Sabbatical Ethics

The Shabbos Connection I

The universal custom is to recite and study Pirkei Avos on the Sabbaths between Passover and Shavuos, while others continue to recite it throughout the Sabbath of the summer. The common denominator of all the customs is that it is recited only on Shabbos.¹ The question arises, while one can certainly recite and study it any day of the week, why is the custom of reciting Pirkei Avos restricted to the Sabbath.

According to the first reason of reciting Avos as a preparation for the giving of the Torah on Shavuos, cited in the preceding essay, one can say that there is an intrinsic connection between Torah and the Sabbath. There is a dispute in the Talmud² as to which day of the month the Torah was given. However, the Talmud continues, “There is unanimous consent that the Torah was given on Shabbos.”³ And indeed, Avos begins with the statement: “Moses received the Torah from Sinai,” an event that occurred on Shabbos. (Moreover, according to the Rambam,⁴ Avos was composed specifically for rabbinic judges. Inasmuch as every Torah scholar is referred to as Shabbos,⁵ certainly the judges, the elite among the Torah scholars, are deserving of that title.⁶ By reading it on Shabbos we high- light its relevance of Avos to those people who are called Shabbos).

Having established the existence of a connection between Avos (Torah) and Shabbos, a follow-up question is in order, why was the Torah given specifically on Shabbos? There must obviously be a conceptual relationship between Torah and Shabbos.

To understand this relationship it is first necessary to appreciate what precisely was accomplished when the Torah was given at Sinai. We know that Torah was studied even before the revelation at Sinai. The Patriarchs all studied Torah,⁷ and even the Jews is Egypt had a “House of Study” that was established by Judah, Jacob’s son, before Jacob descended to Egypt.⁸ Likewise, the Patriarchs observed the commandments.⁹ Abraham, for example, was famous for his hospitality. And he is praised for his transmitting these practices to his progeny.¹⁰ What then was so revolutionary about the giving of the Torah at Sinai?

Chassidic thought answers that the difference between pre-Sinai and post-Sinai Torah is the effect it has on the world. Before Sinai, Torah inspired the person, but it did not change the world. At Sinai the barrier that G-d imposed previously that the spiritual and physical shall be separated was removed.¹¹ Hence, the entire world was given an opportunity through Torah and its commandments to make the world—in its entirety—a holy place.

This characteristic of Torah is most dramatically exemplified by Shabbos. Shabbat represents the ultimate paradox. On the one hand it is referred to as Shabbos Kodesh, the holy Sabbath.¹² The meaning of holiness is that it is apart, ultimate otherness.¹³ The Havdalah service describes the holiness of the Shabbos in terms of it being separated from the rest of the week and equates the separation between the Sabbath and the weekdays to the separation between the holy and profane, light and darkness etc.

On the other hand, it is mandated that we observe Shabbos with joy and delight. Shabbat itself has been designated as a day of delight, even in the physical sense.¹⁴ It is thus imperative that we enjoy the Shabbat by eating gourmet food – “fat meat and aged wine.” Sleeping on Shabbat is also considered a delight.¹⁵ To reconcile the two characteristics of Shabbos—its otherness and its physical delight, we must conclude that on the Sabbath even our eating and sleeping are transformed into something holy.¹⁶ And this is what the giving of the Torah at Sinai accomplished: All of what we do shall ultimately become transformed into holiness. This explains why we find such an intertwining between the theme of Torah at Sinai and the Sabbath. It therefore fitting, that the recitation of Avos—which is a preparation for the giving of the Torah at Sinai—should be on the Sabbath, the very day that exemplifies the ideal and objective of Sinai. The Shabbos Connection II According to the second reason mentioned earlier for the recitation of Pirkei Avot (to ensure that one’s preoccupation with bodily health during the summer should not lead to a state of moral decay and a spirit of rebelliousness) we can also explain why the recitation of Pirkei Avot occurs specifically on the Shabbat.

As was noted earlier, Shabbat has been designated as a day of delight, even in the physical sense. This same behavior on any other From the talks of Shabbos Parsha Shelach 5741. Based exclusively on the account of a listener.

day besides Shabbat, would be characterized by the Biblical statement “and Israel became fat” that could lead to the conclusion of the verse: “and he rebelled.”

On the Shabbat, however, the indulgence in bodily pleasure is utilized for the positive purpose of capturing the spirit of Shabbat and channeling one’s enhanced pleasure into a more spirited and enjoyable approach to Judaism. And it is precisely through the enjoyment of the Shabbos through physical pleasure that ensures that one’s physical indulgence throughout the week should not lead one astray. Shabbat then becomes the inspiration to neutralize the spirit of rebelliousness that can occur during the weekdays.

No Vows on the Shabbos

A similar concept can be found in a law that allows for the annulment of vows on the Sabbath.¹⁷ A vow is typically the means a person uses to control his natural desires to indulge. In Kabbalistic and Chassidic parlance, a vow derives from the faculty of binah (understanding) of one’s soul. Binah is the “mother” of the emotions and is intimately connected to them. The source of binah of the soul is the divine attribute of binah, which is involved in the creation of the world and is, therefore, in tune with and intimately connected to the world. Likewise, within the structure of the soul, when one’s binah is dominant, they are intimately involved with and affected by their “world” of emotions. From the vantage point of binah one can easily be influenced by the world and its pleasures, since it is this power that allows for the generation of the world— macrocosm or microcosm. Hence the need for a vow—that instills the power of binah— to gain mastery over one’s natural inclination to indulge.

Annulment of a vow, we are taught in Chassidic literature derives from the higher soulpower of chochma (the power to conceptualize); a level that is so laden with the soul’s essential force and so close to the soul proper that it is “beyond the world.” And it is therefore beyond the danger of being adversely affected by the world. When the power of chochma is elicited it allows for a healthy separation from worldly influences. Hence a person who enjoys the inspiration of chochma need not worry abut indulging because they can be involved in the world and aloof from it simultaneously.

We can now appreciate the deeper meaning of the law, “one can annul vows on the Sabbath.” The Sabbath, which is connected to the soul-attribute of chochma, is capable of neutralizing the negative effects that occurs when one is involved with physical pleasure. Even one who was in need of the vow during the week is no longer in need of it on the Sabbath. Indeed, enjoying the Sabbath is not only permissible; it becomes a Mitzvah, an outright obligation.

In this light, Shabbos is more than just a day when physical enjoyment is a positive experience; it is the day that evokes the soul’s power to channel our physical pleasure in the right direction, not only on Shabbos itself, but also throughout the entire week.

We can now better appreciate the reason for reciting Pirkei Avos on Shabbos specifically, because both the Shabbat and Pirkei Avot share the capacity to prevent the desensitization process that occurs routinely during the ordinary days of the week and particularly during the summer months when our en- gagement with the world of our body is heightened.¹⁸

From the book Introduction to Pirkei Avos (Biurim L’Pirkei Avos) by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, adapted from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and published by the Jewish Discovery Center.

Footnotes

1. [See preceding essays for sources for these customs. –Translator’s note.] ↩

2. Shabbost 86b. ↩

3. Cf. Commentary of Radal to Pirkei d’R. Eliezer 46:1. Commentary Seder Zmanim on Seder Olam 5:25 where a dissenting view is cited. However, the Talmud there, when it says, “There is unanimous consent” refers exclusively to the two opinions concerning the day of the month in which the giving of the Torah occurred. They both agree that it was given on the Sabbath. This does not preclude the existence of other views in other texts. ↩

4. Introduction of Rambam to his Commentary on the Mishnah, s.v. v’hacheilek hashishi. Obviously, Avos was written for everyone, but there is a particular emphasis in it for judges. ↩

5. Zohar III: 29a. ↩

6. One can see a connection between Avos and Shabbos reflected in the concluding sayings of Avos as well. The very last Mishnah of the last chapter (Chapter five) ends (in some versions of Pirkei Avos) with the statement: “Commensurate with the painstaking effort is the reward.” This is reminiscent of the dictum: “Whoever toils on the eve of the Sabbath will eat on the Sabbath” (Avodah Zarah 3a). The very last Mishnah of the Beraisa appended to Avos (its sixth chapter, known as Kinyan Torah) concludes with: “All that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created it solely for His glory, as it ‘All that is called by My name, indeed, it is for My glory that I have created it, formed it, and made it’; and it says: ‘The L-rd shall reign forever and ever.’” This too alludes to the Sabbath because it is the day when one is situated in the private and exclusive domain of the “One G-d.” During the week, one is situated in the public domain, literally and figuratively, whereas, on Shabbos, where all work is restricted, one must proceed inside one’s home and into a “one G-d” mindset. From the talks of Motza’ei Shabbos Parshas Beshallach, 5739. See also Midrash Shmuel ad loc. where he connects that verse to the future Messianic Age, a sample of which we experience every Shabbos. ↩

7. Yoma 28b. ↩

8. Tanchuma (Buber) and Yalkut Shimoni (cited by Rashi) on Bereishis 46:28. ↩

9. Bereishis 26:5. See Kiddushin 82a. ↩

10. Bereishis 8:19. ↩

11. Shemos Rabbah 12:3. Tanchuma Va’eira 15. ↩

12. Shemos 31:14. ↩

13. See Tanya chapter 46, Iggeres Hakodesh sec. 17. ↩

14. Yeshayahu 58:13. ↩

15. Shulchan Aruch, Admur Hazaken, Orach Chaim, #242:2. Siddur Kol Ya’akov. ↩

16. See Torah Or, beginning of parshas Chayei Sarah (15c). Discourse s.v. V’hu omed 5663. Likkutei Sichos, volume 3, p.796. ↩

17. Shabbos 157a. [A vow is an instrument the Torah provides for one who wishes to impose a prohibition of a particular behavior on oneself. Generally speaking the Torah does not approve of people adding restrictions that the Torah does not call for. However, when a person sees that his own conscious defenses against excessive indulgence is wanting, the Torah provides for the mechanism of a vow, whereby the person who makes the vow is forbidden by Torah law to violate that which one vowed not to do. The Torah also provides a mechanism to have the vows annulled. Generally it is done through three rabbis who serve as judges and determine whether the person would have made the vow had he known its consequences. The Talmud states that one may annul a vow even on the Sabbath. Chassidus however takes this law and finds a conceptual and mystical meaning to it that connects between annulment of a vow—which means that one is no longer in need of the special spiritual boost one receives from it—and the Sabbath, which likewise, provides for a natural boost to one’s ability to not be fazed by and rise above the temptations and pitfalls that exist within the physical world. – Translators note.] ↩

18. From the talk of Shabbat Parshat Naso, 5737. Based exclusively on a listener’s account, and Likkutei Sichos, volume 4, p. 1070. ↩