Vayakhel

Sh’mot Exodus 35:1–38:20

Giborah McDonald 09/03/2021

Sh’mot 35:1-2

‫וַּיְַקהֵ֣ל מֹׁשֶ֗ה אֶֽת־ּכָל־עֲַד֛ת ּבְנֵ֥י יִׂשְָראֵ֖ל וַּיֹ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵּ֚לֶה הַּדְבִָר֔ים אֲׁשֶר־צִּוָ֥ה‬
‫
יְהוָ֖ה לַעֲׂשֹ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃‬
Moses called the whole (ADAT) community of the children of Israel
to assemble and said to them: These are the things that the LORD
has commanded you to make:

‫ׁשֵׁ֣שֶת יָמִים֮ ּתֵעָׂשֶ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ ּובַּיֹ֣ום הַּׁשְבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם ֹקֶ֛דׁש ׁשַּבַ֥ת ׁשַּבָתֹ֖ון‬
‫
לַיהוָ֑ה ּכָל־הָעֹׂשֶ֥ה בֹ֛ו מְלָאכָ֖ה יּומָֽת׃‬
On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have
a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any
work on it shall be put to death.
Or HaChaim states: The Torah may also wish to remind us that
performance of work on the Sabbath is prohibited regardless of
whether it is performed by a Jew or by a Gentile on his behalf. The
vocalisation of the word te-asseh (passive form), is intended to
convey that whereas it is permissible for a Jew to have his work
performed by Gentiles during the week, on the Sabbath it must not be
performed at all. This would correspond to the opinion expressed in
the Talmud that if one tells a Gentile to perform work for one on the
Sabbbath, one violates a biblical prohibition (Mechilta Parshat Bo).
The reason the Torah writes ‫ ששת‬instead of ‫בששת‬, is to remind us
that work performance during the six days of the week is a ‫מצוה‬, a
positive commandment.
The Torah emphasizes that one is not to perform ‫מלאכה‬, (melacha,
commonly translated as “work”) on the Shabbat. 

Straight after these instructions the Mishkan is spoken about . It is an

important principle of the Sages that every letter, every jot and tittle, of
the Torah is immutable. Not only this, but even the arrangement of the
passages in the Torah is critical to its understanding. We need to ask
why these two passages are juxtaposed next to each other. After the
reiteration of the importance of not performing any “melacha” (plural
“melachot”) on Shabbat, the Torah transitions to the details of the
construction of the Mishkan/Tabernacle. It describes the work in the
creation of the Tabernacle by the word “melacha.” In doing so, the
Torah provided us with its de nition of “melacha/work.” The text says
that HaShem blessed Betzalel with the ability to create, in all types of
melachot,
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 Sh’mot 35 :30 -34 And Moses said to the Israelites: See, the LORD
has singled out by name Bezalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of
Judah. He has endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and
knowledge in every kind of craft and has inspired him to make
designs for work in gold, silver, and copper,to cut stones for setting
and to carve wood—to work in every kind of designer’s craft—and to
give directions. He and Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.

,‫חּור‬-‫אּוִרי בֶן‬-‫ ּבְצַלְאֵל ּבֶן‬,‫ ְראּו ָקָרא יְהוָה ּבְׁשֵם‬,‫ּבְנֵי יִׂשְָראֵל‬-‫וַּיֹאמֶר מֹׁשֶה אֶל‬  ‫ל‬
‫לְמַּטֵה יְהּוָדה‬.

‫מְלָאכָה‬-‫ ּובְכָל‬,‫ ּבְחָכְמָה ּבִתְבּונָה ּובְַדעַת‬,‫ רּוחַ אֱֹלהִים‬,‫וַיְמַּלֵא אֹתֹו‬  ‫לא‬.

‫ ּובַּנְחֹׁשֶת‬,‫לַעֲׂשֹת ּבַּזָהָב ּובַּכֶסֶף‬--‫ מַחֲׁשָבֹת‬,‫וְלַחְׁשֹב‬  ‫לב‬.

‫מְלֶאכֶת מַחֲׁשָבֶת‬-‫ ּבְכָל‬,‫ ּובַחֲֹרׁשֶת עֵץ; לַעֲׂשֹות‬,‫ּובַחֲֹרׁשֶת אֶבֶן לְמַֹּלאת‬  ‫לג‬.

‫ָדן‬-‫אֲחִיסָמְָ לְמַּטֵה‬-‫ וְאָהֳלִיאָב ּבֶן‬,‫ הּוא‬ :‫ נָתַן ּבְלִּבֹו‬,‫ּולְהֹוֹרת‬  ‫לד‬.

The Sages spent many years so as to understand that the di erent

categories of the construction of the Tabernacle. In doing this they
were able to de ne the word melacha. There are 39 Melachot, and
they are stated in the Mishnah, Shabbat 7:2

(1) Planting, (2) Plowing, (3) Reaping, (4) Gathering, (5) Threshing, (6)
Winnowing, (7) Sorting, (8) Grinding, (9) Sifting, (10) Kneading, (11)
Cooking, (12) Shearing, (13) Scouring, (14) Carding, (15) Dyeing,
(16) Spinning, (17) Warping, (18) Threading, (19) Weaving, (20)
Separating, (21) Tying, (22) Untying, (23) Sewing, (24) Tearing,
(25) Trapping, (26) Slaughtering, (27) Skinning, (28) Preserving,
(29) Sanding, (30) Scoring, (31) Cutting to a Size, (32) Writing,
(33) Erasing, (34) Building, (35) Demolition, (36) Extinguishing,
(37) Igniting, (38) Striking with a Hammer (39) Transferring (between
domains)
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The Sabbath is a day of rest from WORLDLY work, “malechet avodah” (‫מְלֶ֥אכֶת‬
‫ — )עֲבָֹד֖ה‬a list of certain acts that, on other, ordinary days, may be done for secular
purposes outside of the Temple compound.

Don’t confuse prohibitions with commandments to positively do something. The

Temple existed for the glory of HaShem and for advertising His Name in this world.
KORBANOT are called this name because KORBAN means “drawing near.” The
function of the sacri ces was for humans to draw near to the Creator of this world.

Sacri cial animals that were dedicated for sacri ces, were not worked, not even on
secular days of the week. Work animals did rest on the Shabbat, along with their
owners. No farming is permitted on Shabbat or Yom Tov. Sacri ces had to be
animals free of any blemishes, and working them would subject them to bruises or
cuts so this was not done.

If the Torah commands a sacri ce to be brought on the Shabbat, then its slaughter
and o ering overides whatever other prohibitions may exist for the Shabbat day. It
is a command to do something in a speci c time, so it is therefore not prohibited.

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Another place that helps de ne the word “melacha,” which is linked
to the construction of the Tabernacle, is description of the Creation of
the Universe. Recited every Shabbat evening during Kiddush, this
passage from Bereshit is read,

“The heavens and the earth were nished, and all their vast array. On
the seventh day God nished His work (melacha) which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work (melacha) which he
had made. God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because
he rested in it from all his work (melacha) which he had created and
made.” Bereshit 2:1-
The English word for “work” is insu cient to describe the Hebrew
word “melacha.” Perhaps melacha may be translated as an “act of
creation.”
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LUKE 4:16 16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on
Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,

The Gospels describe several controversies involving Yeshua healing on Shabbat.

An interesting statement by R’ Yaakov Emden (1697CE to 1776CE) wrote in Seder Olam

Vezuta,

“…the Nazarene and his Apostles observed the Sabbath and circumcision as mentioned
earlier, for they were born as Jews…It is therefore a habitual saying of mine (not as a
hypocritical atterer, God forbid, for I am of the faithful believers of Israel, and I know
well that the remnant of Israel will not speak falsehood, nor will their mouths contain a
deceitful tongue) that the Nazarene brought about a double kindness in the world. On
the one hand, he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically, as mentioned earlier,
and not one of our Sages spoke out more emphatically concerning the immutability of
the Torah. And on the other hand, he did much good for the Gentiles (provided they do
not turn about his intent as they please, as some foolish ones have done because they
did not fully understand the intent of the authors of the Gospels.”

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Matthew 5:17-19 17 “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the
Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that
until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from
the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever
disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the
least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be
called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This passage is quoted in the Talmud, where R’ Gamliel refutes Replacement

Theology,

“(A certain philosopher told R’ Gamliel,) “Since the day that you were exiled from
your land the Law of Moses has been superseded and another book given (that is,
the Gospel)…(R’ Gamliel said to him,) “Look at the book, wherein it is written, “I
came not to destroy the Law of Moses nor to add to the Law of Moses.”

Shabbat 116b, Soncino Press Edition

Therefore Yeshua said that every letter, even to the details of the letters
themselves, were in place until heaven and earth pass away. This also
means that Yeshua holds the Shabbat with the highest level of sanctity.
Let us now explore the Sabbath Controversies, point by point.

Matthew 12:1-5

“One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some
wheat elds. His talmidim were hungry, so they began picking heads of
grain and eating them. 2 On seeing this, the P’rushim said to him,
“Look! Your talmidim are violating Shabbat!” 3 But he said to them,
“Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and those with him
were hungry? 4 He entered the House of God and ate the Bread of the
Presence!” — which was prohibited, both to him and to his
companions; it is permitted only to the cohanim. 5 “Or haven’t you read
in the Torah that on Shabbat the cohanim profane Shabbat and yet are
blameless?”
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 A few of the popular understanding of these passages is as follows:

The Rabbis made up a bunch of man-made rules

Jesus came to do away with these rules

— OR —

The “Law” was too strict, Jesus came to free us from these rules. So
now, we do not need Shabbat.
First, Yeshua takes the question of the Pharisees very seriously. Second,
picking grain on the Shabbat does indeed meet the de nition of “melacha,”
and would be a violation of Shabbat. Yeshua acknowledges this, but then
introduces what is called a kal v’chomer (light and heavy) argument that the
picking the grain in this case was permitted. Kal v’chomer is a Jewish
method of exegesis and argumentation whose structure is as follows, “If
this logic applies in Case A, how much more should it apply in Case B.” [5]
These arguments can be found in the Torah, in the words of Yeshua and in
the letters of Paul. This understanding goes to even before the building of
the 1st Temple. Hillel was the rst to write it down as a way of studying
Torah. Yeshua does not dismiss the argument the Pharisees have brought,
but rather answers as a trained Rabbi would. He says,“Haven’t you read
what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; how he
entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for
him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?”

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The Torah says,

“You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, which if a man does, he
shall live in them: I am HaShem.”Leviticus 18:5

The Sages derived from this verse that one may preserve life, even if it meant
violating the Torah. This principle is called ‫פיקוח נפש‬, Pikuach Nefesh. There are
limitations to pikuach nefesh, such as the commandments concerning idolatry,
murder and sexual immorality. One may not violate these mitzvot, even on the pain of
death. It is important to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15) by
understanding that certain commandments may con ict and override each other.

In the example that Yeshua used, what would be more important? Saving David’s life
and breaking the commandment that the Bread of the Presence may only be eaten
by priests? Or keep the commandment of the holiness of the Bread, and allow David
to die? Obviously saving life is more important. Yeshua says later in the chapter,

“Then Yeshua said to them, “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do
good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” Luke 6:9
The above conversation is found in Luke 2 and Mark 6 as well

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 Does this situation appear to be a case of saving a life? The Gospels
do not seem to imply that the disciples were starving. However, one
strong argument that they were is found in Yeshua’s argument itself, in
his example of David.

We nd a response, from a very unusual source, “ Yeshua’s point is a

point made in Talmudic literature, in the case of pikuach nefesh, to
save your life, you can violate the laws of the Torah. So he doesn’t
question whether or not his talmidim are doing something wrong. He
accepts the question that there is something wrong with picking grain
on the Sabbath, which we would only know from the Talmud, from the
Oral Law, and he gives them a Rabbinic answer to their question…”

R’ Michael Skobac, A Rabbi Cross-Examines Christianity

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As the Talmud says, one may suspend the laws of Shabbat to
preserve life (Yoma 85a). In the rst century, halacha was being
debated and there were disagreements between Beit Hillel and Beit
Shammai on how strict or lenient the commandments were to be
applied. During the time of Yeshua, the school of Shammai was in
dominance. Whereas those of the students of the school of Hillel were
very humble, the Shammaites were very rigid to the point of violence
and even murder. The disciples of Shammai once surrounded Hillel in
the Temple in a threatening manner, completely reminiscient of these
incidents in the Gospels. It is quite possible to conclude that many of
the disputes Yeshua had with the Pharisees were from the faction of
Shammai. The Talmud says,

“And on that day Hillel sat submissive before Shammai, like one of the
disciples, and it was as grievous to Israel as the day when the [golden]
calf was made.” Shabbat 17a,
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If the disciples were not in danger of actually dying, but were seized with
extreme hunger, this would be permitted as alleviation of su ering. In Yeshua’s
view, compassion and helping those who su er are indeed permitted on
Shabbat. One may not truly rest on Shabbat if one is seriously su ering.
Yeshua then makes a powerful statement,

“He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

The Talmud makes this exact point that there are “exceptions” to the
commandments of Shabbat, and echoes Yeshua’s famous words,

“R. Eleazar answered and said: If circumcision, which attaches to one only of
the two hundred and forty-eight members of the human body, suspends the
Sabbath, how much more shall [the saving of] the whole body suspend the
Sabbath! R. Jose son of R. Judah said, “Only you shall keep My Sabbaths,
one might assume under all circumstances, therefore the text reads: “Only”
viz, allowing for exceptions. R. Jonathan b. Joseph said: For it is holy unto
you; I.e., it (the Sabbath) is committed to your hands, not you to its hands.”

Yoma 85b,
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R’ Eleazar used the exact example that Yeshua does in John 7,

“Yeshua answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel because
of it. Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of
the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy. If a boy
receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the Torah of Moses may
not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man
completely healthy on the Sabbath? Don’t judge according to
appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
John 7:21-24
So in this case, it would su ce to say that picking the grain was
acceptable in terms of halacha in order to save life

We carry on in Matthew and read about a healing on Shabbat.

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The shrivelled hand.

Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6 ,Luke 6:6-11

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue. 10 A man there
had a shriveled hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, they
asked him, “Is healing permitted on Shabbat?” 11 But he answered, “If you
have a sheep that falls in a pit on Shabbat, which of you won’t take hold of it
and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!
Therefore, what is permitted on Shabbat is to do good.” 13 Then to the man
he said, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored, as
sound as the other one. 14 But the P’rushim went out and began plotting
how they might do away with Yeshua
According to Midrash Tanchuma (Noach 5), when Adam was created,
he was already circumcised. Circumcision is thus an aspect of the
original design, and “restores” a ‘member’ of the male body. The
Torah commands that circumcision take place at a speci c time,

“On the eighth day the esh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”
Leviticus 12:3

If the eighth day coincides with the Shabbat, does one postpone (or
hasten) the circumcision, since the procedure involves ‘cutting’ which
is prohibited on Shabbat? Which takes precedence? This is why Oral
Torah was needed. According to the Sages, circumcision takes
precedence. We may therefore conclude, that since circumcision
(which is the restoration of a smaller ‘member’), how much more
would it be permitted to restore a larger member on Shabbat?

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Yeshua simply told the man to stretch forth his hand. He did not perform
any of the 39 melachot. He simply told the man stretch forth your hand,
and he did so with emunah (faith). Yeshua’s restoration of the man’s
hand is completely permitted.

Additionally, in this case, some “sought to accuse him,” and desired to

“destroy him.” This is very much in the character of the disciples of
Shammai, who were lled with zealotry and over-corrected in a society
under the shadow of the Roman Empire. This was pure baseless hatred,
sinat chinam, which merited the destruction of the Temple. The Talmud
laments the spiritual state of 1st Century CE Israel was so low that they
regarded laws of ritual purity were more important than even murder
(Yoma 23a). Yeshua sought to heal this spiritual wound of the people. It
is for this reason that Yeshua stated earlier in the chapter,

“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not
sacri ce,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.”Matthew 12:7
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A Women with a Spirit of In rmity: Luke 13 :10 -16

10 “Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat. 11 A

woman came up who had a spirit which had crippled her for eighteen
years; she was bent double and unable to stand erect at all. 12 On seeing
her, Yeshua called her and said to her, “Lady, you have been set free from
your weakness!” 13 He put his hands on her, and at once she stood
upright and began to glorify God.14 But the president of the synagogue,
indignant that Yeshua had healed on Shabbat, spoke up and said to the
congregation, “There are six days in the week for working; so come during
those days to be healed, not on Shabbat!” 15 However, Yeshua answered
him, “You hypocrites! Each one of you on Shabbat — don’t you unloose
your ox or your donkey from the stall and lead him o to drink? 16 This
woman is a daughter of Avraham, and the Adversary kept her tied up for
eighteen years! Shouldn’t she be freed from this bondage on Shabbat?”
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Two thousand years ago, most people made their medicine at home,
or went to a local apothecary. In this environment, the main concern
with healing on the Shabbat involved the mixing of medicinal herbs
into powders, i.e. with a mortar and pestle. Such mixing would be a
violation of the Shabbat. In this case, again, Yeshua did not perform
any prohibited melacha.

In Jewish Law there are categories of sick people on di erent scales:

If one has a minor condition (Meychush BeAlma)

If one has a sickness (Choleh Sh’ein Bo Sakana)

If one is critically ill (Choleh She’yesh Bo Sakana)

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 The woman was su ering in pain for 18 years, unable to truly rest on Shabbat. Her
condition would certainly merit the status of cholah sh’ein bo sakana, and probably
cholah she’yesh bo sakana. Her condition certainly merited medical attention, even if on
Shabbat. Yeshua then introduces a kal v’chomer argument, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each
one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to
water? Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound
eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” Luke 13:15-16

According to the Torah, animals are to be allowed to rest on the Shabbat,

“… the seventh day is a Sabbath to HaShem your God. You shall not do any work in it,
you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your
livestock, nor your foreigner (ger) who is within your gates.”Exodus 20:10
Moreover, Exodus 23:5 says,“If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down
under his burden, don’t leave him, you shall surely help him with it.”

From this passage, the Sages derived the concept of tzar ba’alei chayim, the prevention
of su ering to animals, ( Bava Metzia 32b). If is allowed to free an animal to give it water
on Shabbat, so it can truly rest and not su er, how much more should this daughter of
Avraham be freed?
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 A man with dropsy/ edema.

Luke 14 :1-6  “One Shabbat Yeshua went to eat in the home of one of
the leading P’rushim, and they were watching him closely. 2 In front of
him was a man whose body was swollen with uid. 3 Yeshua spoke up
and asked the Torah experts and P’rushim, “Does the Torah allow
healing on Shabbat or not?” 4 But they said nothing. So, taking hold
of him, he healed him and sent him away. 5 To them he said, “Which
of you, if a son or an ox falls into a well, will hesitate to haul him out on
Shabbat?” 6 And to these things they could give no answer.”

Most translations refer to this condition as “dropsy” which is an older

term for edema, or swelling.

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We are not told the cause of the swelling, which may be from a life-threatening
disease. The man would likely classify as choleh sh’yesh bo sakana, someone
with a critical illness. Notice the structure of Yeshua’s argument, and compare
to the Tosefta,

“They remove debris for one whose life is in doubt on the Sabbath. And the one
who is prompt in the matter, lo, this one is to be praised. And it is not necessary
to get permission from a court. How so? If one fell into the ocean and cannot
climb up, or if his ship is sinking into the sea, and he cannot climb up, they go
down and pull him out of there. And it is not necessary to get permission from a
court. If he fell into a pit and cannot get out, they let down a chain to him and
climb down and pull him out of there. And it is not necessary to get permission
from a court.”
Tosefta, Shabbat 15:11-12,

Again, we see that none of the 39 melachot are being performed here, and
Yeshua re-iterates the importance of the alleviation of su ering on the Shabbat,
as taking precedence – exactly in line with the logic permitting circumcision,
saving of a life and alleviation of intense su ering.
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  John 5:1-18 “After this, there was a Judean festival; and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. 2 In
Yerushalayim, by the Sheep Gate, is a pool called in Aramaic, Beit-Zata, 3 in which lay a crowd of
invalids — blind, lame, crippled. 4 [a] 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
6 Yeshua, seeing this man and knowing that he had been there a long time, said to him, “Do you want
to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered, “I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is
disturbed; and while I’m trying to get there, someone goes in ahead of me.” 8 Yeshua said to him,
“Get up, pick up your mat and walk!” 9 Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat
and walked.
Now that day was Shabbat, 10 so the Judeans said to the man who had been healed, “It’s Shabbat!
It’s against Torah for you to carry your mat!” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me —
he’s the one who told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who
told you to pick it up and walk?” 13 But the man who had been healed didn’t know who it was,
because Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd.
14 Afterwards Yeshua found him in the Temple court and said to him, “See, you are well! Now stop
sinning, or something worse may happen to you!” 15 The man went o and told the Judeans it was
Yeshua who had healed him; 16 and on account of this, the Judeans began harassing Yeshua because
he did these things on Shabbat.
17 But he answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I too am working.” 18 This
answer made the Judeans all the more intent on killing him — not only was he breaking Shabbat; but
also, by saying that God was his own Father, he was claiming equality with God.”
“

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From what we have learnt the healing in this case was heter,
permitted. But we have a problem. Yeshua tells the man to pick up
his mat and walk, which raises questions as to whether it was
permissible for the man to carry the mat on Shabbat.

The act of “carrying” is the least of the melachot, as there is no act of

creation, or modi cation done to the object – it simply changes
location. It is considered gruah, “an inferior labour” (Tosafot Shabbat
2a).

The issue is transferring objects between domains in Hebrew called

‫מוציא מרשות לרשות‬, motzi m’reshut l’reshut, transferring from a
domain to (another type of) domain, or is also called hotza’ah.
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The di erent categories of domains are as follows,

Private Domain / Reshut HaYachid – Carrying is Permitted

Public Domain / Reshut HaRabim – Carrying is only allowed for four amot

Semi-Public Domain / Karmelit – Carrying is only allowed for four amot

Exempt Domain / Makom Patur – Carrying is Permitted

4 amot = about 7ft

mile = amot

Shabbat amot = 2000 cubits Festivals it was enlarged Bethany to

Jerusalem you could walk
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The Torah tells us of a case where a man was transferring between domains,

“While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering
sticks on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to
Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because
it had not been declared what should be done to him.

HaShem said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death: all the
congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp.”Numbers 15:32-35

Jeremiah says,“Thus says HaShem, ‘Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden
on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a
burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day holy, neither do any work: but
make the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.”Jeremiah 17:21-22

The concern of transporting on the Shabbat is of Biblical origin. R’ Berel Wein

writes,

“There are myriad halachic technicalities involved in these types of “work.” Many
of these technicalities are of rabbinic origin, designed to protect the holiness and
sacredness of the Shabat.”
According to Jewish tradition, King Solomon implemented a solution
to allow a large public domain to be considered “private.”

This innovation was called an ‫ עירוב‬Eiruv, which is a type of

enclosure. This allows Torah observant Jews to carry books, house
keys, and to push baby strollers on the Shabbat, etc. An entire
tractate of the Talmud is dedicated to this subject, hence its name
“Eiruvin.” According to the Radak, R’ David Kimchi, all of Jerusalem
was an eiruv, as it was surrounded by the city walls.
Therefore, in order for us to know for sure if this was a violation of
Shabbat, we must ascertain what type of domain this was. If the
location were within the city walls,

“The writer saw relevant to tell us the exact location of the place in
which this event occurred; near the sheep market, in the pool of
Bethesda, which has ve porches (Jn 5:2). Simply, and in few words:
it was literally impossible for the sick man to break the Shabbat by
carrying his mat, because the pool of Bethesda was surrounded by
doorframes (Tzurat haPetakhim), and this constitutes an Eiruv! The
tradition of the Eiruv is so ancient that the sages are not sure where it
comes from and they attribute it to Solomon.”
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The Gospel of John highlights the ignorance of those who oppose Yeshua. Therefore they may have
been ignorant of the laws of the eiruv, or perhaps against the idea of an eiruv (if they were Sadducees
and reject the Oral Torah).

There is a second possible solution: This was a Yom Tov (Holiday) Shabbat, and not the weekly Shabbat.
The Gospel of John says that this day was a festival,

“After these things, there was a Jewish festival, and Yeshua went up to Jerusalem…it was the Sabbath
on that day.” John 5:1
While subject to many of the same restrictions, the laws surrounding the Yom Tov are more lenient, and
transferring between domains on a Yom Tov is permitted. “But Yeshua answered them, “My Father is still
working, so I am working, too.”John 5:17
The words of Yeshua here echo the Midrash,

“R. Pinchas said in R. Oshaya’s name: Although you read: BECAUSE THAT IN IT HE RESTED FROM ALL
HIS WORK WHICH GOD CREATED TO MAKE, He rested from the work of [creating] His world, but not
from the work of the wicked and the work of the righteous, for He works with the former and with the
latter. He shows the former their essential character, and the latter their essential character. And how do
we know that the punishment of the wicked is called work? Because it is said, The Lord hath opened His
armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation, for it is a work that the Lord God hath to
do (Jer. 50:25). And how do we know that the bestowing of reward upon the righteous is called work?
Because it is said, Oh how abundant is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee,
which Thou hast wrought for them that take refuge in Thee, in the sight of the sons of men (Ps. 31:20)!
Genesis Rabbah 11:10,