With the loss of the Temple, wearing Shabbat clothes conveys the כָּבוֹד וּתִפְאָרֶת, “glory and splendor” of the priestly garments.

In halakha, the 39 melachot of Mishnah Shabbat 7:2 functions as a comprehensive list of primary categories of forbidden labor. A closer look at the list in context, however, reveals that it was composed and added as a supplement, to clarify a detail in the previous mishnah.

Biblical prohibitions against preparing food on Shabbat are further developed in the Second Temple and rabbinic periods. At the same time, a new emphasis emerges: celebrating Shabbat with festive meals.

“See, YHWH has called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri.” (Exodus 35:30) Who is Bezalel and why is he chosen as the architect and artisan of the Tabernacle?

Thirty nine forms of melacha “work” are forbidden on Shabbat. Does the number drive the list?

The Torah states multiple times that it is forbidden to do melakha “work” on Shabbat. Rabbi Akiva and his students argue that the Torah is referring to 39 specific forms of work. Where did they get this number? The key is in the Tabernacle.

The Torah never defines specifically what, melakha, labor, on Shabbat entails, but the Mishnah already has an exact list of 39 categories of labor prohibited on Shabbat. A comparison of the structure of the Yerushalmi and Bavli sugyot highlight the different ways the Amoraim conceptualized melakha in contrast to the Mishnah.

The Shabbat laws offer an instructive model for how Jews in antiquity engaged in creative reinterpretation of biblical texts in order to expand their limited application and to ensure that their customary practice comported with their sacred texts.