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Roman emperors liked to build – stuff. They enjoyed creating numerous public works, perhaps the best example of which is the Colosseum in Rome. In fact, the Talmud itself takes note of the many impressive structures built by the Romans, though it claims that these were done for self-glorification. The Talmud is right on both counts.
Jews also liked to build – in our case, the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple in Jerusalem. Yet this week’s portion, Vayakhel, which begins with the commandment to observe Shabbat, reminds us of a great Jewish lesson. Even the construction of the Tabernacle does not suspend the need to observe Shabbat. In fact, the 39 primary categories of prohibited Shabbat labor are derived precisely from the types of work needed to build the Tabernacle. If you’re wondering why the list of things is so large, be aware that these thirty-nine large “categories” have numerous “sub-categories”, meaning there are literally hundreds of activities which can’t be performed on Shabbat.
The suspension of Tabernacle work for Shabbat symbolized the Jewish preference for sanctified time over sanctified space. For those seeking a beautiful English exposition, look no further than Abraham Joshua Heschel’s The Sabbath, perhaps the finest English-language Jewish book of the twentieth century. We can pray together in spaces that are small and plain, if necessary, but once we eliminate the observance of Shabbat, the remainder of our faith suffers.
What did the Romans think of the preference for sanctified time? To answer this question, the Talmudic sages imagined themselves in dialogue with Roman emperors. I regard these stories as didactic rather than historic. That is, when rabbis “talk” to emperors, they want to teach us a lesson. With that in mind, let’s take a look at this “conversation” between Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya (died c. 130 CE) and the Roman emperor, recorded in the Talmud (Shabbat 119a)
The Roman emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya: Why does the fragrance of a cooked Shabbat dish waft through the air? He said to him: We have a certain spice called "Shevet"[a name for dill, but spelled like "Shabbat"], which we place in the cooked dishes and its fragrance diffuses. The emperor said to him: Give us some of it. He said to him: For anyone who observes Shabbat, the spice is effective, and for one who does not observe Shabbat, it is not effective.
Rabbi Yehoshua’s point is that everything we do on Shabbat needs to be special, from the food we eat to the clothing we wear. Can food really taste better on Shabbat? I’m not sure, but ask me after Yom Kippur.
- Rabbi Scott Hoffman
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