Yirmiyahu 17 | “Do Not Carry a Burden on the Sabbath Day”

In the prophetic books, rebukes regarding specific commandments are rare. We frequently encounter rebukes against idolatry and scarifying in high places, as well as against social corruption. However, there is little emphasis on commandments, such as the prohibition of mixing meat and dairy or the obligation of tefillin. An exception to this pattern is the commandment of Shabbat, which appears in our prophecy as well as in Yeshayahu’s prophecy (Yeshayahu 58:13).

Rav Cherlow explains on various occasions that the books of prophecy (as well as the entire book of Devarim) focus on the Ten Commandments and their expansions. This is not necessarily because these mitzvot are deemed more important, but because they precede others in the logical order and form the foundation of the covenant that God made with us. First, a society must be built upon the fundamental principles of faith in God (“I am the Lord”-אנכי), devotion to Him alone (“Have no other”-לא יהיה), proper reverence (“Do not speak the name”-לא תשא), sanctity of time (Shabbat), and respect for authority (“Honor your father and mother”-כיבוד הורים), among others. Only after establishing this covenant can one advance to offerings, purity, and the full scope of commandments. Whether we view it through the reasoning given in Parashat Yitro — "For in six days the Lord made heavens and earth" (Shemot 20:11) — or through the rationale in Parashat Vaetchanan — "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there" (Devarim 5:14–15) — Shabbat stands as a covenantal sign between us and God.

It is important to note that this prophecy emphasizes a particular aspect of Shabbat. It does not elaborate on the various prohibited labors of Shabbat, but focuses specifically on the labor of carrying an object from domain to domain: "Do not bring out a burden from your houses on the Sabbath day, preform no work" (Yirmiyahu 17:22). In Tractate Shabbat, the early commentators refer to the labor of carrying as a "inferior labor" (Tosafot, Shabbat 2b), as it does not create anything — rather, it merely moves an object from one place to another without altering it.

One way to understand why carrying is classified as a labor is not by examining what it creates, but rather what it enables: One can bake bread by plowing, sowing, harvesting, threshing, selecting, grinding etc. — or one can simply purchase it for seven shekels at the grocery store. The labor of carrying is the engine of the economic system; it allows people in society to engage in all other labors and to bring their private labors into the public sphere. When Yirmiyahu stands at the city gates and calls for people not to carry burdens on Shabbat, he is demanding that the marketplace be closed — that Shabbat should take on the character of a cessation of labor. A similar struggle appears in Nechemiah: "In those days, I saw in Yehuda people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain, loading them onto donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day… So I quarreled with the nobles of Yehuda and said to them: ‘What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?’" (Nechemiah 13:15-17). The emphasis on the nature of Shabbat is also present in Yeshayahu’s prophecy: "If you restrain your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your affairs on My holy day, and you call Shabbat a delight, the Lord’s holy day honorable, and you honor it by not going your own way, seeking your own pleasure, or speaking idle words" (Yeshayahu 58:13).

This emphasis offers a valuable perspective on modern priorities. The prophets highlight the labor of carrying because it affects the public sphere, and they seek to preserve the character of Shabbat as a day of rest from human enterprise and as a sign of the covenant with God. In contemporary debates regarding Shabbat observance, it is important to remember this hierarchy of priorities. In many ways, this understanding also underpins the approach of Harav Medan in the Gavison-Medan Covenant (a summary of its key points is attached).