The Sabbath Was Made for Man

Commenting on how the Jews had lost the true spirit of the Sabbath, Elder McConkie wrote: "We have seen how they turned a day of freedom and worship and rejoicing into one of Rabbinical rules and restrictions. No longer were the Jews free to worship the Lord their God with a clear conscience on this holy day. Rather, the restrictions were so rigid, the controls so complete, the prohibitions so profuse, that it was as though man had been made for the Sabbath. Their failures on that day—for no man could keep all of the restrictions involved—created a great guilt complex over the whole nation." (Mortal Messiah, 2:398)

I had heard of many of the oral Rabbinical laws that had evolved as to what NOT to do on the Sabbath, but didn’t know whether they were true or not (such as how many steps someone could walk on the Sabbath). But after a simple web search, I found some details from the Midrash that clearly show how the Jews at the time of Christ, including the scribes and Pharisees, were no longer glorifying God through their Sabbath activities. They had laws regarding what kind of candles and wicks were to be used so that the light didn’t go out on the Sabbath, what kind of animals could be used on the Sabbath, and whether or not they may be bridled, and how shoes and other clothing were permitted to be worn.

But I was especially fascinated by the following restrictions:

(1) Traveling after sundown on the eve of the Sabbath: “One who (on the eve of Sabbath) is overtaken by the dusk on the road must give his purse to a Gentile (while it is yet day). If there is no Gentile with him, he must put it on the ass. As soon as he arrives at the outmost court (dwelling of the first town or village he reaches), he must take off all such things as may be handled on the Sabbath; and as for the things which must not be handled he must loosen the cords, so that they fall off themselves.”

(2) Food for animals: “It is forbidden to carry about chopped straw in quantities of a cow's mouthful, stalks in quantities of a camel's mouthful, stubble in quantities of a lamb's mouthful, herbs in quantities of a kid's mouthful, leek and onion leaves, if fresh, equal in size to a dried fig, and if dry in quantities of a kid's mouthful. The different kinds of fodder are, however, not to be counted together, as the prescribed quantities are not equal for all.”

(3) Forgetting it is the Sabbath when traveling in the desert: “One who has been traveling in a desert and does not know what day is Sabbath, must count six days from the day (on which he realizes) that he has missed the Sabbath, and observe the seventh. He must observe that very day and then continue his counting from that day.”

(4) And lastly, how items may be transferred from one person to another: “There are two acts constituting transfer of movable things (over the dividing line of adjoining premises, based on biblical statutes). … (1) A mendicant stands outside and the master of a house inside. The mendicant passes his hand into the house (through a window or door) and puts something into the hand of the master, or he takes something out of the master's hand and draws it back (toward him). In such a case the mendicant is guilty (of transfer) and the master of the house is free. If the master of the house passes his hand outside and puts a thing into the hand of the mendicant, or takes something out of the mendicant's hand and brings it into the house, the master of the house is culpable and the mendicant is free. (2) If the mendicant extends his hand into the house and the master takes something out of it, or puts something into it which is drawn to the outside by the mendicant, they are both free. If the master of the house extends his hand outside and the mendicant takes something out of it, or puts something into it which is drawn to the inside by the master, they are both free.”

How would the normal person be able to keep track of these – and the many other restrictions – for which the penalty of transgression was stoning?