The chapter of Judaism Reclaimed which relates to Vayakhel-Pekudei focuses on the short introduction to the laws of building the Mishkan which instructs the Jews to adhere to the laws of Shabbat. Rashi notes this unexpected juxtaposition, writing that it is intended to teach that work necessary for the Mishkan's construction does not override the restrictions on work that are imposed by Shabbat. This correlation is expanded upon by Rabbi S. R. Hirsch, who suggests that they are based upon similar underlying themes. The extensive specifications for the Mishkan's building represent humanity’s mastery over the physical world. By channelling these activities into the construction of God's Mishkan, the Jewish people were dedicating their creative capabilities to God's sanctuary and the ideals it represents.
The suggestion of R' Hirsch is firmly grounded in Ramban's understanding of the reasons provided in the Ten Commandments for observing Shabbat. In the first recording of the Commandments, in Yitro, the Torah teaches that Shabbat should be observed because "God created the heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh". However, when Moshe later reviews the Commandments in Va'etchanan, no mention is made of recalling God's creation of the world. Instead the reason provided for Shabbat observance is to remember the servitude in Egypt, and the miraculous divine rescue. (A later chapter of Judaism Reclaimedaddresses discrepancies between the Ten Commandment passages in more detail).
Ramban explains that, far from being separate or contradictory reasons for Shabbat, the explanations offered in the two presentations of the Commandments represent different expressions of the same basic principle. The ten miraculous plagues inflicted on Egypt attested to God's absolute mastery and control over the natural, physical world, with His ability to manipulate the world at will serving to demonstrate that it is His creation. Ramban follows R’ Yehudah Halevi’s Kuzari in strongly emphasising the 'experiential relationship' that the Jewish people have with God. It is only as a result of the Jewish nation having witnessed God's control over nature that it can relate to Him as Creator. The account in Yitro relates the core principle of Shabbat being a tribute to God's creation. In the passage found in Va’etchanan, by contrast, Moshe is teaching the next generation to relate through the tradition received from their parents to the exhibition of God's mastery and, by extension, to His creation of the universe.
Rambam adopts a very different approach to the reasons offered for Shabbat in the two sets of Commandments, writing that Shabbat simultaneously fulfils two completely separate functions. In Yitro we are told "zachor" — to recall and distinguish Shabbat in recognition of God's creation of the world, whereas Va’etchananfocuses on the need to "remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and God took you out...". This commemoration, which contains the command of "shamor" (guard) the Shabbat, is understood by halachah to refer to desisting from productive activity just as God redeemed our ancestors.
Rambam's reluctance to follow Ramban in providing one overarching explanation for the reasons given for Shabbat in the Ten Commandments may arise from his fundamentally different approach to Judaism. While Ramban, like the Kuzari, rejects speculative theological theorising in favour of a personal experiential relationship with God, Rambam understands that humanity's ultimate achievement is an intellectual comprehension of God and His ways. God's creation of the world is a fact that should ideally be deduced and understood as an objective truth. The miraculous confirmation of God's absolute mastery over the physical world, witnessed by the generation of the Exodus, can neither provide nor replace such logical deductions. At best the confirmation can serve as a pointer to motivate and guide a person towards the correct logical conclusions. Unlike Ramban, therefore, Rambam does not explain the reasons of Shabbat in the second account of the Ten Commandments on the basis of Moshe reviewing the Exodus in order to emphasise the miraculous tradition.
Instead, Rambam understands that cessation from creative activity on Shabbat commemorates the redemption of the Jews from Egyptian servitude. The purpose of this commemoration is to recall the important truth that Jewish national identity was formed through and is thus irretrievably bound up with its unique status as God's chosen nation. This concept is expressed in the Friday night Kiddush: “A reminder of the going out from Egypt, that You chose us … from all the peoples”. And what better way is there for the Jews to demonstrate their new-found freedom and status as God's nation than by channelling their creative skills, honed in the service of their brutal Egyptian taskmasters, towards the lofty goal of creating a 'resting place' for God's shechinah in their midst? We can therefore appreciate, within both Ramban and Rambam's approaches, that a profound link can be traced between the process of building the Mishkan and the forbidden categories of creative activity on Shabbat.
First posted on Facebook 19 March 2020, here.
