MOSHE THEN CONVOKED THE WHOLE ISRAELITE COMMUNITY

AND SAID TO THEM:

THESE ARE THE THINGS

THAT THE LORD HAS COMMANDED YOU TO DO:

ON SIX DAYS WORK MAY 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.

"You shall kindle no fire" – The fire of Hell and

the fire of the Torah

Said Rabbi Abahu in the same of Rabbi El'azar: The fire of hell cannot

overcome students of the sages. This we learn by means of a kal va-chomer [an

inference from the minor to the major – K. G.] from the salamander; if the

salamander – which is a creation of fire, and when a person coats himself with

salamander blood, fire cannot hurt him -, scholars, whose bodies are entirely

fire, as is written "Behold, My word is like fire, – declares the Lord"

– certainly all the more so."

(Bavli, Haggiga 27a)

On the one hand, kindling fire

in itself is not a productive, creative, but primarily, rather a destructive

activity. But on the other hand, the ability to produce fire artificially is

just that which first gave Man his true mastery over the materials of the world.

Only by means of fire can he create his tools, can analytically and

synthetically probe into the inner nature of things. We can accordingly

understand why it is mentioned separately by itself as the classic example for

all the other major work categories.

 (Rabbi

S. R. Hirsch, Shemot 35:3)

"YOU SHALL NOT BURN FIRE" – DESTRUCTION AND

CONSTRUCTION

Shalom Bahbout

At the beginning of Parashat "Vayakhel",

which is devoted entirely to the execution of the erection of the Mishkan,

there appear three passages which preface the mitzvah of Shabbat:

"Moshe then

convoked the whole Israelite community

And said to them:

These are the

things that the lord has commanded you to do:

On six days work

may 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." (Shemot 35:1-3)

These passages raise a number of questions, regarding

both their location and their content. We shall concentrate on the last verse.

What is the significance of the placement of

the prohibition against the lighting of fire before the details of the erection

of the Mishkan?

The Talmud and the commentators supplied

different explanations. In the Tractate Shabbat (70a)

we find two opinions: Rabbi Yossi claims that "haavara l'lav

yatzat" – the specific injunction against lighting fire implies

exclusion, i.e., the lighting of fire on the Shabbat does not warrant the same

severe penalties incurred by other Shabbat violations; it is punishable neither

by death nor by karet [extermination by divine force], but is treated as

any other violation on the lav level. Rabbi Natan – who employed the

rule "anything that was included in a general statement in order to teach

something, was singled out not to teach only about itself, but to apply its

teaching to the entire generality" – argues that "haavarah l'chalek

yatzat" – i.e., to inform us that each and every incidence of work

constitutes a separate violation of the Shabbat.

Beyond the two above 'technical' answers, it

seems to me that we cannot avoid asking why the lighting of fire in particular

was 'singled out'? In what way is it exceptional? Why could not any other of

the 39 work categories have been selected to serve as an example for other

types of work?

Rashbam contends that the Torah wanted to

teach us that food preparation on Shabbat is forbidden, lest we mistakenly

assume that – as on Yom Tov – it is permitted ("no work at all shall

for you" – Shemot 12:16). In addition, one might have thought that the

lighting of fire, which is ostensibly not a constructive – but rather a

destructive – act, might be permissible, in line with the principle that "all

destructive acts are post facto exempt from punishment";

therefore the Torah deemed it necessary to explicitly forbid it.

These two preceding answers leave us

unsatisfied, because ultimately, they, too, focus on the technical aspect and

not on the essence.

The passage under discussion was the focus of

a famous controversy between the Rabbis and the Karaites. As is well

known, the Karaites objected to the Rabbinically ordained mitzvah of

lighting Shabbat candles; they based their arguments on this passage, claiming

to have understood it according to its plain meaning [p'shat]. They

understood the passage to mean that it is forbidden to leave fire burning

throughout Jewish settlements, even if the fire were lit before the Shabbat.

The explication of the Karaites, their supporters, and those who depended upon

them, explications which negated the Oral Law, presented a serious problem, as

Ibn Ezra wrote (in his short commentary): "Therefore, in [understanding]

the mitzvoth of the Torah, we are in need of accepted tradition and of

the Oral Law."

Rabbi Ovadia of Seforno, the 16^th

century Italian commentator, writes: "Inasmuch as it [the lighting of

fire] is necessary for all works, or for most of them, it is forbidden on the

Shabbat." Fire was the main instrument for the advancement of

civilization. One result of the prohibition "You shall do no work on

the Shabbat" is that man learns to refrain one day a week from control

of his external environment; on the other hand, he learns to concentrate on

attending to his inner self, and to the soul of all society.

Many have asked – and still ask – have the

Halakhic authorities who have functioned since the harness of electricity

really understood and explained the essence of electricity by identifying it

with fire? Was it impossible to permit the lighting of the electric light on

Shabbat? Was it really impossible to find an appropriate definition of the

essence of electricity, one which would allow the lighting of a bulb on

Shabbat?

Without getting involved in the question of

who was right in his definition of electricity (A

number of definitions have been offered. We cite, for example, the innovative

approach of the Chazon Ish who maintained that the closing of an electric

circuit constitutes an act of 'boneh', of building. This idea is based,

in part, on the claim that the connection of the wire to the electric current

arouses electric powers which are inherent in the wire itself; the wire

contributes its part to the current, and therefore we consider the closing of

the circuit to be the equivalent of giving form to material. In contrast to

this understanding and definition, we find those who do not consider the

closing of the circuit to be a form of boneh; the introduction of

current into the wire is not like providing form for material, but is

comparable to the adding water into a pipe already filled with water; the

current running through he wire is caused by the electrons coming from the

source 'pushing' the electrons in the wire into motion, but the wire itself

does not undergo any change because of the electric current. (For further

details, see Encyclopedia Talmudit, Vol. 18)), there is no doubt that the poskim

could have adapted their decisions regarding the lighting of electric lights on

the Shabbat to "the needs of modern man."

When they issued their ruling which forbids

putting on the light on Shabbat, they did not do so because the possibilities

offered by exegetical methods were unknown to them. They chose the path laid

down by those who decided halacha throughout the ages, the path followed by

Rambam when he found it necessary to cope with the principle of the

preexistence of the universe, an accepted assumption in Aristotle's philosophy,

a notion considered by most of Rambam's contemporary scholars to be science,

beyond question:

"Our refusal to accept the doctrine of

preexistence of the world does not derive from the Torah's statement [Bereishit

1:1] that the world was created ex nihilo, because the texts which

indicate creation ex nihilo are no more numerous than those which

indicate that God is corporeal, and the methods of explication are not hidden

from us and we are not prevented from utilizing them with reference to creation

ex nihilo; we could have explained as we did when negating corporeality,

and perhaps this would have been a lot easier… two reasons led us not to do

so and not to believe so… and the second reason is that our understanding

that God is incorporeal does not contradict in the slightest the foundations of

the Torah and does not conflict with the words of any prophet… but the doctrine

of preexistence as accepted by Aristotle, predicating that nature in no way

changes, and nothing veers from its custom, this is a basic contradiction of

Torah" (Guide Of The Perplexed, Book II, Chapter 25).

If we consider for a moment the place of

electricity in our day, there is no doubt that those who determined the halachot

of electricity fully understood how electricity would affect human life, and

what place it would hold in human civilization.(Permission

to light electric lights on Shabbat would stand in opposition to the essence of

Shabbat.) It is impossible to envision society today without considering

the role that electricity has acquired in our daily lives. Electricity is

central to our world's development; the world would live quiete differently if

Franklin, Ampere, Ohm, and Edison and their colleagues had not uncovered and

applied the principles of electricity. Electricity usurped the place and status

of fire; it has the same power to form – and to destroy – as does fire.

But as the poskim were forbidding the

creation of electricity on Shabbat, they were developing methods of permitting

its use by way of suitable devices. Just as they established the mitzvah

of lighting the Shabbat candle, so did they not refrain from utilizing

electronic apparatus in order to preserve the joy of Shabbat. The observance of

Shabbat is unique in that it contains both the negative precept of "You

shall preserve the Shabbat"

– demanding abstention from all work – and also fulfillment of the positive

precept "You shall remember

the Shabbat" – obligating man to organize before Shabbat so that he be

able to enjoy the day.

The lighting of the Shabbat candle before

Shabbat, like the use of various devices prepared before the Shabbat, comes to

emphasize that fire (like electricity) can contain within itself both positive

and negative forces. God did not deny man the possibility of exploiting it. On

the contrary. The Midrash, in contrast to the Greek Prometheus myth, has God

giving man the intellectual power to be able to create fire and to use it properly:

"We have learned: Rabbi Yossi said:

created until Motzei Shabbat, and on Motzei Shabbat, The Holy One, Blessed Be

He, gave Man wisdom of a divine sort, and he took two stones, and ground them

one against the other, and fire came forth" (Pesachim

54a).

Similarly,

electricity, like all instruments invented by man, was given him so that he

might enjoy its light on the Shabbat, and see his friend's face and maintain a

true dialogue. The rabbis who first dealt with electricity, having to decide

what is permitted and what is prohibited, elected to forbid the lighting of

electricity on Shabbat. They did so not because of an attitude of "anything

new is forbidden by the Torah", but because they delved deeply into the

significance of the discovery, and understood that the power contained in this

discovery will change man's world, putting in danger the boundaries which God

wants man to recognize, boundaries which permit him not only to be a true

partner to creation, but also to carry on a dialogue with Him by the light of

the Shabbat candles.

In these days, when change occurs at a pace

which preceding generations would not recognize, Halakhic rulings require that

same balance and that same courage which were always the hallmark of our

rabbis, as they knew how to find the way to rule on the problems of the hour.

There is always the danger that 'neo-Karaites' will want "to protect"

the Torah, forbidding that which may be permitted, permitting that which should

not be permitted.

      Without

doubt, the Jewish people, wherever they be, thirst for leaders who will find

the way to make the difficult and essential decisions in the world of Torah,

leaders who are needed mostly in the State of Israel, where Jewish life is in a

constant state of renewal, in which are needed those sages, people of vision

and equilibrium, who can unite all the powers developing midst the people.

Rabbi

Shalom Bahbout lectures in physics at the University of Rome, heads the Bet

Midrash "Naarei Yeshurun" in Yerushalayim and is Vice President of

the Conference of Italian Rabbis.

"The Calf And The Mishkan"

The Children of Israel were commanded: "They shall take for me a

heave-offering", an offering from everything required for the Mishkan

service. Further on, in the description of the execution of the command, we

read "Everyone whose heart so moves him" brought his

offering.

The midrash, paying careful attention to the text, notes that in

reference to "positive" acts – organizing for the service of God, for

the Mishkan – "Everyone whose heart so moves him"; this latter

phrase does not include the entire assembly or the entire public. On the other

hand, when the people are self-propelled to worship that which they consider to

be a god – the calf – it is said: "All the people took off their gold

rings".

Thus we see: For good – "whose heart so moves him"; for

evil – "all the people".

This is because the service of God is not the result of man's natural

urge; it demands of him a spiritual effort ("offering") in order to

overcome his nature and to accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of

Heaven; man is driven to idolatry by his own nature…

(From Comments

On The Weekly Parasha, Prof. Yeshaaya Leibowitz, z"l, pp. 63-64)

"The Rich Shall Not Pay More And The Poor Shall Not Pay Less

Than Half A Shekel"

In this equality in particular, the symbolic nature of the fixed gift of

half a shekel is expressed. As long as the rich man and the poor man give, each

all that he can, does the whole of what he can do, then, as far as God and His

Sanctuary are concerned, the pounds of the rich weigh no more than the pennies

and shillings of the poor, and the pounds and shillings of the poor are quite

equal to the pounds of the rich. The rich man can do no more, and the poor man

shall do no less, than the half of a whole shekel. God and the Sanctuary weigh,

not the actual, but the relative size of the contribution, they value what is

given and what is done in relation to the fortune and abilities of the givers.

Every one who uses the full powers of the fortune and the abilities with which

he has been graced, in the service of God, in furthering the aims of the

Sanctuary, lays thereby his half a shekel as his "symbolum" on the

altar of God.

 (Rabbi S.

R. Hirsch, Shemot 30:15, translated from the original by Isaac Levy)

In The "Sanctuary of Love" All

Are Equal Before The Holy One, Blessed Be He

Betzalel, the name given him by his mother. The Holy

One, Blessed Be He, called him by five names, revolving around the Sanctuary

of Love. R'iyah, for The Holy One, Blessed Be He, showed all of

Israel that he was planned from Creation to build the Sanctuary. Ben

Shoval, for he came to erect it. Yachat, for he lay the fear

of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, upon Israel. Achumi, for he bound

Israel to The Holy One, Blessed Be He. Lachad, because he brought

majesty and glory to the Sanctuary, which was Israel's glory.

Rabbi Ada bar Chiyya said: Lachad,

because he attached to himself the poorest of the tribes in the

construction of the Sanctuary. Which is that? "And with him Ahaliav son

of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan". Said Rabbi Chanina ben

Pazi, among the tribes none was greater than Yehuda. And there was none smaller

than the tribe of Dan, son of the maidservants, for what was written about him?

"Dan's son: Hushim."

Said The Holy One, Blessed Be

He, Let him be a pair with him, so that he be not arrogant, for great and

small are equal before The Holy One, Blessed Be He. Said Rabbi Chanina:

Never should one be arrogant about his status, for the Sanctuary was made by

these two tribes. The Bet Hamikdash was similarly constructed, Shelomo of

Yehuda and Hiram of Dan, as is written (I Kings 7:13) "the son of a widowed woman he was from the tribe of Naftali",

and in Chronicles (II Chron. 2:13) it is

written "the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan" – his

father was of the tribe of Naftali, and his mother from Dan.

 (Tanchuma, Ki Tissa 13)

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