Transcript
Okay we're on page 484 in the Stone, פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa. Just a quickly a review again of the overview of the פרשה parsha and then we'll delve into the few פסוקים pesukim that we're going to analyze together this morning.So last week's פרשה parsha ended up with the we went through the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. The פרשה parsha ended with the the מזבח mizbeach, a קטורת ketores, which is the the golden מזבח mizbeach where the קטורת ketores where the incense was offered. We mentioned that it's a question why we saw an answer, but why a פרשה parsha that focuses on the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah, why does it end with the כלים keilim? You'd expect all of the כלים keilim, this last כלי keli, to be listed in פרשת תרומה Parshas Trumah with the other כלים keilim. But anyway, we begin this week's פרשה parsha with the census, the obligation of everyone to participate in giving a coin to redeem themselves, a half a coin, and that was the way that they counted the Jewish people, the census was done. Why half a coin, why not a whole coin? Mathematically it would have been much easier to calculate how many people there are if everyone gave a whole coin. Why half a coin? The message is that nobody ever contributes a whole. A person needs to realize that they are only a half, they're only a portion, and they only are able to complement or supplement the others, but they're not a whole onto themselves. Nobody is wholly responsible, entirely responsible, for a משכן Mishkan, for a building, for a contribution, but it's a partnership. It's a partnership that is required and that's expressed through the מחצית השקל machatzis hashekel, the half a shekel. So these were all gifts, the monies were used for the public needs, public funds, קרבנות ציבור korbanos tzibbur, and so on.Next, the פרשה parsha tells us about the building of the כיור kiyor, another one of the utensils, which again, it's unusual, why is it here? One would expect it to be in פרשת תרומה Parshas Trumah two weeks ago when it lists all the utensils in the משכן Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Why is it reserved for here? Again, if you're sensitive to the text and to the themes of the פרשיות parshios, of the narrative, then you have to ask why was it not included there, and why specifically was it inserted here? What does it add to the construct to the themes of פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa? What was the כיור kiyor, the laver, what was it made out of? The bottom was made out of copper. What was the bottom made out of? The mirrors. Who donated those mirrors? The women, the women donated those mirrors. They were the very mirrors that they beautified themselves with to attract themselves, to be attractive to their husbands, because in מצרים Mitzrayim, when the husbands wanted to give up, when the husbands had despaired, they were despondent about any future, about any hope, they didn't want to bring children into this bleak world, it was the women who maintained their faith. It was the women who maintained a certain sense of vision, and that vision was expressed through the mirrors they used to beautify themselves, to seduce their husbands, and because it takes a lot of faith to bring a child into the world. Why was it brought here? What? I give you the questions. I'm not responsible for the answers necessarily. Then next we have the the anointment oil. Next is the anointment oil, the oil that's used to anoint the... And there's a lot of significance in that, though we can't really relate to that. You have the קטורת ketores, you have the incense itself. בצלאל Betzalel and אהליאב Oholiav are chosen. בצלאל Betzalel is the architect of the משכן Mishkan. He's a very young man at this point. What the significance of that is.And then we have the section we're going to deal with, which is שבת Shabbos. שבת Shabbos has already been given to the Jewish people. It's been given to the Jewish people a couple of times. It was given to the Jewish people at מרה Marah, it was given to the Jewish people at הר סיני Har Sinai, and now again we see the commandment of שבת Shabbos. Moshe receives the two tablets, he comes down from the mountain, he's a little delayed according to the calculation of the people, and they have so in the meantime, in the interim, they've built a עגל הזהב Eigel HaZahav, a golden calf. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu was furious, Moshe pleads on their behalf. Something very peculiar. God says he's furious at his people because they are an עם קשה עורף am kshei oref, what a stubborn, stiff-necked, miserable, obnoxious people. And what is Moshe's argument? He pleads to God, you need to forgive this people because they're an עם קשה עורף am kshei oref. What kind of argument is that? He's using the very liability, the very thing that God saw as a liability, Moshe is using as a virtue in arguing why he should forgive the people. So there's a lot to say about that, but we're not going to say it this morning. Moshe descends from the mountain, we know he smashes the tablets, he דאווענ'ס davens for the people, השם Hashem forgives them, and he goes up for a second. Moshe pleads for God's nearness, and so on and so forth at the end of the פרשה parsha, second set of לוחות luchos. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu reveals his thirteen attributes, where thirteen attributes of his mercy and compassion, that if we invoke those thirteen attributes, it's as if God can't help but forgive us. It's much more complicated than that. And then we have the promise that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to safeguard and keep and renewal of the covenant. Okay? That's all פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa in an overview. It's an action-packed, long פרשה parsha with so much to talk about in so many detailed ways. It's really fantastic. So we are just going to choose a small section this morning and that is פרק ל\"א perek lamed aleph, chapter 31, verse י\"ב yud beis, verse 12. We're going to deal with a few verses that talk about שבת Shabbos. The few verses that talk about שבת Shabbos. Okay, everyone have the place? It's page 490 in the Stone חומש Chumash. Yeah? We're good? Anybody here? Anyone awake? Any pulse? Okay, good. Good means not necessarily there is one, but I'm going to go ahead anyway. ויאמר השם אל משה לאמר Vayomer Hashem el Moshe leimor. So let's read the few פסוקים pesukim and then we'll go back and begin to ask our questions. Again, our focus is text-based, is analytical, is trying to delve into as the commentators do, when you read the פסוקים pesukim, not just to have them gloss over you, not to look for a cute ווארט vort, but to be sensitive to the text, the nuances in the text that can help give us a deeper understanding. ויאמר השם אל משה לאמר Vayomer Hashem el Moshe leimor. God spoke to Moshe saying, ואתה ve'ata, and you, דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר dabber el Bnei Yisrael leimor, speak to the Jewish people saying, אך Ach את שבתותי תשמרו es shabsosai tishmoru. Translate אך ach? However, but, only. Observe שבת Shabbos. כי אות היא ביני וביניכם לדורותיכם ki os hi beini u'veineichem l'doroseichem. It is a sign, it is a symbol, it is a covenant between me and you for generations. What is it a symbol of? לדעת lada'as, to know, כי אני השם מקדשכם ki ani Hashem mekaddishchem. That I am God who sanctifies you. I am God who is the source of your holiness. ושמרתם את השבת u'shmartem es haShabbos. Safeguard, keep, observe the שבת Shabbos, כי קודש היא לכם ki kodesh hi lachem. It is sacred to you. מחלליה mechalaleha, מות יומת mos yumas, those who profane it, who violate it, they shall surely die. כי כל העושה בה מלאכה ונכרתה הנפש ההיא מקרב עמיה ki kol ha'oseh vah melachah v'nichresah hanefesh hahi mikerev ameha. Somebody who does מלאכה melachah, who violates, does creative labor, will suffer כרת kares, their soul will be excised, will be cut off from among the nation. ששת ימים יעשה מלאכה sheshes yamim ye'aseh melachah. Six days do work, וביום השביעי שבת שבתון קודש להשם u'vayom ha'shvii Shabbos Shabbason kodesh laHashem. Day seven is a שבת שבתון Shabbos Shabbason. It is holy, consecrated to God. כל העושה מלאכה ביום השבת kol ha'oseh melachah b'yom haShabbos, מות יומת mos yumas. Whoever does work, creative labor on that day will surely die. ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos. They shall keep the שבת Shabbos, לעשות את השבת לדורותם ברית עולם la'asos es haShabbos l'dorosam bris olam. To make שבת Shabbos, to create שבת Shabbos, for generations as a ברית עולם bris olam, as a covenant forever. ביני ובין בני ישראל אות היא לעולם beini u'vein Bnei Yisrael os hi l'olam. God says between me and the Jewish people, it is a sign, it is a symbol forever. כי ששת ימים עשה השם את השמים ואת הארץ ki sheshes yamim asah Hashem es ha'shamayim v'es ha'aretz. Six days God created the heavens and the earth, וביום השביעי שבת u'vayom ha'shvii shavas וינפש vayinafash. On day seven, he ceased and he rested. Okay? That's the end of the section. Then the Torah goes on, ויתן אל משה ככלותו לדבר אתו בהר סיני שני לוחות vayiten el Moshe k'chaloso l'dabber ito b'Har Sinai shnei luchos. God gave the two tablets and the episode of the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel. So this is inserted here seemingly out of nowhere. What's the flow? What's the context? Why is this section here? But, because we were doing the משכן Mishkan. Oh, okay, so hold on, hold on with the answers. That's the overall question. The overall question you have to ask is what's this doing here? You just went from telling me about the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah and all about the utensils for the משכן Mishkan and now you told me about the קטורת ketores right beforehand and you designate בצלאל Betzalel to be the architect, you gave בצלאל Betzalel the construction job of the משכן Mishkan and now out of nowhere you have שבת Shabbos. That's the overarching question.But let's go through what are some more detailed questions? What bothers you about this narrative? Again, if you're reading it with a sensitivity to the nuance of the text as our commentators did, what bothers you? It's easy to just say, oh okay, it's a it's about שבת Shabbos, it's juxtaposing שבת Shabbos with the משכן Mishkan, we'll get to in a second. Phil is correct. But what about, anything bother you about the text? Good. Let's start from the beginning. ויאמר השם אל משה לאמר Vayomer Hashem el Moshe leimor. You could start from ויאמר Vayomer. ויאמר Vayomer is kind of peculiar, usually it's וידבר השם אל משה לאמר vayidaber Hashem el Moshe leimor. Not ויאמר vayomer. Why the usage of ויאמר vayomer? But furthermore, פסוק י\"ג pasuk yud gimmel, verse 13. ואתה דבר אל בני ישראל ve'ata daber el Bnei Yisrael. Who else? God's in the middle of speaking to Moshe and he says, and you speak to the Jewish. What do you mean, and you? Moshe doesn't know the routine by now? He hasn't picked up on the pattern, the routine? God calls him, he tells him something and then it's obvious that he wants him to relate it to the people, communicate it to the people. Why the ואתה דבר אל בני ישראל ve'ata daber el Bnei Yisrael, speak saying? Next, אך Ach. What is אך ach? What does אך ach come to add? Could have easily said, שבתותי תשמרו shabsosai tishmoru. Observe שבת Shabbos. What's אך ach? אך Ach is contrasting, it's something else. Well, what's it contrasting to? עיקר חסר מן הספר ikar chaser min ha'sefer. The main thing's missing. When you contrast, you juxtapose two things, we normally list them both and then we create the contrast. Here, אך ach, there's just an אך ach, however, but there's no contrast to what it is. I thought it means don't get so involved. Hold hold on, no answers yet, no answers yet, we're just listing all the questions for now.What's next? שבתותי Shabsosai, how many שבתות Shabbosos? Oh, שבתותי shabsosai. שבתותי shabsosai means in plural, my many שבתות Shabbosos. What do you mean keep my many שבתות Shabbosos? How many שבתות Shabbosos does God have? Tuesday, Thursday שבת Shabbos? Why? It should say, שבת תשמור Shabbos tishmor. Keep שבת Shabbos. What do you mean שבתותי shabsosai, the many? כי אות Ki os it's a sign. And that's singular. Right. אות os is now a sign, it's singular. And אות os is a sign of what? What is שבת Shabbos a sign of exactly? How does it function as a sign? To know that I am God. How does שבת Shabbos cause you to know? How when you keep שבת Shabbos, do you know? By the way, notice what it doesn't do. Tell you how to keep שבת Shabbos. Emphasis on שבת Shabbos, the importance of שבת Shabbos, the priority of שבת Shabbos, the primacy of שבת Shabbos. Don't violate it, you'll die, you'll be spiritually excised from the people, just keep it, it's a sign, it's a symbol, it's a covenant. But what is it? How do you keep it? ושמרתם את השבת u'shmartem es haShabbos. Safeguard the שבת Shabbos. By the way, notice the shift again. שבתותי Shabsosai is the many שבתות Shabbosos to keep the שבת haShabbos. Because it is קודש kodesh for you. מחלליה mechalaleha. What's the root of that word, מחלליה mechalaleha? What does it mean? What does חילול chillul mean? So we'll get to that. מות יומת mos yumas. Why the redundancy? Just say whoever violates it, מחלליה ימות mechalaleha yamus, will die. Why מות mos, a death they will die. Is there something else that you die? You don't die a life. A death, they will die. מות יומת mos yumas. Why the redundancy? Whoever does מלאכה melachah on it will suffer כרת kares. Six days do work, וביום השביעי u'vayom ha'shvii, why are you calling it יום השביעי yom ha'shvii? Until now we've called it שבת Shabbos. Say six days do work, and on שבת Shabbos, it's קודש להשם kodesh laHashem. Why is it called יום השביעי yom ha'shvii here whereas until now we've been calling it שבת Shabbos? And what is this שבת Shabbos, what is this seventh day? It is שבת שבתון Shabbos Shabbason. Again, the redundancy. What is the pasuk coming to add with the redundancy? Whoever does מלאכה melachah on it, again the redundancy מות יומת mos yumas.Now this is very peculiar, the next verse, פסוק ט\"ז pasuk tes zayin. You just told me ושמרתם את השבת u'shmartem es haShabbos. Now you got to tell me again, ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos? Is there a difference between the first time you said ושמרתם את השבת u'shmartem es haShabbos and now you say ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos? This paragraph, of course, is very familiar to us. We say in קידוש Kiddush, we say in דאווענען davening. And what does it mean? Again, ושמרו v'shamru, keep. לעשות את השבת la'asos es haShabbos, to make, what do you mean to make שבת Shabbos? Who makes שבת Shabbos? We make it or God makes it? ביני וביניכם אות היא לעולם beini u'vein beineichem os hi l'olam. You just told me it was an אות os. Now you got to tell me again that it's a sign? Six days God created the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day, וינפש vayinafash. Even וינפש vayinafash is a peculiar word. Because what's the root of the word וינפש vayinafash? נפש nefesh. We know from קידוש Kiddush, we know to translate it is six days God created the heavens and the earth, and the seventh day he rested. That's not really what וינפש vayinafash means. On the seventh day, שבת shavas, שבת shavas means he stopped abruptly, he ceased, he stopped. And what did he do? וינפש vayinafash. What does וינפש vayinafash mean? Look at אונקלוס Onkelos. אונקלוס Onkelos translates it as שבת ונח shvas v'nach. אונקלוס Onkelos translates as וינפש vayinafash means he rested. But what does, that's not what the word says. Of course we should translate it and we should understand it to mean he rested. But obviously God chose to use the word וינפש vayinafash whose root is נפש nefesh to teach us something more.Okay? So there you see there's how many questions did we list? Maybe 10 questions. This is a short section of just a few verses. And again, if you're reading it, that's the whole point of this class. If you're reading the text critically, analytically, if you're reading it with sensitivity, then you'll come up easily, we didn't ask any intricate, detailed, you don't need to be a great scholar to ask any of the questions we asked. All you have to do is read closely and you'll be bothered by these questions. Why the use of this word? Why the plural? Why the repetition? Why the redundancy? Why the order? Why the... all these things should teach you sensitivity, which will allow you to extrapolate very beautiful depth of the section. Yes? There's another one it says, I don't know if you mentioned it, but there's נכרתה הנפש nichresah ha'nefesh and then it says מות יומת mos yumas. It's two different things. Right. So which is the punishment? מות יומת mos yumas or כרת kares? But it seems at least on the surface to be redundant or to be which is which is the punishment.Okay, so let's start from the beginning. There's a lot of questions and there's a lot of answers. And we're not going to get through all the answers, but the goal of this class is to teach you how to ask the questions. Okay. Look at רש\"י Rashi, פסוק י\"ג pasuk yud gimmel. ואתה דבר אל בני ישראל ve'ata daber el Bnei Yisrael. ואתה ve'ata, אף על פי שאפגדתך לצוותם על מלאכת המשכן af al pi she'ifgadeti'cha l'tzavosm al melaches ha'Mishkan, אל יקל בעיניך לדחות את השבת מפני אותה מלאכה al yakel b'einecha l'dchos es haShabbos mipnei oseh melachah. So רש\"י Rashi was bothered by the question of ואתה ve'ata. He answers, \"Even though,\" God's talking to Moshe, \"even though אפגדתך ifgadeti'cha, I have appointed you to command them to build the משכן Mishkan, I told you to tell them that the time has come to construct the משכן Mishkan, אל יקל בעיניך al yakel b'einecha, don't let it be light in your eyes. Don't be lenient, don't diminish, לדחות את השבת מפני אותה מלאכה l'dchos es haShabbos mipnei oseh melachah to think that that charge of building the Tabernacle is so important that it overrides and supersedes the observance of שבת Shabbos.\" So why what is רש\"י Rashi, רש\"י Rashi again, the brilliance of רש\"י Rashi, he didn't phrase it as question and answer. He gives commentary and he leaves it up to us to figure out what was bothering him that led to give that commentary. But clearly רש\"י Rashi was bothered by the unusual usage of ואתה ve'ata. Here it's a little more explicit even because the first thing רש\"י Rashi says is ואתה ve'ata. He's telling us what bothered him was ואתה ve'ata. And how is he answering it? Because God is saying to Moshe, you are the very person that I told command the Jewish people to build a Tabernacle. I imbued within you the significance, the priority of the משכן Mishkan, and the danger was therefore that you are going to be so committed to building the משכן Mishkan, it's going to be at all costs. Because I empowered you to charge them with building the משכן Mishkan. So the same you, the same ואתה ve'ata that I told to build the משכן Mishkan, ואתה ve'ata, I'm also telling you, tell them don't compromise שבת Shabbos in the process. Be careful. That also answers the question of אך ach. Oh, that also answers אך ach, which we'll get to in a second. That that's the contrast of אך ach. And and if you look at the שפתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim, the super commentary on רש\"י Rashi in אות ה os hei, he says, דקשה לרש\"י היאך באה פרשה זו לכאן d'kasha l'Rashi hei'ach ba'ah parsha zu l'kaan. רש\"י Rashi, in that in this very comment, רש\"י Rashi was bothered by two questions. Number one was ואתה ve'ata. Why is God saying to Moshe, \"And you\"? Moshe knows that God wants him to do it. That's the pattern, that's their that's what they do, that's their routine. And the second thing that was bothering him is what's this doing here? You just finished telling me about the incense, the קטורת ketores, you're about to tell me the story of the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel. What in the world is this doing here? So רש\"י Rashi explains, because it's contrasted with the building of the משכן Mishkan. That God told Moshe, build a משכן Mishkan, it's priority number one. We're doing a capital campaign, we're finishing the campus, we're building the משכן Mishkan. But even though you are so committed to doing that right now, don't be blinded to the other priorities. Don't run them over. Make sure that you are not violating שבת Shabbos in the process. That's what was bothering רש\"י Rashi. Yes. The comment in English, and I don't think it really is instructive. Yes. Because, you know, why couldn't we just say, now, you build... You know what I'm saying? I think the emphasis is on the verb almost, now. I mean, all right, it's not the case. Not the ואתה ve'ata, you're on the ו vav. And you. Okay, great. So so you're making a great point. Maybe what was bothering רש\"י Rashi was not even just the אתה ata, but ועתה ve'ata. And you. And the ו החיבור vav ha'chibur, that ו vav connects it to the section previously, which is why רש\"י Rashi saw it as sending a message of contrast with the משכן Mishkan. Beautiful. Great point. Thank you for sharing it.Look at the next comment of רש\"י Rashi, continues with the same theme. אך את שבתותי תשמרו ach es shabsosai tishmoru. As Esther just pointed out, the אך ach. אף על פי שתהיו רדופים וזריזים בזריזות המלאכה af al pi she'tihyu redufim u'zrizim b'zrizus ha'melachah. Even though you will be acting with alacrity, zeal and enthusiasm in pursuing the construction of the משכן Mishkan, שבת אל תדחה מפניה Shabbos al tidacheh mipaneha. Make sure שבת Shabbos doesn't get swept to the side, doesn't get violated or lost in the process. כל אך ורק הוא מיעוט, למעט שבת ממלאכת המשכן kol ach v'rak hu mi'ut l'ma'eit Shabbos m'melaches ha'Mishkan. And רש\"י Rashi is quoting a principle. The גמרא Gemara in ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah tells us that whenever you see the Torah use the term אך ach or use the term רק rak, either time, כל אך ורקין מיעוטין kol ach v'rakkin mi'utin, the term אך ach or רק rak, it comes to be ממעט mema'eit. It comes to exclude. Great. So what's the exclusion here? So רש\"י Rashi says the exclusion is למעט שבת ממלאכת המשכן l'ma'eit Shabbos m'melaches ha'Mishkan, to say that שבת Shabbos is a timeout from the building of the משכן Mishkan. You don't work on שבת Shabbos. No construction on שבת Shabbos. Now too, you're doing construction on your house, no construction on שבת Shabbos. שבת Shabbos supersedes whatever great thing that you're doing. So, so that's how רש\"י Rashi interprets interprets it. That's explaining the ו vav and the אתה ata, and that also explains the אך ach. Others see the אך ach as creating a מיעוט mi'ut, an exclusion, a contrast, but not for the same thing רש\"י Rashi does, but for something else. For example, look at the רמב\"ן Ramban. The רמב\"ן Ramban quotes רש\"י Rashi and disagrees. After all, the רמב\"ן Ramban does is he quotes רש\"י Rashi. ולא נתחוונו אצלי v'lo nischavnu itsli, but it doesn't make sense to me, says the רמב\"ן Ramban, I don't buy it. כי לפי מדרש רבותינו באך ורק מיעוט בשמירת השבת ki l'fi Medrash Rabboseinu b'ach v'rak mi'ut b'shmiras ha'Shabbos. כי המיעוט בכל מקום בדבר אשר הציווי באהו ki ha'mi'ut b'chol makom b'davar asher ha'tzivui ba'oh. ואם תדרוש המיעוט בענין מלאכת המשכן v'im tidrosh ha'mi'ut b'inyan melaches ha'Mishkan, יעמוד מותר לעשותה בשבת ya'amod mutar la'asosa b'Shabbos. It doesn't make sense, says the רמב\"ן Ramban. If אך ach here was functioning as an exclusion, it wouldn't exclude building the משכן Mishkan for the sake of the observance of שבת Shabbos, it would exclude the observance of שבת Shabbos for the sake of building the משכן Mishkan. Because if you're trying to create an exception, you create the exception within the rule. And here the context is שבת Shabbos. So if within שבת Shabbos it said within sorry, the משכן Mishkan it said אך ach, I would understand. Build the משכן Mishkan, אך ach, however, don't do it on שבת Shabbos. But here it's saying אך שבת ach Shabbos, keep שבת Shabbos, however, so it seems to be setting up the exclusion that there are things that you're exempt from on שבת Shabbos. You understand what I'm saying? So everyone agrees that the term אך ach is creating an exclusion, an exception, creating a contrast. The question is what's the exception? רש\"י Rashi said the exception is, all that משכן Mishkan building that you're do, it's fantastic. אך Ach, however, שבתותי תשמרו shabsosai tishmoru, don't do it on שבת Shabbos. The רמב\"ן Ramban said, no, then the אך ach should be in listed within the narrative about the building of the משכן Mishkan. The fact that it finds itself within שבת Shabbos is teaching you something different, which is, שבת שבתותי תשמרו Shabbos shabsosai tishmoru. Keep שבת Shabbos. אך Ach, however, there are times that you're exempt from keeping שבת Shabbos. So what's that talking about? We know this, this exception is teaching you something different. למילה l'milah, that when a when circumcision comes in conflict with שבת Shabbos, which supersedes, what do you do? You do the ברית מילה bris milah. Again, only under certain circumstances. A ברית מילה bris milah does not supersede שבת Shabbos if the baby is born through a C-section, or if the baby was if the baby was conceived using IVF, believe it or not. Or if it's a or if it's a in vitro fertilization. Or if it's a מילה שלא בזמנה milah shelo bizmanah, meaning the baby, it's not the eighth day, the baby was sick and it's delayed. So there are times when מילה is not דוחה שבת milah is not docheh Shabbos, many times where מילה does not supersede שבת milah does not supersede Shabbos. However, for the most part, we'll get to that when we get to פרשת תזריע Parshas Tazria, because it says אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר isha ki sazria v'yalda zachar, and then it gets into שבת Shabbos. So we learn, it's אשה כי תזריע isha ki sazria, when a woman conceives naturally and regularly וילדה v'yalda and gives birth in a natural way, then it supersedes שבת Shabbos. So the תלמוד Talmud learns exceptions. If it's a C-section, so that it's not a natural birth, then it doesn't supersede שבת Shabbos. If it's IVF, according to פוסקים poskim, because she's not conceived naturally, it's not conceived within the body, then that also doesn't supersede שבת Shabbos. So there are exceptions, but that's not our point. The רמב\"ן's Ramban's point is, the אך ach, the exception is not an exception of the construction of the משכן for שבת Mishkan for Shabbos, it's an exception in שבת Shabbos. Ah, when is שבת Shabbos set aside? For doing a מילה milah. Oh, פיקוח נפש pikuach nefesh. Or if שבת Shabbos comes in conflict with saving life, or other examples, שאינן דוחין את השבת she'ein dochen es haShabbos, where שבת Shabbos comes in conflict and we know that there are times that you set aside שבת Shabbos. But then where is the רמב\"ן Ramban getting this from the verse, the מילה milah? The רמב\"ן Ramban is not getting it from this verse. What he's getting from this verse is, אך את שבתותי תשמרו ach es shabsosai tishmoru, keep שבת Shabbos. אך Ach, however, there are things that you set שבת Shabbos aside for. How does he know what those things are? He learns from other verses. That we'll get to later, like I said, פרשת תזריע Parshas Tazria, פיקוח נפש pikuach nefesh we get to. Then we have a problem. Why isn't the שבת Shabbos here right after the משכן Mishkan? Ah, so the רמב\"ן Ramban has to deal with what is שבת Shabbos doing here. Good point. The רמב\"ן Ramban still has to deal with the fact that he disagrees with רש\"י Rashi, then he's got to explain why is שבת Shabbos here. Good point. The רמב\"ן Ramban still has to deal with what is שבת Shabbos doing here. Good point. The רמב\"ן Ramban still has to deal with what is שבת Shabbos doing here. Good point. So he says that he's learned something different. והדרך האמת vehaderech ha'emes, ציווה בכאן בזכור ושמור tzivah b'kaan b'zachor v'shamor, כאשר רמזתי בסודו ka'asher ramasti b'sodo. וזה טעם שבתותי v'zeh ta'am shabsosai. We asked another question, which was, why the plural? Should have said שבת תשמור Shabbos tishmor. Why does it say, why in the plural? So the רמב\"ן Ramban gives an answer. It's corresponding to the two aspects, the two elements of שבת Shabbos. שמור וזכור Shamor v'zachor. זכור ושמור Zachor v'shamor. What does that mean? There are two elements of שבת Shabbos. There are the things that we don't do on שבת Shabbos. We distinguish שבת Shabbos from the rest of the week in two ways. One way we distinguish it from the rest of the week are the things that we refrain from doing. We don't use electricity, we don't, we don't do the 39 acts of creative labor. We don't go about our normal business. We rest. We are at peace with the natural world. And therefore, we set שבת Shabbos aside, we distinguish it through the things that we don't do. That's שמור shamor, that's observing שבת Shabbos. There's a second aspect of שבת Shabbos. It's not enough to not do. A person would not adequately be keeping שבת Shabbos if they sat in their leather recliner not doing מלאכה melachah. Would they technically be שומר שבת shomer Shabbos? Sure. They're not using electricity, they're not sorting or selecting, and they're not grinding, and they're not plowing, and they're not winnowing, and they're not... technically they'd be שומר שבת shomer Shabbos if you sat in a recliner doing nothing and staring into space for 25 hours. But you'd only be keeping half of שבת Shabbos. You'd only be keeping the שמור shamor. זכור Zachor is קידוש והבדלה Kiddush v'Havdalah. You set שבת Shabbos aside through the positive things that we do. You create bookends to distinguish it. We make קידוש Kiddush at the beginning of שבת Shabbos and we make הבדלה Havdalah at the end of שבת Shabbos. And זכור Zachor is also expressed in many more significant ways. זכור Zachor is the beauty of שבת Shabbos. זכור Zachor is the enrichment, the uplifting, the elevation, the beauty of שבת Shabbos. And I would say, I'll just give my editorial comment for a moment, I'll take the liberty. that our children and we collectively are having a growing apathy towards שבת Shabbos because we have done a disservice by focusing almost exclusively on the שמור shamor and way too little on the זכור zachor. We know we have a growing problem of children. I mentioned this often, of teenagers who now keep, there's a new term. I like to teach you the new terms. Like bageling. So there's a new term. You ask a kid, are you שומר שבת shomer Shabbos? Kids ask each other. They meet a kid in camp, or they meet a kid on a trip, they'll say, you keep שבת Shabbos? They say, I keep half שבת Shabbos. What is half שבת Shabbos? What does the term half שבת Shabbos mean for a teenager? It means I do everything, but I text message on שבת Shabbos. That's what half שבת half Shabbos means. Oh my God. This is a growing, growing problem, and it's not a Boca Raton problem. I was listening to a שיעור she'er from Brooklyn where the rabbi who's connected to the בית יעקב Bais Yaakov of Brooklyn was bemoaning the fact that it is a growing problem in the בית יעקב in Borough Park Bais Yaakov in Borough Park. So, the notion of kids, the notion of kids, anyone sitting here who has a teenager is not shocked. And everybody else is falling off their chair. I don't want to get too distracted by this. But there's a growing, a growing problem of children who keep שבת keep Shabbos, so to say, but they call it half שבת half Shabbos because they also text message on שבת Shabbos. Why that is, I have a whole theory, it's a whole separate subject, it's a whole separate topic, I don't want to get into. But my only point is that the רמב\"ן Ramban is pointing out, שבתותי תשמרו shabsosai tishmoru. Don't forget to keep both aspects of my שבת Shabbos. It's a beautiful רמב\"ן Ramban. If you tell your kid, you know what שבת Shabbos is about, you can't do this, and you can't do this, and you can't do the other thing, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't go to the beach, you can't go to the mall, you can't turn electricity on, you can't play your video games, you can't text message, you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't. Is your kid gonna grow up loving שבת Shabbos? No. That's all the שמור shamor. Don't only observe the שמור shamor. שבתותי shabsosai, there's plural aspect of שבת Shabbos. Don't forget the זכור zachor, the beauty, the magnificent, being uplifted, the sanctity, sit around the table, have great conversation, play a board game, exchange דברי תורה divrei Torah, sing זמירות zemiros, get on the floor and spend quality time together, figure out ways that your kid says, you know, I I do things on שבת Shabbos I never get to do with my parents or family during the week. Don't forget the זכור zachor. And that's a magnificent insight of the רמב\"ן Ramban. That's why it's שבתותי shabsosai, that's why it's plural. Because there are two aspects. There's a שמור shamor aspect and a זכור zachor aspect. ואמר בשניהם v'amar b'shnayhem, continuing in the רמב\"ן Ramban, that God says about both of these aspects, כי אות היא ki osi, that both of them are a sign and a symbol, שהיא ביני וביניכם לדעת she'hi beini u'veineichem ladaas. Both serve as the sign, the covenant between me and you to know. ואמר ושמרתם את השבת v'amar u'shmartem es haShabbos וחייב במחלליה כרת v'chayav b'mechalaleha kares, כי הרוח תשוב אל האלקים אשר נתנה ki ha'ruach tashuv el ha'Elokim asher nesana. Someone who doesn't keep Shabbos and therefore is not committed, again we're not talking about somebody who is ignorant, someone who has never educated in the ways of Shabbos, God forbid. Talking about somebody who knows Shabbos and chooses to rebel by not keeping Shabbos. מחלליה Mechalaleha, the punishment is כרת kares. Why, says the רמב\"ן Ramban? Because Shabbos, embracing Shabbos is to embrace emulating God, spend quality time with God, to further a relationship with God. To dismiss that, so God says, you dismiss me? כרת Kares, I dismiss you.What happens after we die? Our soul returns to God. Again, there's a lot to talk about Jewish Judaism in the afterlife, we're not going to spend any time now. But our soul originally came from God, He is the source. God places our soul in our body for a tiny fraction of time, seventy, eighty, ninety, a hundred and twenty years if we're lucky, which is a sliver of time in the context of eternity. And then the soul is extracted from the body and returns to God, where we get the ultimate ecstasy and joy once again. So God says, you don't want to spend time with me when you're on earth, Shabbos? Then you get כרת kares. When you die, you don't come back upstairs to me. I don't want to spend time with you.In other words, one needs to read all the punishments in the תורה Torah as not punitive in nature, but as reciprocal in nature. God's relationship with us is a mirror image of our relationship with Him. When we take initiative and show a desire to experience time with Him, to have intimacy with Him, to have closeness with Him, to welcome Him into our life, then God says, I want to welcome you into mine. When we cut God out and dismiss Him and neglect Him, then God says, I'm cutting you out. כרת Kares. So the רמב\"ן Ramban again, another brilliant comment, is כרת kares is not a punishment. It's not, you got to do what I said to do because I said so, and if you don't do it, I'm taking your cell phone away. כרת Kares. No. God is saying it's a reciprocal relationship. It's very simple. You don't want to spend time with me. It's like a parent who says, I took the day off from work. I've turned off my BlackBerry or iPhone. I've set everything aside, and I am spending the day with you. And the kid looks up at the dad and says, that's nice, but I've got no interest. I'm getting together with a buddy. I'd rather play on my Xbox. I'm going somewhere else. So the parent says, okay, you don't want to spend time with me, so I'm not setting aside time anymore. So that's that's כרת kares. ואמר ביום השלישי אך את שבתותי קודש להשם בעבור שהוא יסוד עולם v'amar ba'yom ha'shlishi ach es Shabbasosai kodesh la'Hashem ba'avur she'hu yesod olam. The seventh day is שבת שבתון Shabbos Shabbason because it is the source, it is the foundation of the world. והזכיר בשבת שהיא ברית עולם וחזר ואמר כי אות היא ביני ובין בני ישראל v'hizkir b'Shabbos she'hi bris olam v'chazar v'amar ki osi beini u'vein Bnei Yisrael. אות היא השבת ביום השביעי והטעם שהיום אות והשבת היא אות לעולם osi ha'Shabbos b'yom ha'shvii v'ha'taam she'ha'yom os v'ha'Shabbos hi os l'olam. The day is a sign and Shabbos is a covenant forever. וזה טעם שבת וינפש v'ze taam Shabbos vayinafash. So where is the, God created six days and on the seventh day שבת shavas, He stopped. וינפש Vayinafash. And we said rested, Onkelos translated וינפש vayinafash as נח nach, He rested. But וינפש vayinafash, we know the root is נפש nefesh. So what's the Torah hinting to? The רמב\"ן Ramban tells us what it's telling us. והיא נשמה יתירה הבאה מיסוד עולם אשר בידו נפש כל חי v'hi neshama yeseira ha'ba'a mi'sod olam asher b'yado nefesh kol chai. On Shabbos, we get what's called the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. On Shabbos, we have an extra נשמה neshama. It comes during the acceptance of Shabbos. It leaves us during הבדלה havdalah. We actually are sad to leave. Part of the reason that we have the process of הבדלה havdalah with the pleasant fragrance of the spice is because our we're so saddened to say goodbye to our נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira, we have to brighten our spirits. That's part of why we say הבדלה havdalah. But we get a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira. Our soul is expanded. Our soul is elevated. Our soul has this additional quality on Shabbos, if we're keeping Shabbos properly. So that's וינפש vayinafash. יום השביעי שבת Yom ha'shvii shavas. If on the seventh day you stop, says the רמב\"ן Ramban, then וינפש vayinafash, then you'll feel your soul. In other words, the whole week long, what is the רמב\"ן Ramban really saying? I'm in such trouble because I had six million things I wanted to do. But the רמב\"ן Ramban alone is one רמב\"ן Ramban was worth it. What does the רמב\"ן Ramban really say? He says, six days we are consumed with conquest. God told man, creates man and he says פרו ורבו ומלאו את הארץ וכבשה pru u'revu u'milu es ha'aretz v'kivshuha. Go and fill the world and conquer it. Conquer the world. God says, I want you to create a space program and get to the highest levels of space. I want you to create a system and go to the deepest levels of the sea. I want you to study chemistry and biology and physics. I want you to master my universe. I want you to make technological advancements, medical advancement. I want you to rule my natural world. I've given it to you, says God, וכבשה v'kivshuha. Go conquer it, go master it, go manipulate it. It's yours. And that's what we do. We spend our weekdays pursuing the mastery and the manipulation of God's natural world. And in the process of doing that, our soul gets somewhat neglected. Our soul is not being fed and nourished because we're spending that six-day week pursuing the natural world, the material world, the physical world, and conquering. God says on that seventh day, leave the natural world alone. That's what I did. I created six days and then I was cool with it. I let it go. God says on the seventh day, leave the natural world alone. Don't manipulate it, don't master it, don't be sovereign over it. Just leave it be. Be at peace with your natural world. And that's the source of all the creative labors. All 39 categories of creative labor are masteries over nature that we stop exhibiting for that time. And what's the result of it? That's the רמב\"ן Ramban's giving us the beautiful interpretation which should change the way you'll say קידוש kiddush from now on. יום השביעי שבת Yom ha'shvii shavas, on the seventh day stop. And if you can stop, stop pursuing knowledge and scholarship and mastering the world and technological advancement and getting more money and earning more and a bigger house and a nicer car and going to the workout in the gym and stop with all the physical pursuits. And what you'll discover is וינפש vayinafash, is your נפש nefesh. You will discover and rediscover and reinvigorate and you will nourish and you will expand וינפש vayinafash, your נפש nefesh, your soul. So this רמב\"ן Ramban alone, if all we did today was this רמב\"ן Ramban, it was a fantastic רמב\"ן Ramban. And the רמב\"ן Ramban here covered so many of the questions that we had. Why אך ach? What's the contrast? He says it's to tell you that Shabbos, there are exceptions when you don't keep Shabbos. And why שבתותי Shabsosai, why the plural, said the רמב\"ן Ramban? Because there are two aspects to Shabbos. Don't only keep the negative, the שמור shamor. Don't forget to keep the זכור zachor. שבתותי תשמרו Shabsosai tishmoru. Keep both aspects of my Shabbos, not only what you can't do, talk about what Shabbos is, what you must do. And then finally, if you do that, and then sorry, the next thing he told us is the punishment is כרת kares. It's not a punishment, it's not punitive, it's reciprocal. God says, you don't want to spend time with me once a week, I don't want to spend time with you in the afterworld. Best of luck to you, you're not coming back upstairs. And then finally, שבת וינפש shavas vayinafash, He gave us the טייטש taitsch, He gave us the understanding of, וינפש vayinafash is, keep Shabbos properly, you'll discover your נפש nefesh, you'll discover your נשמה neshama, you'll discover your soul. Okay, that's the רמב\"ן Ramban. But we still have all of our questions. I want to see different answers. Those were the רמב\"ן Ramban's said of answers, there are many others. Jonathan. I guess he should mention that while we were refraining from the מלאכת המשכן meleches ha'Mishkan, we had the עבודה in the משכן avodah in the Mishkan taking full place. Ah, excellent. That's a positive force that, you know, bringing קרבנות korbanos and all that other stuff is going on even though we're not doing a lot. Good, so look at the בעל הטורים Bal Haturim. The בעל הטורים Bal Haturim in פסוק י\"ג pasuk gimmel, Jonathan is pointing out, אך את שבתותי תשמרו Ach es Shabsosai tishmoru, ר' יעקב בן אשר Rav Yaakov ben Asher, the בעל הטורים Bal Haturim. אך למעט Ach mi'et. He, everyone, Rashi, the Ramban, the Bal Haturim, everyone is going to be sensitive to the word אך ach. What's it doing here? However. What do you mean however? You weren't in the middle of saying something. Imagine I walk up to you and I say, however. Say however what? We're not in the middle of a conversation. So everyone here is sensitive to אך ach. So למעט l'maet, like the רמב\"ן Ramban, פיקוח נפש pikuach nefesh. One thing that excludes Shabbos, we is an exception to Shabbos is saving a life. And a second thing that Jonathan just pointed out is קרבנות ציבור karbonos tzibbur, the communal sacrifices. We talked about last week, the קרבן תמיד karban tamid, the daily sacrifice was offered on Shabbos. Shabbos is set aside for the observance of the קרבן ציבור karban tzibbur. So you're right, the construction of the משכן Mishkan is halted for Shabbos, but the activities within the משכן Mishkan remain even on, even on Shabbos. How can you talk about the activities when they didn't build it yet? Ah, we're not up to, you're right. We're not talking about the activities yet, but knowing later that the activities are, we mention it now. Doesn't שבתותי Shabsosai include the extension for יום טוב Yom Tov as well? Oh, so every יום טוב Yom Tov too? יום טוב Yom Tov is all... Yeah, it's true as well, yes. Is this another example of how we're supposed to emulate God? In other words, we're supposed to do what He did? Oh, absolutely. All of our life, I spoke about this a couple weeks ago in shul when I talked about you know, Disney not being the real happiest place on earth, that our whole mandate for living is to be like, is to be Godlike. And the most, the greatest way we can be Godlike is by doing good. And that's why doing good gives us the greatest source of genuine happiness. And that's where I talked about people who are depressed, if somebody's down, that one of the biggest modes of therapy is to volunteer, is to give, is to do, that brings happiness. The whole רמב\"ם Rambam in הלכות פורים hilchos Purim, הלכות מגילה hilchos Megillah, that if you have a choice, you have limited funds, do you allocate them to משלוח מנות mishloach manos, do you allocate them to מתנות לאביונים matanos l'evyonim? You allocate them, you have a nicer bottle of wine, a fancier single malt scotch, more impressive שלח מנות shalach manos, or do you give more to charity? And the רמב\"ם Rambam says, what do you mean? The day is all about happiness. So if it's about happiness, give more to charity because that brings you the greatest happiness. And the רמב\"ם Rambam concluded, and why does that bring you the greatest happiness? Because you're דומה לשכינה domah l'shchina, because then you're like God. And nothing can make you happier, nothing, not happy is the wrong word, nothing can bring more satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy than being like God. So anyway, the, the רמב\"ן Ramban, what's the אות os? What's the symbol? So look at Rashi. How is Shabbos a symbol of our relationship? So Rashi says, כי אות היא ביני וביניכם ki osi beini u'veinechem, אות גדולה היא בינינו שבחרתי בכם בהנחילי לכם את יום מנוחתי למנוחה os gedola hi beineinu she'bacharti bachem b'hanchili lachem es yom menuchasi l'menucha. How is Shabbos a sign of our relationship with God? So Rashi says, you know what the symbol, what the sign is? It is evidence to everyone else that I chose you because I exclusively gave you Shabbos. I didn't give Shabbos to the rest of the world. Not only did I not give Shabbos to the rest of the world, גוי ששבת חייב מיתה goy she'shavas chayav misa. A gentile, a non-Jew who observes Shabbos, is liable to death, says the Talmud. A non-Jew is not allowed to keep Shabbos. You should know one of the hardest things for conversion candidates when they are in the process of conversion is that they may be living on the circle, they come to shul, they're keeping everything about Shabbos, they're davening, they're keeping kosher, they're doing everything, but until the day of their conversion, we force them to violate Shabbos. Turn on a light, write something down, do something that's a violation of Shabbos. They have to violate Shabbos. Why? Because it is an exclusive gift. It's an exclusive arrangement. God said I gave Shabbos to the Jewish people, I gave it to nobody else. And in fact, if somebody else tries to keep Shabbos, there's a terrible punishment. Shabbos is exclusive. So Rashi is saying that's the אות os, that's the sign. When the world sees that we keep Shabbos, they know that we alone were gifted it, we have a special intimate relationship with God that's not shared by anyone else. And that's the לדעת l'daas. The pasuk had continued, it's a sign, לדעת l'daas, to know. Know what, says Rashi? האומות הבא כי אני ה' מקדשכם ha'umos ha'ba ki ani Hashem mekadeshchem. So Rashi says לדעת l'daas, the knowledge is the non-Jews of the world will know that I, the source, I am God, and I gave you Jewish people Shabbos exclusively. That's what Rashi says is the אות os. The רשב\"ם Rashbam, Rashi's grandson, שמואל בן מאיר Shmuel ben Meir, sees the אות os, the sign is something else. Just in five, in six short words: שאתם שובתים כמותי, לפי שאתם עמי she'atem shovsim kamosi, l'fi she'atem ami. You are resting like me because you're my people. Your imitation of me will show people, will show me that it's a sign between us. In other words, for the רשב\"ם Rashbam, the emphasis seems to be, you can read the רשב\"ם Rashbam as saying the same thing as his grandfather. But I like to read the רשב\"ם Rashbam a little bit differently. I think the רשב\"ם Rashbam is saying for Rashi, the emphasis was what everyone else will see. The rest of the nations of the world see, I gave you Shabbos, they know I'm your, you're my people. אות היא Osi, it's a sign. For the רשב\"ם Rashbam, the sign is between us. When you are going to seek to imitate me and rest on that seventh day as I did, that's a big compliment. After all, imitation is the greatest form of flattery. The אות os is, it is flattering to me, says God, that you are willing and committed to imitate me. So that's the רשב\"ם Rashbam's interpretation of what's the אות os, of what is the sign, what is the symbol. The ספורנו Sforno also gives an interpretation, but the ספורנו Sforno sees it all the way at the end. I'm sorry, not the ספורנו Sforno, the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra. אברהם אבן עזרא Avraham ibn Ezra. In fact, he writes here on כי אותי בסוף אפרש מה היא האות ki osi b'sof efareish ma hi ha'os, at the end I'll tell you what I'm what my opinion is. So let's skip to the end. Go to the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra on פסוק י\"ז pasuk yud zayin. The אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra on פסוק י\"ז pasuk yud zayin, verse 17, because here the Torah again uses the term אות os. It said keep my Shabbos, it's an אות os, and then again, ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos, again he said ביני ובין בניכם beini u'vein b'neichem. Sorry, he said, ביני ובין בני ישראל אות היא לעולם beini u'vein Bnei Yisrael os hi l'olam. So here the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, a ברית bris is also an אות os. Where do we see two other things are called an אות os? מילה Mila is one. When is a ברית bris called an אות os? תפילין Tefillin? Not, no, those are wonders, but not mitzvos. Two other mitzvos are called. ברית מילה Bris Mila is called an אות os, a sign. And תפילין tefillin are called an אות os, are called a sign. אות על ידך Os al yadecha. Which is why those who are learning משנה ברורה Mishnah Berurah, we don't wear תפילין tefillin on Shabbos because we already have the ברית bris and Shabbos. You should always have two signs. We always have two witnesses to give the best testimony. The ברית bris is a permanent witness. Shabbos is a witness once a week. When those two are in combination, you don't need תפילין tefillin. Which is why we don't wear תפילין tefillin on Shabbos. יום טוב Yom Tov as well is called an אות os. פסח Pesach was called an אות os. All יום טוב Yom Tov is learned from פסח Pesach. Therefore we don't wear תפילין tefillin on יום טוב Yom Tov. חול המועד Chol Hamoed, that you have a debate. Is חול המועד Chol Hamoed more חול chol? Is it more מועד moed? So some wear תפילין tefillin on חול המועד Chol Hamoed, some don't wear תפילין tefillin on חול המועד Chol Hamoed. It's a מחלוקת machlokes of the ראשונים rishonim, it's a מחלוקת machlokes between the מחבר Mechaber and the רמ\"א Rama. Not getting into for now. So the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, let's see, there's a hint. Shabbos is called an אות os, a sign, and ברית bris is called an אות os, a sign. והגאון אמר v'haGaon amar, I don't know who the גאון Gaon is. The Vilna Gaon lived way after the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra. When the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra is quoting הגאון haGaon, I admit my ignorance to you, I don't know who he's talking about. הגאון אמר HaGaon amar, כאשר ימצא נמול בפריעה, ידעו המוצאים אותו שהוא מישראל ka'asher yimtza nimol b'priah, yeidu ha'motz'im oso she'hu mi'Yisrael. What's the purpose of a ברית bris? Throughout our history, if someone wanted to identify a Jew, they made him take off their clothing to show whether they're circumcised or not. Today, it's fashionable, non-Jews also have a ברית bris. But throughout the majority of our history, it was not fashionable to have a circumcision, it was something that was for the most part Jewish. So Jews were identified through their ברית bris. וכך הוא כאשר לא יעשה מלאכה בשבת, או לא ישא ויתן בשבת v'kach hu ka'asher lo ya'aseh melacha b'Shabbos, o lo yisa v'yiten b'Shabbos. So just as physically a Jew is distinguished by their ברית bris, by their circumcision, so too in time, when you do business, and on Friday, you know, there's certain people in the community when I call them, their voicemail says, if you're calling with a business related matter, please know I don't return calls from sundown Friday till sundown Saturday, I will return your call on Saturday night or Sunday. A few people have that message on their machine. So any non-Jew who's calling that machine understands it's an אות os, it's a sign. Just like what circumcision is to the body, it reveals that this person is Jewish. So too, Shabbos is to time, it reveals that this person is Jewish, that this person keeps Shabbos. When you keep Shabbos, you are testifying that you believe God created the world in six days, and just as He created in six days, He rested on the seventh, so too we rest on the seventh. So now Ibn Ezra is going to give his interpretation of וינפש vayinafash. What does וינפש vayinafash mean? God doesn't tire out. God did not rest on the seventh day because He was exhausted. God didn't plop into his lounge chair and say, TGIF. Right? God doesn't believe in exhaustion, he didn't pass out, thank God it's the weekend, it's Shabbos. He doesn't tire out. He chose Shabbos for the soul. And similarly, we keep Shabbos not because we've tired out, but because we're elevating our soul. That's the וינפש vayinafash. Is that Shabbos is serving the soul, not the body. Lest you think that Shabbos is there to reinvigorate, to replenish the body, it's there to replenish, to concentrate and to focus on the soul. So the Ibn Ezra's given a different interpretation on אות os. We saw the Rashi's interpretation, the Rashbam's interpretation, now the Ibn Ezra gives a third interpretation of what the אות os, the sign is, when your message on your machine says, ain't gonna work on Saturday like Big Gedaliah Goomber. So then everyone understands this person's Jewish. And when וינפש vayinafash, Ibn Ezra gave a different interpretation, different than the Ramban. The וינפש vayinafash is different than Onkelos. וינפש vayinafash means, don't think that the purpose of taking off for Shabbos is to replenish the body, the purpose is to replenish the soul. Okay, that's the Ibn Ezra. Let's keep going. מחלליה Mechalaleha, look at Rashi, פסוק י\"ד pasuk yud daled. We said that if you don't keep Shabbos, מחלליה mechalaleha. We use that term. Someone's either a שומר שבת shomer Shabbos or they are a מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos. מחלל Mechallel, we talk about means to desecrate, but it really means something different. The root of the word מחלליה mechalaleha, of מחלל mechallel is חול chol. Rashi says, הנוהג בחול וקדושתה ha'noheg b'chol v'kidushasa. Instead of making Shabbos sacred, you make it חול chol. Our purpose is להבדיל בין קודש לחול l'havdil bein kodesh l'chol. The reason we, think about Havdalah, המבדיל בין קודש לחול ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol. Shabbos is about making havdalah, it's about making differences. Shabbos is about creating distinctions. המבדיל בין קודש לחול Ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol. But if you don't keep Shabbos, what you're doing is, you're making Shabbos into חול chol, מחלליה mechalaleha. You're turning Shabbos into חול chol. You're taking an opportunity to make something sacred, and you're making it profane and mundane. And that's why the punishment is כרת kares. The job is to elevate it, to make it קודש kodesh instead of making it חול chol. Correct, it's not desecrating it. And I don't know what does desecrate mean. Yeah, it's an inaccurate translation to say desecrate. Correct. Right. Right, again, the punishment's still harsh, it's כרת kares, but that's because, again, the Jews who are not keeping Shabbos, they're not מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos. The 140,000 Jews in Boca Raton, Delray who are not Shabbos observant, are not מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos. To be very clear. Because to be מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos, you have to know what Shabbos is. You can't be מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos if you don't know what it is. Right, you're not making a choice. You're not an educated chooser if you're, don't know, you were never informed. It's, in my opinion, not in my opinion, I think it's Halakha's opinion, it's inaccurate to describe somebody who's never, somebody who's unaffiliated, who's uneducated as מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos. They're not מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos. By the way, which even applies within Halakha. Why we give an עליה aliyah to them on Shabbos, which is why we count someone in the מנין minyan. The חזון איש Chazon Ish's whole attitude was that if somebody lacked the education, the knowledge, they're not empowered to make the choice to keep Shabbos, then they're not held accountable for neglecting Shabbos. He knows. No. He doesn't have that upbringing. So what? Who gets כרת kares? Someone who gets כרת kares is somebody who violates Shabbos במזיד b'meizid. Somebody who violates Shabbos intentionally. Somebody who's not making the choice because they lack the education. So again, all this is, all this comes back to this, all this comes back to this Rashi's word מחלליה mechalaleha, that Shabbos, our job is to transform Shabbos into קודש kodesh, to make it sacred, to make it holy. Not God forbid to do the opposite, which is to bring it down, to make it חול chol. And I just want to add that you can be מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos even without violating Shabbos. Because the way you dress on Shabbos, you can make it חול chol. The kind of conversation you could have on Shabbos makes it חול chol. Our job is to make it קודש kodesh. Wear Shabbos clothing. Have clothing distinguished for Shabbos. Sing זמירות zmiros. Have conversation that is uplifting, that is appropriate for Shabbos. Activities that are appropriate for Shabbos. So you could be observing Shabbos and yet be מחלל mechalel that you're making it חול chol. You're not supposed to make it חול chol, not only again, the שמור shamor, the don'ts, but even in terms of the spirit, not to be מחלל mechalel, not to be מחלל mechalel, not to make it חול chol. Yocheved. From another perspective, Shabbos is already holy. Shabbos is holy. It's up to us to tune in the way we are onto that station. That into that holiness. And what we do from what we say, what we wear, what we think and how we behave. Right. Creates that protection as we tap into the holiness of Shabbos. Agreed. However, the pasuk says, לעשות את השבת la'asos es haShabbos. So he says, you need to keep, safeguard Shabbos, לעשות את השבת לדורותם ברית עולם la'asos es haShabbos l'dorosam bris olam. Shabbos exists every seventh day whether you acknowledge it or not. But whether it will be לדורותם ברית עולם l'dorosam bris olam. Who was the famous person who said, more than the Jews have kept Shabbos, Shabbos have kept the Jews? אחד העם Ahad Ha'am. Okay, I'll go with that. That more than the Jews have kept Shabbos, Shabbos has kept the Jews. That's the לעשות את השבת לדורותם ברית עולם la'asos es haShabbos l'dorosam bris olam. Just a few more very quick comments because we're running out of time here. The, the אור החיים Or HaChaim points out, we said מחלליה mechalaleha, which is in לשון רבים loshon rabbim. Those who violate it, in plural. And then מות יומת mos yumas is in the singular. That's, we didn't mention that question in our list of questions at the beginning. No, we said... We did? Okay, מחלליה mechalaleha is in the plural, and מות יומת mos yumas is in the singular. What's going on? מות יומת Mos yumas we said, why is it in the, why is it double? And what does it mean ושמרו v'shamru? What does it mean to keep Shabbos? Maybe we'll end with this. So look at the Ibn Ezra פסוק ט\"ז pasuk tes zayin. ושמרו V'shamru. This is a great Ibn Ezra. The Ibn Ezra says, you know you safeguard and keep Shabbos? שישמרו ימי השבוע שלא ישכחו איזה יום הוא שבת She'yishm'ru yemei ha'shavua shelo yishkechu eizeh yom hu Shabbos. ושיתקינו צרכיו ודרכיו ביום השישי כדי שישמור השבת ולא יחללנה V'she'yaskinu tzorchav v'drachav b'yom ha'shishi kedei she'yishmor ha'Shabbos v'lo yechalelena. The Ibn Ezra says, ושמרו v'shamru, to keep Shabbos means, and maybe this is why Shabbos the שמור shamor is mentioned twice. He's not saying this, but maybe ושמרתם את השבת u'shmartem es haShabbos and then later ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos. One time, שמור shamor means keep Shabbos, means don't do מלאכה melacha. But the second time is, we keep Shabbos not only on Saturday, we keep Shabbos during the week. And there's the Ramban, actually, I'll tell you a phenomenal Ramban. The Ramban on Parshas Yisro, in Perek Chaf, we're not going to look at it inside, but if you want to look at it later, the Ramban on the Aseres HaDibros when it says זכור את יום השבת לקדשו Zachor es yom haShabbos l'kadsho, the Ramban there says, quoting from the Gemara, that you can be יוצא yotzei a mitzvah d'oraisa, you can fulfill a positive commandment of making kiddush not on Shabbos. You know when that is? During the week. When on Wednesday you go to the supermarket, Kosher Marketplace, and you buy, and you say, that piece of meat looks great, I'm setting that aside for Shabbos, you have fulfilled the mitzvah of זכור את יום השבת לקדשו Zachor es yom haShabbos l'kadsho. When, the way we refer to the days of the week, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, these words are meaningless to us. What are the Jewish view, the Torah way to refer to the days of the week? יום ראשון, יום שני, יום שלישי Yom rishon, yom sheni, yom shlishi, בשבת b'Shabbos. And what are those numbers referring to? Relative to Shabbos. Our whole attitude towards the week, our whole context of the week is in itself observing Shabbos. In other words, you observe Shabbos not only on Shabbos, you observe Shabbos during the week. It's quoted in Halacha that when you do a melacha during the week, let's say your jelly beans, you love the red ones. So you're taking out all the red jelly beans, you're separating the jelly beans, something you couldn't do on Shabbos, that's a violation of sorting, of בורר boreir. If you do it מיד miyad and ביד b'yad and without a כלי keli, whatever, leaving aside the details. But sorting the jelly beans. So on a Tuesday you're sorting jelly beans because you like the red ones, and you say to yourself or out loud, you say, I'm sorting these jelly beans, I could do it today because it's not Shabbos. You have been מקיים מצוה mekayem mitzvah of זכור את יום השבת לקדשו Zachor es yom haShabbos l'kadsho. You have made kiddush on a Tuesday. So, ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת v'shamru Bnei Yisrael es haShabbos, the notion of keeping Shabbos says the Ibn Ezra is not just about on Shabbos. You keep Shabbos on Shabbos, and there's a second ושמרו v'shamru, you keep Shabbos during the week. The Sforno says a different ושמרו v'shamru, the reason why it's twice. You keep Shabbos בעולם הזה b'olam hazeh, לעשות השבת ביום שכולו שבת la'asos haShabbos b'yom she'kulo Shabbos in order to gain entry into the day that's all Shabbos, which is עולם הבא Olam Haba, which is מעין עולם הבא me'ein Olam Haba. Have a quick question. If you... there was a lot more to talk about, but...
