וַיַּקְהֵל מֹשֶׁה אֶת־כׇּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה ד' לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָם׃

And Moshe assembled the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and he said to them, "These are the words that Hashem has commanded to do them." (35:1)

Moshe continues to exhort the Jewish people to observe Shabbat and donate the precious metals and materials needed for the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

The Midrash (found in Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrashim arranged according to the parshas of the Torah, compiled between the 11th and 14th centuries) points out that we don’t find any section of the Torah other than here that states that Moshe assembled all the Jewish people together at one time in order to convey to them his message. The question is-borrowing an age old adage-Ma Nishtana? Why was that time different?

The Midrash answers this based on Moshe’s next words.

שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יִהְיֶה לָכֶם קֹדֶשׁ שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן לַד'

On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to Hashem. (35:2)

Moshe assembled the entire nation to set an example for generations to come. Hashem said to Moshe, “Make a great assemblage of the Jewish people and publicly teach them the laws of Shabbat, so that future generation will follow your example to gather groups of people together every Shabbat to study the words of Torah and to know what they may do and what they may not do. Through this My name will be glorified amongst my children.”

From here we see that Shabbat is a unique time to come together and study Torah with a focus on the laws of Shabbat.

We find some very interesting communal customs regarding the study of Torah on Shabbat. The biography of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, of blessed memory, relates that when he was a young boy growing up in the Lithuanian town of Dolhinov, his father would take him at 2:00 am (!) Shabbat morning to the synagogue packed with people studying Torah. Years later Rabbi Kamenetsky would fondly remember the special kichel prepared for those who came to learn through the night.

Rabbi Kamenetsky actually found a fascinating source for the custom of learning Torah through the night on Shabbat. Rav Natronai Gaon (head rabbi of the Sura Yeshiva in Mesopotamia early in the second half of the 9th century) wrote in his responsum that the Jews of the Babylonian exile bemoaned their lack of time to study Torah. Subsequently the prophets among them instituted that they should study Torah on Shabbat from midnight until Shacharit (morning services)!

Menuchat Shabbat (the rest and tranquility of Shabbat) is meant to be our weekly spiritual rejuvenation. Shabbat is therefore the optimum time for studying Torah.

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak