Our Parasha begins with a command:“Moses convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that G-d has commanded you to do.”
וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה ה׳ לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃
(Shemot 35:1)
He then continues by explaining that Shabbat must be kept as a complete day of rest, refraining from any form of creative work.
Thus, the command seems to focus less on what to do, and much more on what not to do.
This becomes even clearer in last week’s Parasha. The well-known verse – with which we begin the Shabbat morning Kiddush – states:
וְשָׁמְר֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֧וֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֛ת לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם׃
(Shemot 31:16)
“Thus shall the children of Israel observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath.”
It becomes clear that we are not only supposed to cease from work on Shabbat, but also to do something positive.
What is that?
Moses Mendelssohn, the leading figure of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah), maintained a complex social life that bridged strict traditional Jewish observance with the intellectual elite of the German Enlightenment. While Mendelssohn strictly observed Shabbat, his home in Berlin’s Nikolaiviertel was a vibrant and welcoming space where intellectual figures—often non-Jewish—such as Lessing, and occasionally even Immanuel Kant, met him for Friday evening dinner. As is well known, four of Mendelssohn’s children eventually converted to Christianity. Mendelssohn refrained from violating the laws of Shabbat, yet he may have avoided “making” the Shabbat.
Families whose children witness their parents creating a Neshama (soul), a special atmosphere, are far more likely to remain connected to Shabbat—and indeed to Torah and Mitzvot.
If we invest thought and care into our family Shabbat, we create the conditions for future generations to maintain their connection. However, if we miss this essential dimension of Shabbat Kodesh and view Shabbat merely as a day of “do not do,” we lose the Neshama of Shabbat.
Needless to say, merely keeping a “happy day” without refraining from work will certainly not bring the desired result.
It is the symbiosis of the two elements—the “do” and the “do not do”—that gives us the full benefit of Shabbat Kodesh.
Warm regards and Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Chaim Michael Biberfeld