How Do We Arrive at 39 Categories of Labor?
Moshe gathered all of the congregation of Bnei Yisrael, and said to them: These are the things that the Lord has commanded, to do them. Six days shall work be done, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of Shabbats to God; anyone who performs labor on it shall be put to death. You shall not make a fire throughout your dwellings on the Shabbat day. (Shemot 35:1-3)
Our parasha, the major portion of which deals with the construction of the Mishkan, opens with the prohibition of performing labor (“melakha”) on Shabbat. Chazal find in these opening verses the source of the connection between the prohibition of performing labor on Shabbat and the labor involved in the Mishkan. Due to this connection, the “39 categories of forbidden Shabbat labor” are derived from the different types of labor required to build the Mishkan.
How does the Gemara arrive at a total of 39 categories of labor? What is the source of this precise number? From various discussions in the Gemara, it is clear that this number is fixed and cannot be altered. The Amoraim include and exclude various activities, bring several categories together under the same name, merge similar types of labor and separate others, all in order to reach a total of 39. The most expanded form of this phenomenon is represented by Rabbi Yochanan and
The Gemara (Shabbat 49b) quotes
A different theory quoted in the Gemara is that the count actually involves the words, “Eleh ha-devarim” (“these are the things/words”): “devarim” implies two (since it is in the plural); “ha-devarim” adds something to that, i.e., it equals 3. The numerical value of the word “eleh” (“these”) is 36. Thus, 36 + 3 = 39. Still, we must wonder whether this can really be the source of the halakhic concept of “39 categories of labor”.
The thesis propounded by
The beginning of our parasha would appear to provide another – more convincing – source for the 39 categories of labor; i.e., 39 categories of labor corresponding to the 39 labors associated with the Mishkan.
Every one who is wise of heart among you shall come and do all that God has commanded: (1) the Mishkan, (2) its tent, (3) and its covering; (4) its clasps (5) and its boards, (6) its bars, (7) its pillars and (8) its sockets. (9) The
A similar count arises from a list of the activities at the beginning of Parashat Pekudei. Hence, it is clear that Chazal counted the activities listed at the beginning of the labor of the Mishkan, and deduced that the number of types of labor prohibited on Shabbat must be identical to the number of tasks associated with the Mishkan: 39 categories of forbidden labor on Shabbat, corresponding to the 39 types of labor associated with the Mishkan.
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