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How can running to shul on Shabbos (שבת) be permitted if Shabbos is about rest? The shiur redefines menucha as finding one's makom (place) rather than passive rest, supported by the Baal HaTurim's insight that 'shavat' means 'to settle in place.' True Shabbos menucha means energetically pursuing one's proper role in divine service.
This shiur explores a fascinating Gemara (גמרא) in Masechta Shabbos (שבת) regarding the permissibility of running to shul on Shabbos, using it as a springboard to redefine the concept of menucha (rest). The discussion begins with Rav Zeira's initial confusion upon seeing rabbis running to a shiur on Shabbos, thinking they were violating Shabbos, until he learned from Rav Shimon ben Levi that one should always run to fulfill mitzvos. The central thesis challenges the conventional understanding of menucha as passive rest. Instead, the shiur argues that menucha means finding one's makom (place) - a sense of purpose and belonging that actually energizes rather than enervates. This is supported by the Baal HaTurim's observation that the word 'shavat' appears only twice in Tanakh - by the locusts landing in Egypt and by Shabbos rest, suggesting that shavat means 'to settle in place' rather than 'to cease activity.'
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Shabbos 113a-b
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