The Halachic Details of Shabbat

The fourth of the Ten Commandments, as they appear in Sefer Shemot, presents the requirement to “remember” Shabbat: זכור את יום השבת לקדשו . Whenever the Torah commands us to “remember” something, Hazal address the question as to whether the command refers to “remembering” in the mental sense, of having the information in our minds, or if it requires verbal commemoration, that we actually speak of that which we are required to “remember.” For example, the Torah commands us to “remember” Amalek’s attack on Beneh Yisrael – זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק – and the Gemara explains this command to mean that we must verbally read the story of Amalek. As the Torah also commands, לא תשכח , that we may not forget the incident of Amalek, the command of זכור must introduce an additional requirement, beyond just having this story in our memory. Necessarily, then, זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלך refers to verbal commemoration. Similarly, Hazal in Torat Kohanim (beginning of Parashat Behukotai) discuss the meaning of זכור את יום השבת . They note that in Sefer Devarim, the command is formulated as שמור את יום השבת , which refers to “guarding” Shabbat in our memory, ensuring not to forget it. Hence, זכור must require something more than simply remembering, and thus Torat Kohanim explains it to mean, שתהא שונה בפיך – that we must verbally mention Shabbat. At first glance, Hazal here require us to make mention of Shabbat during the week, which we do when we name the other days of the week in reference to Shabbat ( יום ראשון, יום שני, יום שלישי ). The Ra’avad, however, in his commentary to Torat Kohanim , explains differently, noting that the word שונה means “study,” as opposed to mere recitation. In his view, Hazal here establish a special requirement to verbally study the laws of Shabbat. It does not suffice to be aware and mindful of Shabbat, or even to verbally mention Shabbat; we need to study the laws of Shabbat so we will be able to observe it properly. Shabbat is unique in this regard among all other mitzvot . Beyond the general obligation to study Torah, and the practical necessity of learning halachah so we know how to properly observe the mitzvot , we do not find a specific obligation to study the halachot of other Torah commands. For example, when the Torah commands us to affix mezuzot to our doors and to wear tefillin each day, it does not also add that we must learn the relevant halachot . Why is Shabbat singled out with a special requirement to learn its laws? One reason is the sheer volume and intricacy of the Shabbat laws. Rav Yehonatan Eibshitz, in Ya’arot Devash , writes that it is virtually impossible to avoid Shabbat desecration without regularly reviewing the laws of Shabbat. There are thirty-nine categories of forbidden melachot , and the Talmud Yerushalmi comments that each of these categories has nine subcategories. This is in addition to the many safeguards established by Hazal . There are so many complex laws that study and review are essential for proper observance and for avoiding unintentional Shabbat violations. Unfortunately, many people fail to recognize the significance of these intricacies, of many of the detailed prohibitions that apply on Shabbat. Part of the reason for this phenomenon is the fact that many of the activities forbidden on Shabbat do not appear significant enough to warrant a prohibition. Many people, for example, recognize that driving a car is a significant action that should be forbidden on Shabbat, but have a hard time understanding why walking outside with something in their pockets can be considered a violation of Shabbat. (In fact, Tosafot comment that Masechet Shabbat begins with the laws of carrying on Shabbat precisely because it does not appear as a significant activity that should be forbidden.) Many people fail to recognize that turning on the hot water faucet violates Shabbat (as it could activate the boiler), or that one can desecrate Shabbat by placing a teabag into hot water. When a person eats a salad, and because he does not enjoy peas he removes the peas from the salad, he transgresses the Shabbat prohibition of borer . For many people, even if they understand that turning on a light is a significant action that should be forbidden, it is difficult to accept that separating peas from carrots can constitute a Shabbat violation. The Maggid of Duvna offers an insightful to analogy to help us overcome this problem and appreciate how even simple, seemingly trivial actions can desecrate Shabbat. He tells of a burglar who tried to break into a home in the middle of the night, when everyone in the household was sleeping. He tried every door and window, but could not open any of them. Desperate to find a way in, the burglar climbed to the roof to see if perhaps there was some entry point from the roof. To his dismay, there was no way in even from the roof. Then his eye caught a large screw protruding from the roof. He figured that after having gone through all this trouble, he should at least steal the screw. He released the screw, and suddenly he heard a deafening crash. Naturally, everyone in the house woke up from the noise, and the burglar was caught. It turned out that this screw held a large chandelier in place, and by removing the screw, the burglar released the chandelier and sent it crashing onto the floor. We often do not see how the small “screws” – our seemingly minor actions here in this world – have profound effects in the upper worlds. Removing a pea from a salad on Shabbat may seem like releasing an innocent, insignificant screw, but in truth, it has grave spiritual repercussions. We might suggest a different analogy to a complex computer program, in which each and every character of code must be precisely correct for the operation to succeed. Likewise, each and every detail of Shabbat observance is laden with meaning, importance and significance, even if we cannot see how. Nobody would enter the cockpit of a plane and try to fly the aircraft without being trained. And nobody would go into an operating room and start performing brain surgery without being trained. We cannot begin practicing difficult, complex fields without proper study and training. Intuition is not enough. By the same token, we cannot assume that our intuition is enough for observing Shabbat, that we can trust our instinctive sense of what should be forbidden and what should be allowed. Hilchot Shabbat are difficult and complex, and it therefore behooves us to make the time to study them and review them to ensure that we fulfill each and every detail.