| The first eleven of
the 39 categories of work prohibited on Shabbat, are what the Talmud (Tractate Shabbat 74b) calls
the "sidura d'pas," the "order of (making)
bread," which were the steps taken to cultivate wheat for
the Lechem Hapanim (Show Bread) and grow other ingredients
essential in the production of dyes that colored the wool curtains
and tapestries of the Mishkan. These steps are:
plowing, sowing, reaping, gathering, threshing, winnowing, sorting,
grinding, sifting, kneading, and lastly baking / cooking. Baking
itself was not performed during the actual construction of the Mishkan since bread was not required for the structure.
It was only herbs that were cooked to produce the dyes. |
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The first of the thirty-nine melachot is zoreah,
sowing or seeding. Zoreah includes planting, sowing, or watering seeds
to induce or encourage growth. |
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Plowing, is the second of the thirty-nine prohibited melachot. It is prohibited to plow the ground---to level
it off or make holes in it, like the holes used for planting seeds.
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Kotzair - Reaping (cutting), the third of the thirty-nine melachot is
the uprooting or severing of any living plant or vegetation from
its source of growth. Thus, one may not uproot plants, branches,
or even just one leaf. Plucking a flower, picking fruit from a
tree, vegetables from a garden are actions all prohibited under the category of kotzair because these actions involve severing a living plant or part
of a living plant from its source of growth. |
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M'amair - Gathering (bundling sheaves)
Gathering is the fourth of the thirty-nine Melachot. Gathering consists of collecting natural produce into a bundle. Actions that would fall
under this category would be piling scattered fruit (in the orchard), putting together
a bouquet of flowers, or stringing figs. M'amair was the Melacha done by the first person to ever violate Shabbat, the wood-gatherer, in Bamidbar / Numbers
15:32. |
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Dush - Threshing.
The fifth of the 39 melachot, is Disha, or threshing. Its purpose is to separate kernels of grain from their husks, and it has been expanded to include the removal of any wanted item ( known as 'ochel') from its unwanted natural container ( known as 'pesolet'). This has ramifications in terms of a subcategory of disha, namely s'chita, or squeezing.
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The sixth melacha is zoreh, winnowing. Winnowing is using the wind to separate wanted from unwanted objects.
Winnowing is a fundamental step in harvesting wheat because it separates the grain from the waste. After threshing, the kernels and the chaff would be left together on the ground, and the farmer would take a pitchfork, and throw a mixture of it in the air. The waste would blow away, leaving the heavier kernels. |
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The seventh of the 39 melachot, is borer, or sorting. It is any form of selecting or sorting inedible matter from food by hand. This includes removing undesired objects or matter from a mixture or combination such as removing spoiled cherries from a bowl of cherries or removing bones from a fish. (Gefilte fish is the traditional Ashkenazi solution to this problem.) Borer also includes the sorting of nonfood items mixed together, such as sorting dirty silverware from a mixture of clean and dirty silverware.
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The eighth of the 39 melachot, is tochain, or grinding. Tochain is defined as the act of breaking down an item into small parts whereby it becomes suitable for a new use, such as grinding wheat into flour. Any kind of normal crushing, chopping, or grinding, by hand, or with a tool, falls under this category. Making Sawdust is a no no. |
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The ninth melacha,
is miraked or sifting. Miraked is the sifting specifically
done with a keli, or instrument, especially designed for
the purpose of straining, such as a sieve or strainer. |
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The tenth melacha
is Lush, or kneading, Lush is the act of forming a solid or semi-solid substance of particles using a liquid. There are two steps in this process: contact of the liquid with the flour, and the mixing of the two with a kneading action. Some examples of lush are mixing water with sand to produce thick mud, mixing water and powder to make thick paste, and making plaster. |
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The prohibition of Ofeh / Bishul (the eleventh melacha) is generally understood to be the causing of a change in the properties of a food or substance by use of heat. This includes cooking raw food until it becomes edible and causing change in nonfoods as well, such as the baking of bricks. Melting candles is prohibited.
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| With this definition
of the melacha of Ofeh / Bishul, the eleventh of
the 39 categories of work prohibited on Shabbat, we have
completed what the Talmud (Tractate Shabbat 74b) calls
the "sidura d'pas," the "order of (making)
bread," which were the steps taken to cultivate wheat for
the Lechem Hapanim (Show Bread) and grow other ingredients
essential in the production of dyes that colored the wool curtains
and tapestries of the Mishkan. To recap, these steps are:
plowing, sowing, reaping, gathering, threshing, winnowing, sorting,
grinding, sifting, kneading, and lastly baking / cooking. Baking
itself was not performed during the actual construction of the Mishkan since bread was not required for the structure.
It was only herbs that were cooked to produce the dyes. |
The next group of thirteen Melachot make up the essential steps in the processing of wool
fabrics and garments. The cloth coverings of the Mishkan were made from wool, |
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The twelfth melacha is Gozez / Shearing, which consists of severing or
uprooting any growing part of any creature, even if the creature
is dead. |
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The thirteenth Melacha of Melabein, literally "whitening," (or bleaching), is expressed
through three categories of activity: Shriyah, or soaking, Shifshuf, or scrubbing, and Sechita, or squeezing.
More commonly, melabein is the act of cleaning on Shabbat,
which is prohibited. |
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The fourteenth Melacha of Menafetz - Disentangling,
Combing Raw Materials
After bleaching the wool, the next step is to comb the tangled
threads to prepare it for spinning / weaving (by hand and with
a comb). The prohibition of menafetz applies to the act
of beating compact material into separate strands. This includes
one who combs wool or beats flax stalks or any similar process. |
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The fifteenth Melacha is Tzovayah - Dyeing. The Melacha includes coloring or
darkening any material that is ordinarily colored, dyed, or painted
for some useful purpose. |
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The sixteenth Melacha is Toveh - Spinning. This Melacha involves twisting fibers together to make long threads.
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The seventeenth Melacha is Maisach -Warping - Mounting the warp (stretching threads onto loom).
Warping is the first step in the creation of woven fabric. The
longitudinal threads are called warp and the transverse threads
are called weft. Warping entails aligning and setting warp threads
firmly in position in order to allow the weft threads to pass
over and under them in perfect sequence. This is an important
preliminary step of all types of weaving, including lattice-work,
making a simple pot holder, and basket making.
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The eighteenth Melacha is Oseh
Beit Batai Neirin - Setting two heddles (preparing to
weave).
Threading two threads.
This melacha is one of the five steps in making cloth. Technically, it involves
threading two threads through the (heddle eyes) rings in each
of the two harnesses of the loom. Practically, this prohibition
would apply to setting up a loom with at least two strings or
threads in one direction, as one might do to make a potholder.
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The nineteenth Melacha is Oraig - Weaving.
The melacha of Oraig involves completing the creation of a fabric by passing the "transverse weft" thread under and over the "warp" threads. The reason these terms might sound unfamiliar is that they apply to thread mounted on a loom, a device that most of us have probably never seen.
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The twentieth Melacha is Potzai'ah - Separating (removing) threads - Unweaving or removing
Weaves
The Melacha of Potzai'ah is removing weaved threads from a loom. Excess threads eliminated
from areas that are too densly packed is also Potzai'ah.
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The twenty-first Melacha is Koshair - Tying a knot.
Any tight knot that will never loosen and become undone on its
own is considered a kesher uman, whereas a kesher shel
kayama refers to any knot that is meant to remain permanently,
even if it is a type of knot that may sometimes come undone over
time. In practice, any knot that is either tight and durable (and
made without any specific intention to undo it later) or one that
is meant to last permanently (even if not tight or durable) is
forbidden to make, and must be treated as a possible Kesher
M'de'oraisa (Torah-restricted knot). |
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The twenty-second Melacha is Matir - Untying a knot. The prohibition
of untying applies to cases where the knot one is untying is also
prohibited. If the knot is such that tying it was a violation
of a Torah law, then untying that knot is also a Torah violation;
similarly, if the knot is a violation of a Rabbinical law, so
too untying it is in violation of a Rabbinical law.
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The twenty-third Melacha is Tofair - sewing. Stitching two separate pieces of fabric together, combining any
two separate objects into one single entity, by any means.
One
important concept in regards to Tofair is that an action
is not considered Tofair if the connection is meant to
be created and broken as part of the object's functional design.
Therefore using buttons, zippers, safety pins, and Velcro is permitted.
Gluing is considered Tofair only when the gluing is meant
to be permanent. |
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The twenty-fourth Melacha is Koraya - tearing.
The basic concept of Ko'reah may be described as the tearing of a single object into two parts, or the detaching of the two objects that became combined as one.
Ko'reah is only possible with materials that are sewn or glued together when torn. |
| The next few Melachot, were performed during construction of the Mishkan on the Tachash animal, from whose hide a covering for the Mishkan was made. |
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The twenty-fifth Melacha is Tzud, which involves trapping or confining an animal or insect,
providing that the species is one that is normally trapped or
hunted. According to some poskim, Tzud is one of
the few melachot that can be violated even without a direct
action. For instance, frightening an animal into a corner is considered tzud even if one never came in contact with it. |
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The twenty-sixth Melacha is Shochet - the second Melacha in the series of melachot that deal with preparing skins. After trapping the animal, it
is necessary to kill it in order to take the skin. Killing by
any means, whether by slaughtering, stabbing or battering, not
just shechita (ritual slaughter) as applied to kosher animals,
would make one liable. This prohibition applies to all kinds of
animals |
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The twenty-seventh Melacha is Mafshit - After slaughtering
the animal, the next step in the process of preparing hides is
to remove the hide and spread it out flat, hence the prohibition
of Mafshit. This Melacha is not relevant in situations
where the skin has already been cooked and is in an edible form,
but rather only in cases where the skin is on a newly-slaughtered
animal. |
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The twenty-eighth Melacha is Meabaid - Tanning.
Tanning involves the process by which raw animal hides are preserved.
Hides are soaked in potent tanning solutions until they reach
a point of long-lasting durability. |
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The twenty-ninth Melacha is
Mesharteit - Tracing (scratching) lines,
Marking.
After smoothing
the processed hide of an animal, one must outline the area that
is going to be cut. The act of outlining, or marking, is the Melacha of Mesharteit.
This prohibition applies to skin, klaf (parchment), paper, wood, and other materials, with the exception
of food.
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The thirtieth Melacha is Memachaik - Smoothing. Memachaik is the method by which hair is removed from hides. Similar to smoothing hides, Memachaik only applies to surfaces that are firm. For example,
sanding or smoothing a wooden or leather surface would be Memachaik. |
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The thirtieth-first Melacha is Mechataich - Cutting
(to shape) or Measured Cutting. Cutting hides, or any material for that matter, with one's hands or an instrument, to a pre-measured size and shape is called Mechataich.
The Melacha of Mechateich is not to be confused with Ko'reah (tearing). Mechateich is measured cutting, while Ko'reah is not. Mechateich applies to all materials, while Ko'reah does not.
Sharpening a new pencil or a broken pointed one is mechataich. It is also Makeh B'Patish. |
| The next two Melachot, are connected to the Krushim (beams of the Mishkan) |
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The thirtieth-second Melacha is
Kotaiv - Writing two or more letters
The wall boards
of the Mishkan were inscribed with letters to facilitate
matching them each time the Mishkan was erected.
This Melacha is often defined as creating meaningful images, not simply as
writing. This is because, while forming two letters is generally
the minimum for the prohibition of Kotaiv,
forming any images of at least that size would be problematic,
including painting pictures, etching a design into wood, and embroidering
a design into cloth.
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The thirtieth-third Melacha is
Mochaik - Erasing two or more letters.
If the Mishkan's builders erred in writing letters on the boards, they would erase
them in order to write the proper ones.
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| The next two Melachot, are connected to the putting the walls of the Mishkan up and down. |
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The thirtieth-fourth Melacha is
Boneh - Building
The prohibition
of building on Shabbat that are prohibited are building something attached to the
ground or adding to something that is already built on the ground.
Even doing a very small amount, of these actions
is considered Boneh. Furthermore, fixing something, like
a nail, on such a building is also prohibited.
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The thirtieth-fifth Melacha is
Soiser - Demolishing. Soiser is essentially the reverse of Boneh, building.
As the Jews traveled throughout the desert, it was necessary to
build and demolish the structure of the Mishkan by taking
apart the separate kerashim, planks.
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| The next four Melachot, are connected to the the final touches of the Mishkan.. |
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The thirtieth-sixth Melacha is Mechabeh - Extinguishing Fires.
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The thirtieth-seventh Melacha is Ma'avir - Lighting Fires.
These two Melachot, (36 & 37), are closely related; one is the opposite
of the other. Fire was used for cooking the dyes during the construction
of the Mishkan and later for the Korbanot and is therefore prohibited. Mechabeh is extinguishing
fire; Ma'avir is kindling fire.
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The thirtieth-eigth Melacha is Makeh B'Patish - "The Final Hammer
Blow" Striking the final blow (Finishing an object).
This Melacha has its roots in the building of the Kerashim,
the beams of the Mishkan. These beams were made of wood
covered with gold. The gold sheathing was kept in place with golden
nails that were hammered into the wood. The final hit on those
nails to complete the beam was Makeh B'Patish. Although
the Melacha stemmed from work done with a hammer, the prohibition
applies to any act of completion.
Sharpening a new pencil or a broken pointed one is Makeh B'Patish. |
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The thirtieth-ninth Melacha is Hotza'ah - Transferring
(transporting) from domain to domain (carrying). Hotza'ah is the general term for the last of the thirty-nine Avot Melachot of Shabbat.
The Torah prohibits one to transfer (i.e., carry, throw, push,
etc.) an object from a "reshut hayachid", a private
domain*, and "reshut harabim"
- a public domain** and vice versa.
- Hotza'ah is carrying or moving something (transferring
an object) between a reshut hayachid, and reshut harabim.
- Hachnasah - refers to transferring objects from a reshut
harabim to a reshut hayachid.
Transferring an object either from a private domain to a public
domain (Hotza'ah) or the reverse (Hachnasah) is forbidden by the Torah.
- Ma'avir Arba Amot b'Reshut harabim - carrying an object
from one place in a public domain to another over a distance of
at least four Amot, (appoximately 7 feet ) or more is similarly
forbidden.
- Moshit, which involves "passing" an object
from one reshut hayachid to another reshut hayachid through reshut harabim (as described in the Mishnah
Shabbos 96a is also a Biblical prohibition. |
