and on the Sabbath. How then do I fulfill "whoever does any work on it shall be put to death" (Ex. 31:14)? [Is it referring] to all other forms of work except arranging [the wood on the altar], or even arranging [the wood]? How do I fulfill "not to go out" [with the prohibition of work]? Is it on all other days, excluding the Sabbath, or even on the Sabbath? The Scripture says, "You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings". In your dwellings you shall not kindle [a fire], but you can kindle [one] in the Temple.
And behold the commandment regarding the Sabbaths -I have written (them) down for thee- and all the judgments of its laws.
Six days shalt thou labour, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it ye shall do no manner of work, ye and your sons, and your men- servants and your maid-servants, and all your cattle and the sojourner also who is with you.
And the man that does any work on it shall die: whoever desecrates that day, whoever lies with (his) wife, or whoever says he will do something on it, that he will set out on a journey thereon in regard to any buying or selling: and whoever draws water thereon which he had not prepared for himself on the sixth day, and whoever takes up any burden to carry it out of his tent or out of his house shall die.
Ye shall do no work whatever on the Sabbath day save what ye have prepared for yourselves on the sixth day, so as to eat, and drink, and rest, and keep Sabbath from all work on that day, and to bless the Lord your God, who has given you a day of festival and a holy day: and a day of the holy kingdom for all Israel is this day among their days for ever.
For great is the honour which the Lord has given to Israel that they should eat and drink and be satisfied on this festival day, and rest thereon from all labour which belongs to the labour of the children of men save burning frankincense and bringing oblations and sacrifices before the Lord for days and for Sabbaths.
This work alone shall be done on the Sabbath-days in the sanctuary of the Lord your God; that they may atone for Israel with sacrifice continually from day to day for a memorial well-pleasing before the Lord, and that He may receive them always from day to day according as thou hast been commanded.
And every man who does any work thereon, or goes a journey, or tills (his) farm, whether in his house or any other place, and whoever lights a fire, or rides on any beast, or travels by ship on the sea, and whoever strikes or kills anything, or slaughters a beast or a bird, or whoever catches an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever fasts or makes war on the Sabbaths:
The man who does any of these things on the Sabbath shall die, so that the children of Israel shall observe the Sabbaths according to the commandments regarding the Sabbaths of the land, as it is written in the tablets, which He gave into my hands that I should write out for thee the laws of the seasons, and the seasons according to the division of their days.
Herewith is completed the account of the division of the days. From The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, by R.H. Charles, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913 The Book of Jubilees, Laws regarding the Sabbath, 6-13.
(ל) אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֣י תִּשְׁמֹ֔רוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁ֖י תִּירָ֑אוּ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃
(30) You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary: I am יהוה.
Once a week many Shabbat observant people already power down their devices and choose a Sabbath of abstention from their use. To be more precise, they avoid directly operating electrical devices on Shabbat, but nearly all continue to benefit from the lights, refrigerators, thermostats, clocks and countless other devices which carry on their assigned tasks.
Sometimes these devices are programmed before Shabbat with timers to heat, elevate, illumine and darken at appointed times, thereby giving many of the benefits of electrical use even while
avoiding the direct performance of forbidden labor on Shabbat.
This subject is complex, but being shomer Shabbat has always required study of the laws of Shabbat, and simplicity itself is not a halakhic goal. Just as there are detailed regulations about how, for example, one may re‐heat food on Shabbat without transgressing the ban on cooking, or use house keys without violating the ban on carrying, so too is it possible to develop careful policies about what electrical appliances may be used without violating the laws of Shabbat.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the salient issues and give guidance to people who wish to observe the traditional Sabbath rules while also guarding Jewish values such as protecting the dignity of people who are frail or have physical disabilities, the
preservation of the environment, and the joy of Shabbat.
a technical discussion of melakhah ( מלאכה ), the form of creative work prohibited on Shabbat. Some actions are considered ,אסור דאורייתא forbidden by the rabbis’ understanding of the biblical prohibition, and call for severe punishment in the classical literature. Other actions are considered פטור אבל אסור , exempt from full liability, but still banned by the rabbis’ own authority. Finally, some actions are considered מותר לכתחילה , permissible from the outset. We will discuss various actions involving electricity and seek to clarify to what extent the categories of melakhah (labor) are involved.
Another category known as שבות , or “rest” is designed to protect the special atmosphere of Shabbat and to safeguard the observant from unwitting transgression. But what is שבות , and how should it be defined in contemporary life? This is the focus of Section II,
and involves the exploration of rabbinic values specific to Shabbat and Yom Tov such as: טירחא יתירא , avoiding excessive exertion; עובדא דחול , distinguishing Shabbat from workdays; and מוקצה , keeping a protective distance from the performance of forbidden
labor.
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach in his book, מאורי אש and in his collection of responsa, מנחת שלמה .
Why does Rabbi Auerbach insist on this unsustainable argument despite his awareness that the metal is not “burning”? Having systematically refuted all of the other arguments for prohibition he seems to feel that this is the only way to establish a biblical prohibition on using electricity on Shabbat. As he says in section 2 of his responsum, “if we do not claim that hot metal is considered fire, then even cooking with electrical heating elements would not be cooking” and there would be no biblical prohibition.
Rabbi Shlomo Goren published two essays in the Israeli journal Sinai in 1949 arguing that the use of electricity cannot be compared to the biblical prohibitions of burning and extinguishing on Shabbat…. Rabbi Goren insists on an accurate
physical description of fire—a substance which combusts material and creates flame— and concludes that the heat generated by a metal resistor to an electrical current is neither fire nor even a derivative form of fire (toledat eish).
Nevertheless, the מחמירים “stringent ones” (as Rabbi Goren calls them) who agree with Rabbi Auerbach’s argument that turning on incandescent lights is prohibited as מבעיר , burning, have won broad acceptance in the Orthodox community. Indeed, disabling light switches prior to Shabbat is a standard marker of Shabbat observance in the Orthodox community and is also common among observant Conservative Jews, as is the idea that the operation of electrical lighting fixtures is biblically prohibited.
From our perspective, the claim that heating a metal filament is to be banned on Shabbat as “burning” is not convincing for incandescent light bulbs, and is not even relevant for other types of lighting fixtures or for any other electrical or electronic
appliances. Already in 1950 Rabbi Arthur Neulander wrote for the CJLS a simple but clear refutation of the use of מבעיר as a reason to ban electrical lights, and his argument remains cogent today.
Rabbi Avram Reisner has countered this perspective, arguing that the creation of light is one purpose of the melakhah of mavir. He supports this position with the Torah commentary of Ramban to לא תבערו אש (Exodus 35:3) in which Ramban mentions a variety of uses of fire, arguably including for the sake of light. Ramban’s point here is that, in contrast to Yom Tov, when it is permitted to burn fire for the sake of cooking, on Shabbat the prohibition on burning is absolute, regardless of the desired result, whether
it be for food preparation or for physical pleasure in the heat and light of the fire. Rabbi Reisner believes that this implies that any action which yields the results of fire, including the creation of light, is included within the melakhah of מבעיר , burning,
regardless of the mechanism. This understanding would result in a biblical‐level ban on the use of all lighting fixtures on Shabbat. see: THE USE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES ON SHABBAT Rabbi Daniel S. Nevins Committee on Jewish Law and Standards May 2012 https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/2011-2020/electrical-electronic-devices-shabbat.pdf
"וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם חֻקַּת עוֹלָם." לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר? וַהֲלֹא כְבָר נֶאֱמַר (שמות יב,טז) "כָּל מְלָאכָה לֹא יֵעָשֶׂה בָהֶם"? אֵין לִי אֶלָּא דְּבָרִים שֶׁהֵן מִשּׁוּם מְלָאכָה, דְּבָרִים שֶׁהֵן מִשּׁוּם שְׁבוּת מְנַיִן? תִּלְמֹד לוֹמַר: "וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם חֻקַּת עוֹלָם." לְהָבִיא דְּבָרִים שֶׁהֵן מִשּׁוּם שְׁבוּת. וְאַף חֻלּוֹ שֶׁלַּמּוֹעֵד יְהֵי אָסוּר מִשּׁוּם שְׁבוּת! וְהַדִּין נוֹתֵן: הוֹאִיל וְיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְהָאַחֲרוֹן קְרוּיִין "מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ", וְחֻלּוֹ שֶׁלַּמּוֹעֵד קָרוּי "מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ", אִם לָמַדְתָּ עַל יוֹם טוֹב הָרִאשׁוֹן וְהָאַחֲרוֹן, שֶׁהֵן קְרוּאִין "מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ", הֲרֵי הֵן אֲסוּרִין מִשּׁוּם שְׁבוּת, חֻלּוֹ שֶׁלַּמּוֹעֵד, שֶׁהוּא קָרוּי "מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ", אֵינוֹ דִין שֶׁיְּהֵי אָסוּר מִשּׁוּם שְׁבוּת! תִּלְמֹד לוֹמַר: (ויקרא כג,לט) "בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן שַׁבָּתוֹן וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי שַׁבָּתוֹן."
"And you shall guard this day": What is the intent of this? Is it not already written (16) "all labor shall not be done in them"? This tells me only of labor per se. Whence do I derive (the same for) shvuth (i.e., violation of "resting")? From "And you shall guard this day." — But then let (violations of) shvuth be forbidden on chol hamoed , too! And this would follow a fortiori, viz.: Since the first and the last day (of Pesach) are called "a calling of holiness," and chol hamoed is called "a calling of holiness," and (violations of shvuth are forbidden on the first and the last day, let them, likewise, be forbidden on chol hamoed . It is, therefore, written (Leviticus 23:39) "The first day is shabbaton (like "shvuth"), and the eighth day is shabbaton" (but not chol hamoed ).
See also: Mai Beinayhu? Driving Electric Cars on Shabbat Rabbis David J Fine, Barry J Leff, Marcus Mordecai Schwartz and Chaim Weiner and Rabbis Marcus Mordecai Schwartz and Chaim Weiner A New Responsum on the Sabbath