I
פרק לה
(א) ויקהל משה את כל עדת בני ישראל ויאמר אלהם אלה הדברים אשר צוה יקוק לעשת אתם:
(ב) ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון ליקוק כל העשה בו מלאכה יומת:
(ג) לא תבערו אש בכל משבתיכם ביום השבת
(1) Moses assembled the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and said to them: These are the things that Hashem has commanded to do them:
(2) On six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem; whoever does work on it shall be put to death.
(3) You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.
Aside from the simple meaning, these three pesukim hint at a critical lesson for Shabbos and beyond. The Shelah interprets "fire" as referring to the fire of divisiveness (machlokes) and the fire of anger (ka'as). Although one must always be careful not to kindle either of these fires, on Shabbos one must be even more wary of them. The Chasam Sofer explains the need for extra caution based on the previous pasuk: all week long people are preoccupied with their work, but on Shabbos, when work is prohibited, people have more unstructured time and thus there is a greater chance that the fire of machlokes will be kindled. The Torah therefore warns: do not kindle the fire of divisiveness and anger on Shabbos when you are not busy with work.
This is an appropriate introduction to the parsha which deals entirely with the construction of the Mishkan. "Moshe assembled the entire assembly of B'nai Yisrael" - unity and the avoidance of machlokes are critical. When Jews engaged in baseless hatred (sin'as chinam), the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed (Yoma 9b). Conversely, gathering all Jews without the fire of divineness enabled the construction of the Mishkan and will hasten the construction of the third Bais Hamikdash.
"Every generation during which the Bais Hamikdash is not rebuilt is as if they destroyed it" (Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1). Evidently our generation is not better than the generation alive when the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed with respect to sin'as chinam. Fights within shuls and communities, and even families, are more frequent on Shabbos when people spend more "free" time together.
During these months when we read about the mishkan every Shabbos, including the korbanos, we must focus on our own role in its renewal. It is not sufficient to pray for Hashem to restore the avoda to His Beis Hamikdash. We must deserve it by avoiding the fire of divisiveness at all times, but especially on Shabbos.
The Shelah extends the cautionary period to Friday afternoon (See Gittin 52a). Anger and fighting often occur in Jewish homes because of the pressure and tension to prepare for Shabbos on time. These six hours, plus the twenty five hours of Shabbos itself, total thirty one hours. The numerical value of "לא", as in "לא תבערו אש", is thirty one. Jewish homes, and shuls, must make a special effort to avoid machlokes before and during Shabbos.
II
Tikunei Zohar (48) interprets "do not kindle a fire ... on Shabbos" as follows: One who gets angry is as if he lit the fire of Gehinom. In the Gemara (Shabbos 105b) and the Rambam (Hilchos De'os 2:3) anger is equated with idolatry. It is a foreign god within a person (See Tehillim 81:10).
Anger at a person fans the fire of machlokes. But why is it like idolatry? The Ba'al HaTanya (Igeres Hakodesh, 28) explains that if, at that moment, he believed that Hashem ordained that which angered him, he would not get angry at all. The one who cursed or hit him, or damaged his property, will be punished, but the damage was already decreed from Heaven. The Chovos HaLevavos (Sha'ar Habitachon, 4) elaborates upon this idea. When one's enemies, who are jealous, wish to harm him, he should have bitachon in Hashem and tolerate their insults. He should remember that his gains and losses are in the hands of Hashem. He should pray to Hashem to atone for the sins which caused his enemy to hate him. This can lead to peace (Mishlei 16:7). He then takes it one step further (Sha'ar Hakeniya, 7). One should be grateful to a person who slanders him, since the reward for his good deeds is transferred to you, and he incurs the punishment for your sins.
The Chafetz Chaim (Shmiras Halashon, Sha'ar Hatevuna, 8) cites the Gemara (Shabbos 88b) which rewards one who is silent, and even happy, when he suffers the yisurim of being shamed by another. He gains atonement for his sins, and his reward is unlimited. Instead of being angry, he should feel joy akin to hearing musical instruments playing; he should sing and dance.
The Maharal (Gevuros Hashem, 7) explains the sin of Moshe Rabbeinu when he hit the rock. He became angry (Bamidbar 20:10) and Hashem punished him "because you did not believe in Me." Belief in Hashem leads to song and joy, and Moshe's anger was the opposite of emuna. This lack of emuna, not the anger itself, led to Moshe's punishment.
Shabbos is the day when we are to strengthen our emuna. One who desecrates the Shabbos denies that Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh (Mechilta Yisro, See Rashi Chulin 5a). Anger, which also reflects a lack of emuna, is a form of chillul Shabbos.
The Chazon Ish (Emuna Ubitachon 3:15) echoes the explanation of the Ba'al Hatanya, and, like the Maharal, views anger as a lack of emuna. Shabbos, the day of emuna, is the day of peace, when we extinguish the fire of ka'as and machlokes.
The first words at the Shabbos table are Shalom Aleichem, directed at angels. Many preface Shalom Aleichem, by reciting three times "Shabbos shalom u'mevorach" (see Siddur of Rav Yaakov Emden based on the Arizal), the source of the common greeting of "Shabbat Shalom". May all of us fulfill "You shall not kindle fire - of anger and divisiveness - on the day of Shabbos", and thereby be blessed with Shabbos shalom u'mevorach, a Shabbos of peace and blessing.
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