God created the world in six days and rested on Shabbat, the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). In doing so, God demonstrated that the world is complete and lacks nothing. Jews are similarly commanded to cease their acts of creation (Melachot) on Shabbat, just as God stopped His work. This ceasing of "work" acknowledges the fact that God's creation is perfect and that the world can exist without active human input. The Torah does not specify what is classified as "human creation." However, through the...(more)

God created the world in six days and rested on Shabbat, the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). In doing so, God demonstrated that the world is complete and lacks nothing. Jews are similarly commanded to cease their acts of creation (Melachot) on Shabbat, just as God stopped His work. This ceasing of "work" acknowledges the fact that God's creation is perfect and that the world can exist without active human input. The Torah does not specify what is classified as "human creation." However, through the juxtaposition of the commandment to build the Mishkan (the portable Tabernacle in the desert) and the commandment to keep Shabbat (Exodus 35:1-5), we learn that Shabbat overrides those acts that were done in the Mishkan. The construction of the Mishkan, itself a microcosm of the world, involved every form of human creation (Melacha). The Mishnah (Shabbat 7:2) lists 39 categories of work that were necessary to build the Mishkan. When applied to the laws of Shabbat, these acts form the 39 main categories of Shabbat Melachot, and are the foundation for Hilchot Shabbat. The rabbis analyzed each of these specific acts and derived the principle behind it, since all acts that embody the same original principle are equally prohibited. Hilchot Shabbat (the laws of Shabbat) are all derived logically from the original 39 Melachot. Mastery of these laws is essential to a proper and meaningful observance of Shabbat. Adapted from www.aish.com The video classes below on Hilchot Shabbat are all taught by Rabbi Shimon Isaacson. (less)