Ki Tisa: The Transition from Shabbat to the Workweek
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh
day you shall cease from labor... (Exodus 34:21)
Shabbat and the six workdays are
inseparably connected. Without working on the other six days, Shabbat loses
its significance. However, despite the importance of Shabbat, the Torah does
not define when exactly it begins or ends, and says nothing of our familiar
transitional ceremonies: candle lighting, Kiddush and Havdalah. The latter two
appear for the first time in the Mishnah, where they are discussed without any
introduction or explanation, meaning that their origin is very ancient. Indeed,
there are midrashim that attribute the Havdalah ceremony to none other than
Primordial Adam (=Adam and Eve). There are several versions; I will relate to
two of them.
According to Midrash
Genesis Rabbah (11:2), the light of creation that
preceded creation of the sun continue to shine through the first Shabbat. Therefore,
when the sun set on Friday evening, Adam and Eve did not experience darkness.
When the Sabbath ended, God stored that light away, the sun set and they made
their first acquaintance with night. The midrash explains what happened next:
When the sun set upon the departure of the Sabbath, the darkness
became palpable as the sun descended. The First Man was terrified [and exclaimed],
“‘Surely darkness comes to bruise me’ (
יְשׁוּפֵנִי; Psalm 139:11); perhaps the one of whom it
is said, ‘He shall bruise (יְשׁוּפְךָ) your head’ (Genesis
3:15) will come to attack me?!”
What did the blessed Holy One do? He presented him with two
flints, which he struck together and light came forth, whereupon he blessed it,
as it is written, “The night was light for my sake” (Psalm 139:11).
This agrees with Shmuel, for Shmuel said: “Why do we recite a
blessing over light at the end of Shabbat? Because it was then created for the
first time.
Note that the Adam and Eve do not fear
the darkness itself but rather the danger that might hiding under its cover.
The Holy Blessed One does not tell them, “Get over it,” or hint “You deserve
it,” and certainly doesn’t claim, “I would never give you a burden you can’t
bear.” God’s ways are not human ways. God offers tools for finding a solution.
In this version, it isn’t clear who, Adam or God, struck the flints together.
In either case, the midrash differs from the Greek myth – and other similar
stories from distant cultures – in which fire must be stolen from the gods to
help humanity. Here both fire and the technology with which to create it are
gifts from God to humans
Midrash
Tehillim (92:3)[**]
clarifies that Adam is the one struck the flints, and adds another interesting
detail, the origin of the flints themselves:
The Holy Blessed One presented Adam with two stones, one of
Deep-Darkness and the other of Shadow-Death, for it is said, “He put an end to
darkness, and searches out to the farthest bound the stone of Deep-Darkness and
Shadow-Death” (Job 28:3).
Adam took up the stones and struck them together until fire came
forth from them, whereupon he distinguished/enacted Havdalah. Hence, at the
close of the Sabbath, we say Havdalah over light.
Deep-Darkness and Shadow-Death,
darkness and fear: challenging, difficult experiences are the raw materials
that humans use their intelligence to process and create. In this version, it
is not technology that God grants humans, but rather human intelligence,
creativity and the drive to improve the world.
As we transition from the Day of Rest to the work week, we stop for a moment to gaze at the flame, express our gratitude for it and be aware of fire, technology and our ability to create for our benefit, the benefit of those around us and generations to come.
May we
know how to do this for blessing and not for a curse.
[*] See also Rachel Adelman, “Primordial Adam and the First Havdalah,” in Havdalah, D. Birnbaum and M. Cohen, editors, pp. 107-130.
[**] On the verse “A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day” (Psalm 92:1).
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