The Severity Of Transgressing Shabbat

[Tzvi Ben Roshel1]

The Ben Ish Chai answers a question asked of him in his sefer Rav Pa’alim, in Helek 3 siman 19. Someone had approached the Rabbi and asked him what the Tikun (remedy) would be for mistakenly extinguishing a fire on Shabbat which is a Torah prohibition. The fellow thought it was permissible at the time because it was a situation where he would suffer financial loss if the fire would not be put out. So the question asked to the Ben Ish Chai was what would the procedure be to make Tesuhva for such a sin that was not done intentionally.

The Ben Ish Chai answered that according to HaRambam who follows Rebbi Yehuda, transgressing the Melacha (task) of extinguishing a fire without reason of saving one’s life, is a transgression that obligates one for punishment for he contravened a Torah law. The fellow didn’t extinguish the fire to save someone. He did it to save his money. However, since this fellow at the moment thought it was permissible, he is then considered a Shogeg (one who transgresses unintentionally.) So the Ben Ish Chai wrote a Tikun for this Shogeg and the fellow was told to do as follows:

1) Make a hefty donation to Tzedaka, to the poor people who are studying Torah.
2) Fast for three days, Monday and Thursday and Monday, and if he can, he should fast for 7 days. When fasting he must explicitly acknowledge that he is making this sacrifice of food depravation as if he were bringing a Korban Hatat, which is repentance for transgressing Shabbat.
3) On the days that he fasts he should learn what we read on Shavuot. This includes Kerei Moed and the Mishnayot. He should also read all the Parashot of the Korbanot, and a book called Adra Zota.
4) Make Kaparot with the chickens like we do before Yom Kippur and give it to the poor people.
5) Make Viduy (Tefilah of Repentance.)

I say this Halacha to illustrate the severity of Chilul (transgressing) Shabbat. The above strenuous Tikun is for a fellow who transgressed unintentionally. Can you imagine what the Tikun would be for a person who G-d forbid on purpose transgressed the Shabbat. If one needs to fast 7 days for an unintentional violation, then maybe one would have to fast 70 days when transgressing intentionally.

This shows us how careful and meticulous we have to be about not transgressing Shabbat. And to make sure we have a handle on the laws of Shabbat and avoid the mistake the fellow above made, we must therefore learn with detail and in its entirety all the laws of Shabbat. The fellow above would have known it is not permissible to extinguish fires on Shabbat even for prevention of financial loss, if he would have studied the laws more. This story today is a great lesson and message to us all to be studios about the laws, and to be very careful and avoid Chilul Shabbat.

http://dailyhalacha.com/displayRead.asp?readID=887  (click here - you can listin to AUDIO.