Question: I live in a small community where it is sometimes a struggle to get a minyan together. When this occurs on Shabbos this is extremely upsetting. I am so concerned that I was wondering – may we ask some of the non-observant Jews who live in the neighborhood to join us to complete a minyan?
Name withheld
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Answer: In order to better understand the importance of this matter, let us first review the Biblical source of the Sabbath and its impact on the Jewish people.
The Torah (Exodus 31:16-17) states: “V’shamru B’nei Yisrael et ha’Shabbat la’asot et haShabbat l’dorotam brit olam. Beini u’vein B’nei Yisrael ot hee le’olam ki sheshet yamim asah Hashem et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz u’vayom hashevi’i shavat va’yinafash” – The Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath to make the Sabbath an eternal covenant for their generations. Between Me and the Children of Israel, it is a sign forever that in a six-day period, G-d made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He relaxed and He rested.” The singularity of the Sabbath is that it serves as a sign between G-d and the Jewish people of our uniqueness before G-d.
We do find the concept of a sign in relation to other mitzvot and situations in the Torah, such as when Noah is instructed to leave the ark. The verse states (Genesis 9:12-13), “Vayomer Elokim zot ot habrit asher ani notein beini u[b]eineichem u[b]ein kol nefesh chaya asher it’chem ledorot olam” – G-d said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between Me and you, and every living being that is with you, for perpetual generations.’ The next verse continues, “Et kashti natati be’anan ve’hayta le’ot brit beini u[b]ein ha’aretz” – I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
We also find a sign mentioned in G-d’s command to Abraham in Parashat Lech Lecha (Genesis 17:11) concerning the circumcision: “U’nemaltem et besar orlat’chem ve’haya le’ot brit beini u[b]eineichem” – You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and that shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Finally, we find the verse in Parashat Va’et’chanan (Deuteronomy 6:8) regarding the mitzvah of tefillin, the phylacteries we bind on our arm and put on our head: “U’keshartam le’ot al yadecha vehayu letotafot bein eineicha” – You shall bind them as a sign upon your arm and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
The above references are different from the verses regarding the Sabbath, to which the Torah explicitly refers as a sign between G-d and the Jewish people. The Gemara (Shabbos 10b) cites a baraita based on a verse in Parashat Ki Tisa (Shemot 31:13): “Ve’ata dabber el Bnei Yisrael lemor, ach et Shabtotai tishmoru ki ot hee beini u[b]eineichem ledoroteichem lada’at ki ani Hashem mekaddish’chem” – And you, speak to the Children of Israel saying, ‘Just observe My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I am G-d who sanctifies you.’ The Gemara continues: “Hashem said to Moses, ‘I possess a valued matana [present] that is stored in My treasury, and Shabbat is its name, and I wish to give it to Israel; go and tell them…’”
This precious present is also unique in that its observance bears testimony to ma’aseh bereishit, the Creation, as the Torah states in Parashat Bereishit (Genesis 2:1-3): “Va’yechulu hashamayim veha’aretz vechol tzeva’am. Va’yechal Elokim bayom hashevi’i melachto asher asa vayishbot bayom hashevi’i mikol melachto asher asa. Va’yevarech Elokim et yom hashevi’i va’yekaddesh oto ki [b]o shavat mikol melachto asher bara Elokim la’asot” – Thus the heaven and the earth were completed, and all their array. G-d completed on the seventh day His work which He had done, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. G-d blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because on it He abstained from all His work which G-d created to do.
This might partially explain the mesirut nefesh, the self-sacrifice, that some have exhibited in regard to this unique mitzvah throughout the generations. Stories abound of Jews who immigrated to America at the turn of the 20th century, not only seeking to better their lives financially but in most instances to escape the rabid antisemitism that pervaded Eastern Europe. Common to many were the challenges they faced regarding Sabbath observance. Not only was the general population unsympathetic to the plight of the Sabbath observer, but so were employers who themselves were Jews, albeit from an earlier wave of immigration and unfortunately in many cases assimilated. Thus, a Jew who wished to practice his religion was given a hard choice: “Observe the Sabbath or put bread on your table.” Unfortunately, there were many who did not withstand the challenge.
Today, we are fortunate that many states and localities have passed laws to protect the Sabbath observer. These laws prevent employers from discriminating against current or prospective employees who wish to leave only a little early on Friday in preparation for the Sabbath and make up the time on other days of the week. But even as recently as the 1960s and 70s, no such protection existed at all, let alone at the turn of the 20th century, when Jewish immigration to the United States exploded.
My own grandfather, Reb Simcha Kirschner, z”l, a scholarly Jew, was one of those people faced with that challenge. It goes without saying that he made his choice, and the Sabbath reigned supreme in his home. Thus it was many a Sunday that found him in search of a job. Indeed, for many years there was no milk in the house and fruit was very scant and looked upon as a delicacy.
There are two stories that stand out in particular among the many that I remember my mother, a”h, telling me regarding her parents. My grandfather wanted the younger children to have some fresh air, so often on a Sunday he would take them to Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. As a special treat he would bring along a single apple and cut it equally into four parts for his children (my mother being the youngest). Indeed, my mother (Hinda Klass nee Kirschner, a”h) suffered from anemia her entire life due to her early childhood diet.
Another story was about my Aunt Tzivia, who had a very close friend Sura. My aunt would go to Sura’s house very often and at times would be there at dinnertime. She would come back home and regale the family with all the details of the wonderful food served at Sura’s house. Her father was able to provide a lavish table as he worked on the Sabbath. My mother related that at least one time, when her sister came home with her dinner food tale, my grandmother asked her, “un zei hut dir eppes gegeben” – and did they give you anything? It was obvious that my grandmother wished not only to expose a lack of generosity in that home, but to protect her own family’s Sabbath observance.
These two stories are not unique to my grandparents’ household. It was one that was repeated many times over as Jews sought to follow the path of their parents and all the generations before them in a strange new land. In fact, due to this stark choice with which they were confronted, this land was referred to dually as the “Goldeneh Medina” – the golden land – and the “Treifene Medina” – the unholy [unkosher] land.
It therefore became de rigueur for Jews to style themselves with the appellation “Shomer Shabbat.” Note the term by which they referred to themselves and which would appear on most retail food signage was one that that proclaimed Sabbath observance as opposed to the designation “Shomer Torah u’Mitzvot.” Why not use the latter term in identifying a Jew and his or her religious observance? The answer is simple: Though the observance of the Sabbath is just one aspect of Judaism, it is one that clearly identifies the Jew and is an unmistakable indicator of his or her level of commitment.
(To be continued)
