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related Must one "work" and "deserve" to observe Shabbat?

Why don't we have to work every non-Shabbos day?

Is there any source which explains that the phrase lo ta'aseh kol melacha points exclusively to the seventh day and therefore means that on other days we must perform some sort of melacha? (that the cessation is unique to Shabbat)

This position might say that "sheshet yamim ta'avodu" requires that the other days not be Shabbat in a way similar to the statement that "beini uvein b'ney Yisrael" demands that others not observe Shabbat.

Other questions have mentioned that there is some sort of expectation (according to some) that one be employed, but is there a source that focuses on the halachic concepts of work and cessation from work?

rosends
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  • I feel like this question assumes Hashem gave the Jewish People Shabbos as a rest from work... Although certainly a day to kick back and relax from the week's antics is nice, it's not necessarily the point of Shabbos. – ezra Feb 07 '18 at 20:42
  • There is difference between עבודה and מלאכה, and I think that difference may contribute to the understanding. The main point is that it seems that since the Torah states that you should do מלאכה on the other 6 days, I believe Ramba"m comments that this is a specific mitzvah to do so. – DanF Feb 07 '18 at 21:16
  • @ezra Depends how you define "work". If you generalize that term as "employment" - obviously, it depends what you do. Waiters and caterers "work" on Shabbat (separate issue about when and how they are paid.) There is obviously a different meaning in the term "avodah", and, perhaps, part of OP's question may need to explain why the pasuk in 10 Commandments, e.g. says both terms and what it's conveying. – DanF Feb 07 '18 at 21:26
  • @DanF do you have a citation for that Rambam? – rosends Feb 07 '18 at 22:02
  • I asked a rabbi this question and was told why it's not actually a mitzvah (which it definitely isn't -- at least not a d'oraisa). I'm trying to remember the explanation I was given. It had to do with the official rules of exegesis, and the explanation was very compelling. This site https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/six-days-shall-you-work/ would seem to disagree, but I think that site is wrong according to the mainstream Orthodox mesorah – SAH Feb 07 '18 at 22:22
  • @SAH I liked the sentiment in that article but wish that its ideas had any sort of classical grounding. – rosends Feb 07 '18 at 22:27
  • @rosends Yeah, the articles on that site are sometimes a bit lacking in that area – SAH Feb 07 '18 at 22:37
  • I don't think this is the answer the rabbi gave me, but do note that the commandment (at least in Shemos) is in the passive voice, and may not translate exactly to the common English renderings, but have a more nuanced meaning. The Mechilta of R'Ishmael explains that, since it is not in any case possible to do "all one's work" in 6 days, the posuk is telling us we are to pretend our work were indeed completed when Shabbos comes – SAH Feb 07 '18 at 22:37
  • http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/toshba/avoda/haim.htm see this link – kouty Feb 08 '18 at 01:18
  • @kouty I like that source sheet but it seems to deal with generic work, not with any obligation to do a melacha so as to distinguish a non-Shabbat from a Shabbat. – rosends Feb 08 '18 at 03:16
  • This reminds me of the old joke playing off the medrash. When Hashem asked all the nations if they wanted the Torah, some rejected when they heard you couldn't kill. Some rejected it when they heard you couldn't steal. Etc. While some rejected it after they heard 'six days you should work'. – user6591 Mar 09 '18 at 17:27

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Assume there is a commandment to work on the six days preceding Shabbat. Then you could fulfill your obligation by signing your name on Sunday, flipping a switch on Monday, blowing out a candle on Tuesday, etc. This would be trivial and pointless. So I do not believe such a commandment exists. "Six days you will labor and do all your work" is just a preamble to the commandment of Shabbat. "Do all your work" is an impossibility at any rate.

Maurice Mizrahi
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