Hilkhot Shabbat Intro

(1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (2) On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased*ceased Or “rested.” on the seventh day from doing any of the work. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.

(21) So they gathered it every morning, as much as each one needed to eat; for when the sun grew hot, it would melt. (22) On the sixth day they gathered double the amount of food, two omers for each; and when all the chieftains of the community came and told Moses, (23) he said to them, “This is what יהוה meant: Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy sabbath of יהוה. Bake what you would bake and boil what you would boil; and all that is left put aside to be kept until morning.” (24) So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered; and it did not turn foul, and there were no maggots in it. (25) Then Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath of יהוה; you will not find it today on the plain. (26) Six days you shall gather it; on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” (27) Yet some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found nothing. (28) And יהוה said to Moses, “How long will you all refuse to obey My commandments and My teachings? (29) Mark that it is יהוה who, having given you the sabbath, therefore gives you two days’ food on the sixth day. Let everyone remain in place: let no one leave the vicinity on the seventh day.” (30) So the people remained inactive on the seventh day. (31) The house of Israel named it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like wafers in honey.

(8) Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. (11) For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth and sea—and all that is in them—and then rested on the seventh day; therefore יהוה blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and that your home-born slave and the stranger may be refreshed.

(12) And יהוה said to Moses: (13) Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I יהוה have consecrated you. (14) You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. One who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among kin. (15) Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. (16) The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: (17) it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [God] ceased from work and was refreshed.

(1) Moses then convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that יהוה has commanded you to do: (2) On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. (3) You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the sabbath day.

Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor; you shall cease from labor even at plowing time and harvest time.

(32) Once, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, they came upon a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. (33) Those who found him as he was gathering wood brought him before Moses, Aaron, and the community leadership. (34) He was placed in custody, for it had not been specified what should be done to him. (35) Then יהוה said to Moses, “The party in question shall be put to death: the community leadership shall pelt him with stones outside the camp.” (36) So the community leadership took him outside the camp and stoned him to death—as יהוה had commanded Moses.

(12) Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as your God יהוה has commanded you. (13) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. (15) Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and your God יהוה freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore your God יהוה has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

Observe. In the original commandments, where it's speaking about creation, a distant matter (i.e. something that occurred long ago), it said [when commanding about Shabbat] "remember," like a person who reminds another of a distant matter; and here, where it's speaking about the exodus from Egypt, which was a very recent matter, it said observe. And both these words were said as one. And Shabbat is a reminder of creation, from which Hashem rested, and of the exodus from Egypt, as a person who rests appears/feels like a free person whom no one can force to do labor. And both these matters the sages established as something to remember/mark in the sanctity of the day.

Four things were said about Shabbat – two originate from the Torah, and two originate from the words of the Sages and are explicated by the prophets. From the Torah: "Zakhor" ["Remember" Shabbat] and "Shamor" ["Observe" Shabbat]. Explicated by the prophets: kavod [displaying honor] and oneg [enjoying oneself], as it says, "and you shall call Shabbat "[a day of] delight," and the sacred [day] of the Lord, "a respected [day]."...

The halakhot of Shabbat...are like mountains suspended by a hair, as they have little written about them in the Torah, and yet the details of their halakhot are numerous.

(2) The avot melachot [major categories of work forbidden on Shabbat] are forty minus one: sowing, plowing, harvesting, binding sheaves together, threshing, winnowing, sorting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, whitening it, beating it, dyeing it, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying, untying, sewing two stitches, tearing for the purpose of sewing two stitches, hunting a deer, slaughtering it, flaying it, salting it, curing its skin, scraping it, cutting it, writing two letters, erasing for the purpose of writing two letters, building, demolishing, extinguishing [a flame], kindling [a flame], striking with a hammer, carrying from one domain to another. These are the major categories of work [forbidden on Shabbat] - forty minus one.

The Gemara relates that those same Sages who sat and discussed the issue of hides, sat again and they raised a dilemma: That which we learned in the mishna: The primary categories of labor, which are prohibited by Torah law on Shabbat, are forty-less-one; to what does this number correspond? That is to say, what is the source of this number? Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama said to them: They correspond to the labors in the Tabernacle. ...With regard to the matter itself, it was taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of the one who said that the thirty-nine labors of Shabbat correspond to the labors performed in the Tabernacle. As it was taught in a baraita: One is only liable for performing a labor to which there was a corresponding labor in the Tabernacle. They sowed in order to grow dyes for the Tabernacle, and therefore you may not sow on Shabbat. They reaped, and therefore you may not reap on Shabbat. They lifted the boards from the ground in the wilderness, which is a public domain, and placed them into the wagon, which is a private domain, and therefore you shall not carry objects in from the public domain to the private domain on Shabbat. They lowered the boards from the wagon to the ground, and therefore you shall not carry objects out from the private domain to the public domain on Shabbat. They took boards and other objects out and passed them from wagon to wagon, i.e., from one private domain to another private domain, and therefore you shall not take objects out from one private domain to another private domain on Shabbat.

With regard to the primary categories of labor prohibited on Shabbat, their subcategories are similar to them, as it is no different if one unwittingly performed labor that is a primary category, for which he is liable to bring a sin-offering, and it is no different if one unwittingly performed labor that is a subcategory, for which he is liable to bring a sin-offering. Likewise, it is no different if one intentionally performed labor that is a primary category, for which he is liable to be executed by stoning, and it is no different if one intentionally performed labor that is a subcategory, for which he is liable to be executed by stoning.

If I were to write all the laws of Shabbat it would be an incredible amount of work for me, as there are many halakhot for Shabbat; also, the thirty nine labors and their subcategories are well-known, and I don't need to write extensively on them or their measurements, as the measurements are stated only for the purpose of whether one is liable (for a sin-offering or stoning), but there's a prohibition even in the smallest amount. Therefore, I will only write what is necessary.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: Shabbat said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, all of them [the other days] have partners, but I do not have a partner.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to it: ‘The congregation of Israel is your partner.’ When Israel stood before Mount Sinai, the Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘Remember the matter that I said to Shabbat: The congregation of Israel is your partner.’ That is the meaning of the statement in the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Shabbat day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

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”?
...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.