Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

To not do work on Shabbat: To not do work on the day of Shabbat ourselves; and not allow our children, slaves and animals to do so, as it is stated (Exodus 20:10), “you shall not do work, etc.” There is no doubt that even though the verse issues a [single blanket] prohibition on us, our children, servants and animals, they are not all equal; as we see that one who volitionally does work with his own body will be liable for the death penalty in a court. But with the work of others — even though he is warned about them with a negative commandment — he is not liable for them; [not] even with lashes, as lashes are never for the act of others. And from the language of Rambam, may his memory be blessed (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Sabbath 20:1), it is implied that he holds that this prohibition of “you shall not do work, you [...] and your animal,” comes upon letting an animal work (mechamer) while being behind it — for example, that he is using it to plow. As, according to his opinion, letting an animal work by itself is only a prohibition [embedded] in a positive commandment. And hence, according to his opinion, they said in the Gemara (Shabbat 154a) that this negative commandment of letting your animals do work is a negative commandment that is given over to the warning of a death penalty from the court - meaning to say, that a man is killed for it, and [so] there are no lashes for it. But Ramban, may his memory be blessed, (on Sefer HaMitzvot, Shorashim 14) wrangles with him greatly on this explanation, and says that this negative commandment of letting your animals do work is only about walking behind his animal laden with his load, while the man does not do any act with his hands. And therefore neither lashes nor the death penalty would ever come to him; and it is as that which has been established for us, we do not administer lashes for any negative commandment that does not have an act. [And it is] like they, may their memory be blessed, expounded (Shabbat 154b), “‘You [...] and your animal’ — let it write, ‘you shall not do work and your animal’; why do I need ‘you?’ [To tell you] that when he does work, he is liable; but for the work of his animal he is not liable.” Rather, he is [just] warned about it with a negative commandment, like with the work of his young child and his Canaanite slave. But for his own actual work — for that there was no reason to say that he is liable, as behold, his punishment is explicit (Exodus 34:2), “anyone who does work on it shall die.” And according to the opinion of Ramban, may his memory be blessed, the explanation of that which they said in the Gemara about the negative commandment of letting your animal do work, that it is a negative commandment that is given over to the warning of a death penalty from the court, is that since it also includes the other [types of] work which [come] with a warning of a death penalty from the court — even though with letting your animal work there is certainly only a negative commandment, as there is also not [even] lashes with it — nonetheless, this negative commandment is [called] a negative commandment that is given over to the warning of a death penalty from the court because of those things that it includes that have death penalties of the court. And similar to this did they, may their memory be blessed, say in the first chapter of Eruvin 17b about the negative commandment of “let no man leave his place”: Since it also includes carrying out from one domain to another — like the teaching that they expounded, [read, do not go out (yetseh), as] do not carry out (yotsi) — that it is from now a negative commandment that is given over to the warning of a death penalty from the court in some of its matters. And since it is so, we can say that we do not administer lashes for it, in all of its matters. And in exactly the same way, we can explain the negative commandment of not letting your animal do work here.

It is from the roots of this commandment that we should be free from our preoccupations in honor of the day [of Shabbat], in order to instill within our souls faithfulness to the [concept of the] universe’s creation, which is [a concept that affects many fundamental principles in Judaism] (lit. a rope that drags along all the foundations of our religion). And we remember once a week, every week, that the universe was created in six distinct days, that nothing was created on the seventh day, and that different [types of creations] were brought into being each day. [All of this confirms the Torah’s philosophical idea of God’s] Simple (Single) Will, which differs from the philosophers’ view, that disgusts us in their idea regarding this matter that [alongside] the Blessed One[’s existence] was everything. And through our rest on the seventh day we are reminded of the universe’s creation; because, when everyone simultaneously rests once a week, curious people will ask what is the point of this rest? And the answer will be “because [in] six days God created, etc.” (Exodus 31:17). [And through that answer], everyone will be strengthened in the true faith. And in addition to remembering the universe’s creation, there is in [Shabbat] also a remembering of the miracle of [the exodus from] Egypt — that we were slaves there and we were not able to rest whenever we desired to rest, and God saved us from their hands and commanded us to rest on the seventh day (Shabbat). Therefore, the second root is mentioned in Deuteronomy (lit. the repetition of the Torah), as it states in the [context of] the commandment of Shabbat, “And you should remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, etc. therefore the Lord, your God, commanded you to [observe] (lit. make) the day of Shabbat” (Deuteronomy 5:15).

The laws of the commandments — for example, what are the things that are called the main types of work (melakhot) to make one liable for those that do them, like the forty minus one types of work — and their derivatives — counted by the Sages, and the light types of work that they, may their memory be blessed, forbade [so as] to make a fence, and the things that were also called Shabbat prohibitions (shevutin); and that which they, may their memory be blessed, learned from the verse that everything is pushed off for saving lives (Yoma 85) and that one who shows alacrity to profane the Shabbat to save lives, behold it is praiseworthy, and the reason is that the cause of the doing of the commandments is man and preserving the cause is [therefore] preserving everything, and because of this, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 83a), that any patient is believed to say I need you to profane the Shabbat for me, and any patient with fever laying on a sick bed is included [in the category of being in] danger that we profane the Shabbat for him (Avodah Zarah 28a); and the rest of its many details — are [all] elucidated in Tractate Shabbat and in Tractate Yom Tov. (See Tur, Orach Chaim 328.)

And [it] is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females. And one who transgresses it volitionally is stoned, and that is when there are witnesses and a warning there. [Let] this rule be in your hand always — that the death penalty or lashes are only administered with witnesses and a warning — and the warning is always to distinguish between [the] inadvertent and [the] volitional. And know this fundamental and do not ask of me to review it. And if he did thoughtful work (melekhet machshevet) inadvertently, he brings a fixed sin-offering (Beitzah 13b).