Legalese is full of magical incantation; alchemous word precision can secure financial victory or exact an extended incarceration. With these stakes, Judges and Lawyers use their words wisely.
Ambiguity within legalese is the murky moat of despair. As such, translations of legal works can serve as bucketfuls of polluted moat water. Unclear, imprecise and biased are the words that emanate from those take on the challenge to be accurate. With these translations, we desire to see the truth as if it were written in stone in its original language.
The translation controversy addressed is the Sabbath Commandment’s “shall” versus “may” controversy. In the six days preceding the Sabbath day, “shall” you or “may” you work? That is the question! “Shall”, in legalese, is a powerful word. It is absolutism. “Shall” is that of legal witchcraft. The encantation of this can mentally pound one into submission. On the otherhand, “may” gets you nowhere. It is dismissive, devaluing, and unenforceable.
Several translations of the Sabbath Commandment employ “may”. Professor Richard Elliot Friedman’s Torah translation is “shall”. In the Herzog Exodus Onkelos text, the translation is also “shall”. The Hebrew word used within the phrase is “ta ahvod”.
Does one’s personal preference play into the translation? In this world there is the idealist, the realist, and the biased. An individual who does not wish to work six days a week would be inclined to translate the word as “may”. A work ethic based individual would feel comfortable with finding a “shall”. A realist, appreciating that the world is full of many individuals who simply don’t work or don’t work an entire week, would lean towards a “may”.
Should the context matter? Was the Commandment’s intent to be a “shall” or a “may”? Was the expression one of idealism or reality? To determine this, one can argue that the basis for the Sabbath has the answer. I would simply ask someone, “what if the Creator of the Universe took one day off during the six days of creation?” Certainly, it would be problematic. We might have a world with no light. We might not have plants. We might not have humans! Thus, idealistically, the notion of completing one’s work is central. Thus, “shall”, in the grand scheme of things, is arguably the best translation. While there is this mandate, we can still appreciate that certain individuals, i.e. the retired or elderly, may fall out of the exception.
In sum, while the Sabbath Commandment’s focus is on a day of rest, it also serves to instill a societal work ethic. It must be appreciated that great things happen in this world occur as a result of the diligence to work or perform acts of labor. Work, in its many shapes or forms- i.e. volunteering, household matters, bring meaning and purpose to one’s life. The absence of this imperative is destructive to the soul.
Be well!!
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The Ten Commandments Project 