WHAT THE TANAKH SAYS ABOUT SHABBAT AND WORK
What
the Torah Says
The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done. (Genesis 2:1-3)
So they gathered it (manna) every morning, each as much as he needed to eat; for when the sun grew hot, it would melt. On the sixth day they gathered double the amount of food, two omers for each; and when all the chieftains of the community came and told Moses, he said to them, 'This is what the Lord meant: tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy sabbath of the Lord. Bake what you would bake and boil what you would boil; and all that is left put aside to be kept until morning." So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered; and it did not turn foul, and there were no maggots in it. Then Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath of the Lord; you will not find it today on the plain. Six days you shall gather it; on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.
Yet some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found nothing. And the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you men refuse to obey My commandments and My teachings? Mark that the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore he gives you two days' food on the sixth day. Let everyone remain where he is: let no one leave his place on the seventh day." So the people remained inactive on the seventh day. (Exodus 18:21-30)
Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work-you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work-you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slaves, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, or that your male and female slave may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.(Deut. 5:12-15)
And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I the Lord have consecrated you. You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. He who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his kin. Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and was refreshed. (Exodus 31:12-17)
On six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the sabbath day. (Exodus 35:2-3)
Once, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, they came upon a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him as he was gathering wood brought him before Moses, Aaron, and the whole community. He was placed in custody, for it had not been specified what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death: the whole community shall pelt him with stones outside the camp." So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death--as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Numbers 15: 32-36)
What
the Prophets Say
Thus said the Lord: Guard yourselves for your own sake against carrying burdens on the sabbath day, and bringing them through the gates of Jerusalem. Nor shall you carry out burdens from your houses on the sabbath, as I commanded your fathers. (Jeremiah 17:21-22)
But the House of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not follow My laws and they rejected My rules-by the pursuit of which a man shall live-and they grossly desecrated My sabbaths. (Exekiel 20: 13)
Listen to you who devour the needy, annihilating the poor of the land, saying, "If only the new moon were over so that we could sell grain; the sabbath so that we could offer wheat for sale...(Amos 8:4-5)
At that time I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the sabbath and others bringing heaps of grain and loading them onto asses, also wine, grapes, figs and all sorts of goods, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the sabbath. I admonished them then and there for selling provisions. Tyrians who lived there brought fish and all sorts of wares and sold them on the sabbath to the Judahites in Jeruasalem. I censured the nobles....When shadows filled the gateways of Jerusalem a t the approach of the sabbath, I gave orders that that the doors be closed, and ordered them not to be opened until after the sabbath. Once or twice the merchants and the vendors of all sorts of wares spent the night outside Jerusalem, but I warned them, saying, "What do you mean by spending the night alongside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!" From then on they did not come on the sabbath. I gave order to the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to preserve the sanctity of the sabbath? (Nehemiah 13:19-22)
5/16/98
© Rosemarie E. Falanga, Cy H. Silver