Aligned sentence by sentence
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We previously discussed in the introductions the subject of deriving knowledge of the commandments, in the thirteenth chapter of the fourth discourse, that if Scripture teaches something generally, and subsequently teaches that specifically, the general is explained by the specific. And thus it is upon us to answer a question regarding the teaching on the Sabbath, which is Scripture’s verse (Exodus 34:21) “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest…” and subsequently (Exodus 34:21) “... in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” And if what we said with respect to the “general and specific” is a correct teaching, it would be obligatory that the prohibition on work on the Sabbath applies only in the time of plowing and harvesting, or that the only prohibited work on the Sabbath is plowing and harvesting to the exclusion of other kinds of work, and if all the works are prohibited on the Sabbath at any time of the year, the rule that the specific explains the general is nullified.
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And there are three answers for this. One is that His words (Exodus 34:21) “... in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest” refers to summer and winter and that relates to the entire year from the beginning to the end because the word “harvest” refers to the summer time from beginning to end, which is parallel to his Words (Proverbs 6:8) “Provideth her bread in the summer, and gatherest her food in the harvest” and he defines “summer” completely as “harvest.” And since the “harvest” refers to the entire summer, his Words “plowing time” relates to the entire winter since plowing occurs in the winter, as the summer is called “harvest” because that is when harvesting occurs.
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And the second answer is that His words (Exodus 34:21) “... in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest” does not relate to “thou shalt rest” on the Sabbath break, which is the seventh day, but rather intends resting the land on the Seventh year which is the Sabbatical year. And the proof for that is the end of parashat Mishpatim several commandments are mentioned including the commandment of the Sabbatical year and that is His words (Exodus 23:11) “but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.” And He commands ceasing on the seventh year from planting and harvesting, and follows that by mentioning the Sabbath in His words (Exodus 23:12) “Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.” And when we arrive to that section which includes these two commandments together in one verse, meaning the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year together and says (Ex. 34:21) “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest…” this is the obligation to desist from work on the Sabbath day and subsequently follows this with His words (Ex. 34:21) “...in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest” meaning ceasing to plow and harvest in the seventh year. And Scripture utilizes like this, meaning it discusses two or more commandments in one place in one verse and mentions them in another place each one in a verse. And that is like His words (Leviticus 19:19) “Ye shall keep My statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed; neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together” which mentions in this verse the prohibition of sowing two kinds of seed and the prohibition of wearing shatnez and these two commandments are mentioned at the end of the Torah in two verses, and like this are His words (Leviticus 19:11) “Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another” etc…
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And the third answer is that there are two kinds of “work,” one of which is completed by raising the hand over it, and the second is what is raised by the hand and remains afterwards in a derivative manner. And his Words (Ex. 34:21) “...in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest” refers to the prohibition of work that which is completed by raising one’s hand, and that is when the hand is lifted from the harvest the harvest is stopped and does not occur and similarly plowing. However, the works that remain in the same condition being completed when the hand is raised above it, such as what we discussed regarding lighting a fire and leaving food in a grinding bucket and releasing water to the field, for if the hand has already lit a fire the fire will remain burning, and similarly the food will remain grinding and the water will remain irrigating the field. The one who makes this argument argues that this kind of “work” is prohibited from another verse, which are His words (Exodus 31:15) “Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD; whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death” and the intention of His words “be done” is only what is done via derivatives since He already preceded the prohibition on “performing” with His verse (Exodus 31:14) “ Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you; every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” And when He returns to that with His words “be done” he teaches that what is intended is what is completed without “performing,” but rather via derivatives. And similarly, His words in another location (Exodus 34:2) “Six days shall work be done (“teaseh”), but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to the LORD; whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death” and He did not say “do work” (“taaseh”).