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Why does the Torah (תורה) say the 39 melachos are things "Hashem (ה׳) commanded *to do*" rather than things not to do? The Gemara (גמרא) in Shabbos (שבת) derives the 39 melachos from "eileh hadevorim," but the language implies action, not prohibition. The shiur explains that Shabbos is not merely a personal observance but a communal creation—only when everyone refrains from melacha does the day itself become Shabbos, creating a visible atmosphere of holiness.
The shiur opens with a textual question from Parshas Vayakhel. The Torah (תורה) states "Eileh hadevorim asher tzivah Hashem (ה׳) lasos osam"—"These are the things Hashem commanded to do them." The Gemara (גמרא) in Shabbos (שבת) derives the 39 melachos from this phrase: "eileh" has the numerical value of 35 (lamed=30, hei=5), and "hadevorim" (the plural with the definite article) adds four more, totaling 39. But the obvious difficulty is that the phrase uses the language "lasos osam"—to *do* them—when the 39 melachos are prohibitions, things we are commanded *not* to do. The more accurate formulation should have been "These are the thirty-nine things HaKadosh Baruch Hu told you not to do." Rabbi Zweig explains that this linguistic anomaly reveals a fundamental insight into the nature of Shabbos. The common perception is that Shabbos is a day on which we are restricted, a day defined by what we cannot do. But the Torah is teaching something far more profound: Shabbos is not merely about individual abstention from melacha. Rather, by everyone collectively refraining from the 39 melachos, we actively *create* the day of Shabbos. The day takes on a different character, a different appearance. Shabbos is fundamentally a communal phenomenon—when the entire community observes Shabbos, the day itself looks and feels like Shabbos.
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Parshas Vayakhel (Shemos 35:1), Gemara Shabbos on the 39 melachos
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