I think I can start a potentially dangerous activity because I think I’m in control. I won’t cross the line into danger. I am disciplined. Examples abound: Driving up a narrow mountain highway. Drinking a small shot before driving. Ascending a climbing wall. Spending time with a member of the opposite sex in a secluded place. I know what the limits are. I know myself. I won’t slip.
The Talmud has a seemingly unrelated discussion that sheds light on this — if one looks below the talmudic surface. It’s easy to miss. It’s one of the things that draws me to Talmud study: its hidden teachings. I’m not talking about mysticism or midrash. I’m talking about the layers woven into the talmudic discussion.
We begin by turning to the ancient history of the Israelites in the desert. G-d commanded the people to build a Tabernacle for worship, sacrifice and community focus. G-d commanded Moses to seek beautiful materials for the Tabernacle, such as turquoise, purple and scarlet wool, precious stones and precious metals (gold, silver and copper). The people responded with enthusiasm. They carried all these items and more from their tents to the central public square, where Moses officed, so to speak. On Shabbos, Moses instructed the people to stop bringing more material.
The laws of Shabbos derive from the actions necessary for the construction of the the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary in the desert.
It was the center of holiness.
Even more holy was Shabbos.
That’s the message of the prohibitions of Shabbos. What you do to build the holiest object — the Tabernacle — do not do on Shabbos.
Build the Tabernacle: That is holy. Stop building it: That is even holier. Space can be made holy. Time, even holier.
One of the labors necessary to build the Tabernacle was to carry all these donations of wool, metals and other things from one’s private tent to the public square, where they would be sorted and prepared for construction. On Shabbos, Moses said: Stop bringing these items! Do not carry on Shabbos.
As is always the case, the Talmud wants to know the definition of carrying.
But first: consider ramifications of carrying. Commerce is impossible without it. A prohibition on carrying on Shabbos has the effect of elevating the importance of private space, cleared of the clutter of commerce, once a week. A prohibition on carrying has the effect of letting a person, a family and a community get back to themselves.
So, what is the Talmud’s definition of carrying? What happened back in the desert? One person lifted an item from his or her private domain (each family’s tent) and brought it to and deposited in a public domain (the Levite camp, where Moses gathered the material). Carrying is defined as two step activity: lifting up and putting down.
Think it through. If one person lifts an item in a private domain but someone else relieves him of it in a public domain and puts it down, neither party has done both steps. Neither has violated the Sabbath law. It takes two to carry, like it takes two to tango.
The Talmudic rabbis stepped in and decreed: Even if you do only one of the steps, it’s forbidden. It’s a precautionary measure.
It’s like a 30 mph speed limit in a place where you know it’s safe to travel 40 mph.
Think 1st Ave. going East from Downing St. to Colorado Blvd. There are no cross streets. With a 30 mph speed limit, it seems like a speed trap. But giving the city the benefit of the doubt, we would say that if the speed limit is 30 mph, people will not go 50 mph, which would be dangerous.
A precautionary measure.
The Talmud records precautionary measures, such as don’t carry even if you’re only doing half the job.
At the same time, the Talmud records a subtle difference. When the Talmud counts up the number of ways that the rabbis prohibited carrying, the Talmud only counts the person lifting the item in a private domain — step one — but not the person putting it down in the public domain — the second step.
The first step is the more serious matter. Here’s the hidden meaning in the Jewish Sabbath law. When you start something, you’re not sure how it will finish. When I lift the item, perhaps I will end up putting it down in a different domain even if I have no intention of doing so.
Don’t be sure of yourself until an activity is over. Don’t trust yourself overmuch. If you take a small shot before driving, you may end up drunk and drive dangerously. Or maybe not. But consider the possibility. Be smart.
If you climb a mountain steeper than you normally do, you are in danger of getting an ego boost or an adrenaline boost and then climbing higher than you intended to. You may fall and injure yourself, or even kill yourself.
You hear about this all the time. “Experienced climber” slips and falls and dies. Think first. Assess what you really are capable of, before you start.
The Talmud is saying: When you start out on a potentially dangerous path, be careful. You may say you won’t continue into the danger zone, but who knows?
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg may be reached at [email protected].
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