Throughout the entire Torah there is not a single section which begins with the convening of an assembly except for this one, which begins, "Moshe assembled the Bnai Yisrael," and continues with a discussion of the laws of Shabbat. Hashem meant to tell Moshe, "Make large assemblies [on Shabbat] and expound before them publicly on the laws of Shabbat, in order that future generations should learn from you. They too should make large gatherings on every Shabbat in their houses of Torah study in order to teach the laws of the Torah publicly, so that My great Name may be praised among My children."

(Yalkut Shimoni #408)

We are told in a Midrash that the Torah complained before Hashem, saying, "When the Bnai Yisrael enter the Land of Israel, everyone will become preoccupied with their agricultural pursuits -- what will become of *me* then?" Hashem answered her, "I have an excellent mate for you -- the Shabbat. On that day, the Jews are not busy with their work, and they will be free to occupy themselves in studying you.

(Tur Orach Chayim #290 -- see also Tanna D'vei Eliyahu Rabba, Chap. 1)

Mishna: Why should one not read from the Ketuvim [= the Hagiographa, the third section of the Scriptures] on Shabbat? Because it may lead people to absent themselves from the Beit Midrash [=house of Torah study]. Rashi: The Rabbi used to give a lesson for laymen on Shabbat, during which he would elaborate on many important halachic points. The Ketuvim are interesting and tend to draw one's attention. Reading the Ketuvim was therefore banned on Shabbat, out of the fear that one would become involved in them and forget about the Rabbi's lesson, which was more important than the study of the Ketuvim.

(Shabbat 115a.)

"How I love Your Torah; it is my speech all of the day" (Tehillim 119:97). The Pasuk does not say "it is my speech all day," but rather, "it is my speech all *the* day." *The* day is a reference to the unique day, the Shabbat. On Shabbat, David would dedicate himself completely to the joy of the study of the Torah.

(Rabbeinu Bachya, Shmot 20:8)

The Torah itself presents us with the solution to this problem. Every seventh day we are commanded not to do any manner of work. This allows us to pursue the study of Torah for an entire day, without any distractions! Shabbat is to be dedicated to the study -- and hence the preservation -- of the Torah and its Mitzvot.

(Perhaps this is the reason the Torah always precedes the command to rest from work on the Shabbat with the statement, "You may work six days of the week" -- a point the Ohr Hachayim discusses in the beginning of Parashat Vayakhel. The Torah may be telling us the *reason* that it is necessary for us to rest on Shabbat. Because "you may work six days of the week," it may be hard to find the time that we need for the study of the Torah, therefore, "on the seventh day you shall rest!"- Ed.)

In Shabbat 86b the Gemara records an argument as to whether the giving of the Torah took place on the sixth or the seventh day of the month of Sivan. However, the Gemara emphasizes, both sides agree that the day of the *week* that the Torah was given was Shabbat. What is the significance of the fact that the Torah was given on a Shabbat? Perhaps it is to intimate to us that Shabbat holds the secret for perpetuating the Torah amongst us. On the Shabbat day, when we are free from our daily, mundane responsibilities, we are given the opportunity for spiritual renewal through the study of the Torah!

In Bava Kamma 82a we are taught that Ezra the Scribe instituted a custom that the Torah be read in the synagogue on Shabbat afternoon. The reason for this institution, we are told, is because of the "Yoshvei K'ranot" (lit., "people who sit in shops"). Rashi explains that the Yoshvei K'ranot referred to here are people who sit in their stores all week long and have no opportunity to hear or study the words of the Torah. In addition to the regular reading of the Parasha during the Shabbat morning services, an extra Torah reading was instituted at the afternoon prayer, one similar to the reading of the Monday and Thursday morning services. This would allow even the very busy shopkeepers, who missed the Monday and Thursday readings in their hurry to get to work, the opportunity to hear the weekly readings. Again, Shabbat has been utilized for teaching the words of the Torah to the working masses.

We indeed find in the Midrash (Tanchuma Beshalach 20) that "the Torah could only have been given for exposition to those people who had the Manna to eat, for they had no need to engage in labor or commerce." Having a constant supply of food delivered to their doorsteps every day enabled the Bnai Yisrael to free themselves completely from the worries of supporting themselves and their families. It enabled them to devote all of their time to the mastery of the newly-given laws, and the inculcation of its values into their daily lives.

On the Yomim Tovim of the five Mo'adim [=biblical holidays], we are forbidden from engaging in work just as we are on the Shabbat. Perhaps we can apply a similar motif to the prohibition of labor on these days. Indeed, in the Yerushalmi (Shabbat 15:3 -- quoted by Bet Yosef in the beginning of Orach Chayim #288) we find the statement: "Shabbat day and Festivals were given to us for the sole purpose of engaging in Torah study."

On Chol Hamo'ed [=the intermediate days of Pesach and Succot], some types of work are permitted, but most kinds of labor and commerce are forbidden. There too, the Yerushalmi (Mo'ed Katan 1:1) tells us that "there was no reason for the prohibition of labor on Chol Hamo'ed other than to enable people to eat, drink and occupy themselves with Torah study."

Perhaps we can extend this idea to relate to the Shemittah year as well. During the Shemittah year, agricultural work -- which was the predominant occupation of the Bnai Yisrael for many centuries after their conquest of Israel -- was forbidden. This inevitably led to a large amount of free time for the farmers. The Torah (in the beginning of Parshat Behar, Vayyikra 25:1), when it details the laws of the Shemittah year, makes a point of saying that those laws were given "on Mount Sinai." Rashi (ad loc.) poses the famous question, "What does Shemitah have to do with Mount Sinai?" Perhaps we may suggest an answer to that question also, with the concept that we have developed here. The Torah was given on a Shabbat day, as explained above, in order to demonstrate that Shabbat provides the key to the Torah's preservation. So too, the Torah in Parshat Behar may be emphasizing that what was given on Sinai would be preserved throughout the ages thanks to the Mitzvah the Torah is about to describe -- the Mitzvah of Shemittah. The Shemitah year, with all of the free time that it provided, was the perfect opportunity for the working Jew to study the Torah and intensify his mastery of its wisdom and commandments!

In Iyyov 5:7 we are told that "Man was born to toil." What, then, is the point of having a day on which we are commanded *not* to toil and exert ourselves -- namely Shabbat? The answer is that Shabbat is not a day when there is no toil. The struggle to confront the challenge of Torah also qualifies as toil! The Gemara (Sanhedrin 99b) proves exegetically that the verse in Iyyov that attributes such a prominent position to toil in man's life is not referring to physical toil at all. Rather, the Pasuk refers to the "verbal," spiritual toil of learning Torah. Shabbat, then, is a day when the daily challenges of life are transferred into a different sphere -- into the non-material, spiritual domain.

With this in mind, we can understand the Gemara in Massechet Sanhedrin. In Sanhedrin 58b we are told that a non-Jew is not permitted to take a weekly day of rest for himself. (He simply takes a vacation when necessary; without a predetermined pattern.) Rashi adds that this is in order that the non-Jew should not be idle from work -- probably alluding to the verse in Iyyov that we mentioned. The obvious question is, why may a Jew be idle from *his* work, if a gentile may not? The answer to this question is, perhaps, to be found in the Gemara's next statement in Sanhedrin -- that a non-Jew is also not permitted to engage in Torah study. (NOTE: Of course he may study the laws that apply to gentiles [Sanhedrin ibid.]. Similarly, if he is planning to become a proselyte, he may learn the laws that will apply to him upon conversion [Yevamot 47b; see also Maharsha, Shabbat 31a s.v. Amar Leh].) Since a non-Jew is not permitted to study the Torah, it follows that taking a day of rest for himself would not be in keeping with the verse in Iyyov. As the verse states, man's purpose in life is to toil. The Jew uses his Shabbat day to "toil" in the study of Torah. For a non-Jew, who may not study the Torah, there can be no "day" of rest!