The Desert Wanderer
Ki Tisa 5748 - Follow the way of the world to find your way
Matanot K’tanot - Rami Kleinstein
Parashat Ki Tisa is filled with beautiful imagery (artists being imbued with “heart-wisdom” to decorate the mishkan), terrible events (golden calf), and so much more, but today I wanted to focus on a fascinating little teaching from the Vilna Gaon about Shabbat.
This week we read the famous words of the prayer v’shamru:
וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם בְּרִית עוֹלָם׃ בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִוא לְעֹלָם כִּי־שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה ה׳ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ׃
The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: It shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days God made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [God] ceased from work and was refreshed. (Ex. 31:15-16)
The Vilna Gaon says on these verses, “Notice that the olam in the previous verse has a vav in it and the olam in this verse does not have a vav.” A fascinating observation! Why would the Torah spell the same word slightly differently in back to back verses? There must be something the Torah is trying to tell us about olam, the world.
So he brings us to an argument in the Talmud:
And we learn in the Talmud (BT Shabbat 69), “Rav Huna said, if one was walking and got lost in the desert and didn’t know when Shabbat was, they count six days from there and then observe for a day. Chiyah bar Rav said, you observe for a day and then count six days.”
First off, isn’t it amazing that the rabbis aren’t worried about where this person is going to find food or how they are going to get out of the desert, but rather how they are going to make sure they observe Shabbat - they really have their priorities straight!
At first glance, which answer do you like better? Should you observe as soon as you remember that you’ve forgotten when Shabbat is, or should you count six days and then observe?
The Talmud continues, “What is the basis for their reasoning? One reckoned by way of the creation of the world and one reckoned based on the creation of the first human being.” One follows God’s example (God created the world in six days and then rested) and one follows a human being (Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day, and they observed Shabbat the following day!).
Even if you’re lost in the desert and at your wits end, so much so that you lose track of time, as soon as you notice and bring yourself back together, you still deserve six days to prepare for Shabbat. You still need time to get where you want to be.
How do we decide? The Talmud concludes, “…Most of the rabbis who came after ruled like Rav Huna. Why? When you are lost and can’t even figure out what day it is and you’re out in the desert, behave as if you’re starting anew like the creation of the world, as it says, “For in six days God made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [God] ceased from work and was refreshed.”
All from this one misspelled word olam, “world,” we learn to follow the way of the creation of the world. Even if you’re lost in the desert and at your wits end, so much so that you lose track of time, as soon as you notice and bring yourself back together, you still deserve six days to prepare for Shabbat. You still need time to get where you want to be. Shabbat is a gift, and we should give ourselves the opportunity to receive it as such.
May you find your way this Shabbat, wherever you happen to be. And if you’re in Los Angeles, come join me at Adat Ari-El this weekend!
Shabbat Shalom,
Josh