Base Midrash: Community Cares – Shabbat, Rest, and Care
Tips for text study:
-Read each text out loud.
-Before you start asking questions, make sure you understand the basics of what you read. Try to summarize it in your own words.
-What stands out to you from the text? Surprises you? Challenges you? What associations does it spark?
-The questions after each source are offerings – engage with them if they are generative, skip them if not!
-Don’t hesitate to ask for support! R’ Frankie and Elaina are here to help
Opening Questions:
- What is the balance of rest and work in your life? Where and when are you able to rest? What feels restful to you?
- In your life, what purpose does rest serve? What is the relationship between work and rest?
Bereishit Rabbah 10:9 (Palestine, 5th century)
רַבִּי שָׁ אֲלֵיהּ לְרַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי, אֲמַר לֵיהּ שָׁמַעְתָּ מֵאָבִיךָ מַהוּ וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, אֶתְמְהָא.
אֶלָּא כָּזֶה שֶׁהוּא מַכֶּה בְּקוּרְנָס עַל גַּבֵּי הַסַּדָּן, הִגְבִּיהָהּ מִבְּעוֹד יוֹם וְהוֹרִ ידָהּ מִשֶּׁתֶּחְשַׁךְ
גניבה ורַבָּנָ , גניבה אמר מָשׁל לְמלְך שֶׁ עָשָׂ ה לוֹ חֻפָּה, וְצִיְּירָ הּ וכּיּרהּ וּמָה הָיְתָה חֲסֵרָה, כַּלָּה שֶׁתִּכָּנ לְת וֹכהּ. כָּךְ ֶ מה הָיָה הָעוֹלָם חָסֵר, שַׁבֶּת
ַ בָּנָן אָמְ רֵ י מָ שָׁ ל לְמֶ לֶךְ שֶׁ עָשׂוּ לוֹ טַבַּעַת, מֶ ה הָיְתָ ה חֲסֵרָ ה, חוֹתָ ם. כָּךְ מֶ ה הָיָה הָעוֹלָם חָסֵר, שַׁ בָּת…
וּמַה נִּבְרָא בוֹ לְאַחַר שֶׁשָּׁבַת, שַׁאנ וְנַחַת, שַׁלְוָה, וְהשׁקת
רַבִּי לֵוִי בְּשֵׁ ם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן רַבִּי נְהוֹרָאי, ָל זְמַ ן שֶׁ הָיוּ יְדֵ י קוֹנֵיהֶם מְ מַ שְׁ מְ שִׁ ין בָּהֶם הָיוּ מוֹתְ חִים וְהוֹלְכִין, כֵּיוָן שֶׁ נָּחוּ ידֵי קוֹנֵיהֶם מֵ הֶן, נִתַּ ן לָהֶם נִחָה, )שמות וַיָּנַח לְעוֹלָמוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁ בִיע
Rabbi asked Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei, saying to him: ‘Did you hear from your father what is meant by: “God completed [vayechal] on the seventh day”? This is bewildering!’
The explanation is that it is like someone who was banging with a hammer onto an anvil. He raised it while it was still day and lowered it after nightfall. …
Geniva and the Rabbis, Geniva said: This is analogous to a king who made himself a wedding canopy, painted it and embossed it. What was it lacking? A bride [kalla] to enter it. So, too, what was the world lacking? Shabbat.
The Rabbis say: This is analogous to a king for whom they crafted a signet ring. What was lacking? The seal. So, too, what was the world lacking? Shabbat.
…What was created on it [Shabbat] after God rested
[from creating the world]? Tranquility, satisfaction, calm, and quiet.
Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Nehorai: As long as the hands of their Maker were touching them, they [the creations] would continuously expand. When the hands of their Maker let go of them, they were granted rest: “God rested [Vayanaḥ] [on the seventh day]” (Exodus 20:11) – God let go of God’s world on the seventh day.
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 335, 15th c. Spain, with a gloss from 16th c. Poland
סעיף א: מצוה לבקר חולים. הקרובים
והחברים נכנסים מיד; והרחוקים, אחר ג’
ימים. ואם קפץ עליו החולי, אלו ואלו נכנסים
מיד
סעיף ג: המבקר את החולה לא ישב ע”ג
מטה ולא ע”ג כסא ולא ע”ג ספסל, אלא
מתעטף ויושב לפניו, שהשכינה למעלה
מראשותיו. הגה: ודוקא כשהחולה שוכב על
הארץ, דהיושב גבוה ממנו, אבל כששוכב על
המטה מותר לישב על כסא וספסל
סעיף ד: אין מבקרין החולה בג’ שעות
ראשונות של יום, מפני שכל חולה מיקל
עליו חליו בבקר, ולא יחוש לבקש עליו
רחמים. ולא בג’ שעות אחרונות של יום, שאז
מכביד עליו חליו ויתייאש מלבקש עליו
רחמים. וכל שביקר ולא ביקש עליו רחמים,
לא קיים המצוה
סעיף ה: כשמבקש עליו רחמים, אם מבקש
לפניו, יכול לבקש בכל לשון שירצה. ואם
מבקש שלא בפניו, לא יבקש אלא בלשון
הקדש
סעיף ו: יכלול אותו בתוך חולי ישראל
שיאמר: המקום ירחם עליך בתוך חולי
ישראל. ובשבת אומר: שבת היא מלזעוק, ה
ורפואה קרובה לב
סעיף ח: אין מבקרין לא לחולי מעים ולא
לחולי העין ז ולא לחולי הראש. וכן כל חולי
דתקיף ליה עלמא וקשה ליה דיבורא אין
מבקרין אותו בפניו, אלא נכנסין בבית
החיצון ושואלין ודורשין בו אם צריכין לכבד
ולרבץ לפניו, וכיוצא בו, ושומעין צערו
ומבקשים עליו רחמים.
(1)It is a religious obligation to visit the sick. Relatives and close friends may visit immediately and others after three days. But if he (the sick) is gravely ill, all may visit immediately.
(3) The visitor should not sit on the bed, nor on a chair nor on a bench but rather wrap himself and sit before him because the Divine Presence rests above his head. Isserles: Especially if the sick person is lying on the ground because the one sitting would be higher then him but if he is laying on a bed it is permitted to sit on a chair or bench….
(4) We do not visit a sick person during the first three hours of the day because the illness is less pronounced in the morning and one might be tempted not to pray for him; nor during the last three hours of the day because the illness is more severe than and one might despair of praying for Mercy. And anyone who visits the sick and doesn’t pray for him has not fulfilled the mitzvah.
(5) When one prays for mercy for the patient, if one is doing so in the patient’s presence, one may pray in any language he desires, but if this is not in the patient’s presence, one must only pray in Hebrew.
(6) [When one prays for the sick person] one should include in the prayer a request on behalf of all of the ill among the Jewish people, saying, “May the One have mercy upon you among the people of Israel,” and on Shabbat, one should say, “It is Shabbat and we don’t cry out on Shabbat, but healing is near at hand.”…
(8) We don’t visit patients with intestinal maladies, nor eye disorders, nor head disorders, nor those who have difficulty speaking. We don’t visit in these patients’ presence, rather, we enter the vestibule of their house and ask after their welfare, inquiring whether they need anything in particular, and we listen to learn about their suffering, and we pray for the patient.
Questions:
- In this text, what is the purpose of shabbat? What is the purpose of labor? Why do we abstain from labor on shabbat?
- According to each rabbi quoted, who is Shabbat for? Who is benefiting from it?
- According to each rabbi quoted, what direction do holiness and rest flow? Who is resting? Who is bestowing/enacting holiness?
Torat Moshe (R’ Moses Alshekh) on Torah, Genesis 2:1:4 (Constantinople, 16h century)
זה נבא אל הענין. והוא כי הלא ידוע כי
מקדושת שבת. נשפע שפע קדושה לעולם. ועד ממהר נפש יתרה לאדם. והנה כאשר ברא
אלהים את הארץ. למה שהיתה חומרית כגוף בלי נשמה. היתה מעותדת להיות הולכת
ונפסדת ולא תנוח בקיומה. ומי הקנה בה נפש ושפע להתקיים הוא השבת. כי בו הושפע בה
שפע להתקיים ולנוח מלהיותה הולכת ונפסדת. וזה יאמר העולם חסר מנוחה. בא שבת
והשפיע שפע קדושה בכל מה שנברא והיה השפע ההוא לעולם. כנפש בגוף האדם. וז”א שבת וינפש כי שבת והקנה נפש לעולם לקיומו. וזהו בא שבת באת מנוחה. כי בלעדי זה לא
היתה מנוחה והעמדה לעולם. וז”א וינח ביום השביעי ולא אמר ונח. כי הוא יוצא לשני כי
הקנה מנוחה לעולם. וזה יאמר ויכל כו’. והוא כי אין ספק שלא יצדק לשון עשייה בעצם רק בדבר גשמי. משא”כ בדבר רוחני:
It is known that it is from the holiness of Shabbat that the flow of holiness emanated to the world, and created an additional soul in a person. When God created the earth, in that it was material as a body without a soul, it is was destined to decay and not continue in its existence. That which gave it a soul and holiness in order to continue to exist was the Shabbat, for from the Shabbat the world was infused with holiness in order to continue its existence and not decay. This implies that the world was lacking rest. Shabbat came and infused holiness in everything that was created, and that holiness was to the world as a soul in a body. This is what the Torah says “God ceased (shabat) and caught God’s breath (vayinafash)” for God ceased (i.e. made Shabbat) and gave the world a soul / nefesh to sustain it. This is what is said “Sabbath came, rest came.” For without this there would not have been rest and sustainability for the world.
Questions:
- In this text, what is the purpose of Shabbat? What is the purpose of labor? Why do we abstain from labor on Shabbat?
- In this framework, who is Shabbat for? Who is benefiting from it?
- In this framework, what direction do holiness and rest flow? Who is resting? Who is bestowing/enacting holiness?
Sefat Emet (R’ Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter), Exodus, Ki Tisa 1:2 & 8:2 (Poland, 19th century).
Rashi [11th c. commentator] interprets “אך (ah – only) Keep my Shabbos” (Shemot 31:13) to mean that the work of building the Mishkan [the moveable Temple carried through the wilderness] is not performed on Shabbos… The meaning of Shabbos is to remain connected to the Source of Life from which the six days are blessed. The work of building the Mishkan, meant to uncover Hashem’s presence, also connects to this Source. The 39 types of labor used in building the Mishkan are the ones forbidden on Shabbos* because Shabbos reveals the Innermost, making further work unnecessary… Hashem’s hidden treasure of Shabbos teaches that everything contains Hashem’s light, revealed through Shabbos. Guarding Shabbos allows one to find this light even during the week. “To do the Shabbos” means finding Shabbos in one’s actions through longing for it during the week. “Remembering Shabbos” involves setting aside something special for Hashem, testifying that all actions are for God. This is the meaning of “that you shall know that I am Hashem who sanctifies you:” The inner life force in the people of Israel’s actions becomes known through Shabbos, highlighting Hashem’s holiness, even in the mundane world.
—Rashi writes: “‘Shabbat Shabbaton’ (Exodus 31:15)—A restful rest, not temporary.” This means that the rest should not be holding back from doing work for the time being but forgetting the whole concept of work.
Questions:
- In this text, what is the purpose of shabbat? What is the purpose of labor? Why do we abstain from labor on shabbat?
- In this framework, who is Shabbat for? Who is benefiting from it?
- In this framework, what direction do holiness and rest fl ow? Who is resting? Who is bestowing/enacting holiness?
R’ Aviva Richman on the Sfat Emet (US, Contemporary)
The Sefat Emet suggests that, in our spiritual lives we regularly toggle between the modes of incremental growth during the week, and an asymptotic discontinuity towards the infi nite on Shabbat. We must have a dynamic spiritual practice. Yes, most of our time we are in the mode of incremental progress towards an unreachable goal. But we have to interrupt that mindset and realize that, if we are true to who we are, we can already recognize the person we want to become and taste the world we are trying to build. The radically disruptive leap of Shabbat renews our vision each week in two ways. Shabbat can reaffi rm what we already think we are ultimately striving for, but it can also unsettle our regular spiritual trek, allowing us to adapt our vision of what we need to work towards….
…For most of the week, and most of our lives, we devote ourselves to the hard work of slowly getting closer to what we most hope for and long for, in terms of who we can become, the relationships we have, and what our world can be. We are always aware of the work that remains to be done. It can often feel like an infinite gap between where we are and where we want to be. We take a break from this work on Shabbat, not just because we are tired and need time off, but to bring a sense of our true selves into clear focus, and to know that what feels like the unattainable vision towards which we strive can actually be real.
Questions:
- How does R’ Aviva interpret what the Sefat Emet says is the purpose of shabbat? The purpose of labor? The purpose of abstaining from labor on shabbat?
- In this framework, who is Shabbat for? Who is benefiting from it? In this framework, what direction do holiness and rest fl ow? Who is resting? Who is bestowing/enacting holiness?
- Did R’ Aviva interpret the Sefat Emet in the same way you did? What other interpretations might there be?
Tricia Hersey, The Nap Ministry (US, Contemporary)
You are worthy of rest. We don’t have to earn rest. Rest is not a luxury, a privilege, or a bonus we must wait for once we are burned out…Our bodies and Spirits do not belong to capitalism, no matter how it is theorized and presented. Our divinity secures this, and it is our right to claim this boldly. I’m not grinding ever. I trust the Creator and my Ancestors to always make space for my gifts and talents without needing to work myself into exhaustion.
When we can begin to tap into the deep vessel of who we truly are, so many things would end about oppression. I believe the powers that be don’t want us rested because they know that if we rest enough, we are going to fi gure out what is really happening and overturn the entire system. Exhaustion keeps us numb, keeps us zombie-like, and keeps us on their clock. Overworking and the trauma of burnout continues to degrade our divinity. Once we know and remember we are divine, we will not participate and allow anything into our hearts and minds that is not loving and caring. We would treat ourselves and each other like the tender and powerful beings we are. When I say sleep helps you wake up–it helps you wake up to the truth of who and what you are. And the system doesn’t want that. It would crumple under the weight of this power…
…We are made new when we enter the portal of naps. I want you to fi rmly plant yourself inside your imagination. Take refuge in the beauty and power of community care and our daydreaming. We can build, rest, and usher in a new way that centers liberation and care, no matter what the systems continue to do. Rest is a portal. Silence is a pillow. Sabbath our lifeline. Pausing our compass. Go get your healing. Be disruptive. Push back. Slow down.
Questions:
- How does The Nap Ministry’s depiction of rest differ from the ones above? How is it similar?
- In this framework, who is rest for? Who is benefiting from it?
- In this framework, what direction do holiness and rest fl ow? Who is resting? Who is bestowing/enacting holiness?