Tosefet Shabbat (a.k.a Tosefes Shabbos)

וְאַתָּה דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר אַךְ אֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ  כִּי אוֹת הִוא בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם לָדַעַת כִּי אֲנִי ה' מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם. (שמות לא:יג)

In this week’s parashah, Hashem speaks to Moshe in regards to keeping Shabbat. The Ben Ish Chai inquires as to the significance of four points in  pasuk regarding Shemirat SHabbat. Firstly, the wordאת  has been expounded by Chazal to connote an inclusiveness; what is it coming to include in its position in our pasuk? Secondly, the Torah says of Shabbos אות היא, “It is a sign,” but spells it in the lashon zachar “הוא” while it is actually pronounced in the lashon nekeivah “היא”. Why is the spelling different from the pronunciation? Thirdly, why does the Torah emphasize that Shabbat is an אות לדורותיכם, for future generations? Are not all mitzvot incumbent upon us to be safeguarded from their being given and then forever on? Why is this specially emphasized here by Shabbat? Fourthly, why is this mitzvah of Shabbat so special that it is connected to לדעת כי אני ה' מקדשכם, to know that Hashem is the One Who sanctifies us? Why is this stated here over any other mitzvah?

Shabbat itself was established by HaKadosh Baruch Hu during Maaseh Bereishit. Since then there have been six days followed by Shabbat Kodesh every week for thousands of years. In contrast, the Moadim are set at appointed times by the hands of Beit Din according to the halachot of Kiddush HaChodesh (prior to the modern calendar system). Once the days of the Moadim are set by Beit Din the relevant mitzvot then take effect on those days, even, as Chazal are doresh in Megillah 25a, if the Beit Din is in err as to the proper day for the Chag. What we know is that the kedushah of Shabbat takes effect on the seventh day of the week on its own- it an unstoppable holy force which is an inherent manifestation in the day. Such is not the case by all the Moadim, when the kedushat hayom is really dependant on Beit Din. However, we, Bnei Yisrael, still have what to do with the kedushah of Shabbat in our ability to have Tosefet Shabbat, adding on to Shabbat. We can take from the unsacred time of the week and infuse it with the holiness of Shabbat, binding it to Shabbat itself. During this man-sanctified time one can be say kiddush, eat the seudat Shabbat, and get sachar for Shemirat Shabbat. Even more astounding is that this din applies to all of Yisrael, whereas Kiddush HaChodesh, and as such Yom Tov as well, can only be done by a Beit Din with semichah.

The Ben Ish Chai writes, we all look forward to the Olam Habah, the יום שכולו שבת; then, all the days will be kadosh like Shabbat. However, this is all dependent on the merit of our actions. We have the power to bring that Day closer, or to chas v’shalom push it further away. We have the power within us to ultimately imbue the Kedushat Shabbat into every day in Olam HaBah, and this ability stems from this halachah of Tosefet Shabbat which Hashem gave us.

We find that Shabbat has two levels of kedushah: the first, and more essential, is that enacted by Hashem since the beginning of time. And the second is that of tosefet when we convert the weekday into Shabbat. So in explanation of the questions posed above, the level of Shabbat which comes directly from Hashem is referred to with הוא in lashon zachar, and the second level which stems from us is referred to with היא in lashon nekeivah. Symbolically, something which is “nekeivah” is influenced by that which is “zachar,” just as the tosefet draws from the inherent kedushah of the main Shabbat. Furthermore, we can now understand that the word את is coming to include the safeguarding of Tosefet Shabbat in addition to the regular Shabbat. It is for future generations,לדורותיכם , for it sign of that which is to come in future generations, in Olam HaBah. And finally, the reason that by specifically by Shabbat the Torah says לדעת כי אני ה' מקדישכם is really an indication of the nature of Tosefet Shabbat. The meaning of the pasuk is that Hashem makes us holy and gives us our ability to enact the kedushah of Shabbat on our own just like Hashem does.

With this in mind, Tosefet Shabbat is something which is completely pertinent to us today. We have the ability to add to the kedushah of Shabbat as much as we can during the week. May we be zoche to fulfill the words of this pasuk with proper intent and an appreciation for the sanctity of Shabbat.

Rav Zevin on the Machatzit HaShekel

הֶעָשִׁיר לֹא יַרְבֶּה וְהַדַּל לֹא יַמְעִיט מִמַּחֲצִית הַשָּׁקֶל וגו‘. (שמות ל:טו)

In Parashat Ki Tisa we learn of the famous “tax” which all Yisrael have a mitzvah of giving to- the Machatiz HaShekel. Throughout the world, taxing based on how much money you have, a “progressive tax,” is a major policy. Even if a rich person gives the same percentage of his money as a poor person, and even though that same percentage is much more when coming from the rich man, it is still a somewhat unequal tax since the rich one still has more left over than the poor one in the end. So, for example, rather than both the poor and rich giving 10% to taxes, the poor man gives 10% and the rich man gives 30%. This idea is not so new for we find it explicitly in Masechet Pe’ah (1:2) אין פוחתין לפאה מששים, ואף על פי שאמרו אין לפאה שיעור. הכל לפי גודל השדה.. Even though Pe’ah has no minimum amount m’deoraita, Chazal established that no less than 1/60 be given, and whatever amount is to be given is dependent on the size of your field. The Mefarshim ask, what is the need for “הכל לפי גודל השדה”? If a field is very large, then even if the owner only gives 1/60 it will be a lot more than what comes from a small field! However, the Mishnah is teaching us that we apply this “progressive tax” policy, that while 1/60 is a minimum, it is not sufficient for what would be considered a larger field; the owner of such a field would have to give a larger amount, say 1/40, to Pe’ah.

Rav Shlomo Zevin writes that there is yet another tax policy in the Torah, one which comes up in this week’s parashah by the mitzvah of Machatzit HaShekel – העשיר לא ירבה והעני לא ימעיט. Both rich and poor give the same amount, neither can give more nor less than the prescribed sum of money. Even if a rich man wants to generously donate a large sum we do not accept it so that he will not say that he has a greater share in the matter than someone else who is poor. When it comes to the Beit HaMikdash everyone is equal. Everyone gives a half-shekel to allude to the fact that every individual is a “machatzit,” only a half, a part of the whole nation.      

In Megillat Esther (3:9), Haman says to Achashverosh, אם על המלך טוב יכתב לאבדם ועשרת אלפים אלפים ככר כסף אשקול וכו', “If it pleases the king, let it be recorded that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand silver talents...” In the Gemara in Megillah 13b, Reish Lakish says that it was clearly known before HaKadosh Baruch Hu that Haman was to measure out shekalim (i.e. silver coins) over Bnei Yisrael, therefore He preceded their shekalim to his. The idea of the Machatzit HaShekel which brought all of Yisrael together as equal partners in existing gave them the strength to overcome future adversity. This is why on the first day of Adar we begin to announce the collection of the Machatzit HaShekel.

The shekalim of Yisrael are kedoshim and represent the achdut of all Yisrael, whereas the shekalim of Haman are temei’im and represent an attempt to destroy the nation. This very notion of achdut was how Bnei Yisrael were saved from Haman, as it says in Megillat Esther (4:16), לך כנוס את כל היהודים וכו', “Go, assemble all the Jews…” Gathering together was what saved them- The Gemara says of Adar 13, which commemorates when the Jews gathered together in ta’anit and tefilah, that it is זמן קהילה לכל הוא, a time of gathering. This was not just “achdut” the way we throw the term around, it was mamash in the manner of העשיר לא ירבה והדל לא ימעיט; Bnei Yisrael came together not as a group of individuals but as a single, solid unit. With the recent celebration of Purim, we commemorated our survival as a nation as well as upheld that which Rama writes to give three half-coins as a “Machatzit HaShekel” from the currency of our wherever we live, as a zecher to the original Machatzit HaShekel. Reading about it in this week’s parashah we should have in mind the fundamental nature of this mitzvah in that it seeks to unite is on a way that we realize that we are all equal and are all pieces that make up the living organism that is Am Yisrael.