Ramban, on Exod 20:9

“Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.”

“SIX DAYS SHALT THOU LABOR, AND DO ALL THY WORK. The term “labor” applies to work which is not for the needs of the body, such as cooking and the like, something like it is said: and in all manner of labor in the field; when thou tillest the ground; and ye shall be tilled and sown, and as I will yet explain with the help of G-d. It is for this reason that He said: “Six days you shall work the ground and do all thy work which is for your physical needs and your benefit, something like, bake that which you will bake. But on the Sabbath, you shall not do any kind of work, thou, thy son, nor thy daughter — i.e., the minors.” Thus He has warned us against our minor children doing work on the Sabbath with our knowledge and consent. Nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant means the servants who have undergone circumcision and immersion, (children of the covenant). See Mechilta here. See also above, Note 79. who are obligated to observe all laws of the Sabbath just as Israelites, even as He said in the Book of Deuteronomy, that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. In all [other] commandments of the Torah, observance is incumbent upon them as it is upon women, as is explained in the words of our Rabbis. Now it would have been proper that He warn them directly, for they themselves are duty-bound to observe the Sabbath. Scripture, however, speaks to us because the servants are in our possession, thus telling us that their resting is incumbent upon us and that if they are not hindered from doing work, we will be punished on account of them. Besides, it is with Israel that G-d speaks in all of the Ten Commandments, [and for this reason, the command is not given directly to the servants].”

Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.