# Shabbat Question regarding "work." **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064 "2001-11-18T16:39:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064/21 "2001-11-20T14:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > [Deuteronomy 22:11] You shall not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together. > > \*\* [total curiosity no offence intended]Why?[/total curiosity no offence intended] Was there an original social reason for this? Eg like pork being unsafe to eat in Bible times? \*\* [/QUOTE] Sometimes there is no answer to **why**. It’s that way just because. There are many biblical commentators who _attempt_ to explain reasons behind certain prohibitions, but these are _attempts_. If there is no reason given, then we don’t know the real **why**. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064/22 "2001-11-20T15:33:24Z")
The real **why** is because G-d said so - for a religious Jew, that is reason enough. Gp ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064/23 "2001-11-20T15:36:12Z")
istara: > [@](#): > > Was there an original social reason for this? Eg like pork being unsafe to eat in Bible times? Very much like pork, this is one of those things that we’re expected to do without knowing why, except that it’s G-d’s commandment. Rabbinic speculations on the matter revolve around the fact that according to the Midrash, Cain’s rejected sacrifice was flax (the source plant of linen) and Abel’s accepted sacrifice was a lamb (hence, wool), and it would therefore be inappropriate to combine the two. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064/24 "2001-11-20T15:38:24Z")
and, by the way, istara, that goes for the pork thing too. i’ll admit that undercooked pork can be unsafe, but undercooked beef and chicken is no party either. ---
**Author:** ![RedNaxela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ad7895/32.png) [@RedNaxela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedNaxela)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064/25 "2001-11-20T16:33:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cmkeller \* > \*\*Rabbinic speculations on the matter revolve around the fact that according to the Midrash, Cain’s rejected sacrifice was flax (the source plant of linen) and Abel’s accepted sacrifice was a lamb (hence, wool), and it would therefore be inappropriate to combine the two. \*\* IIRC, Maimonides (in his Guide for the Perplexed) posits a different reason - because such clothes were usually worn specifically by pagan priests. According to this, then, this would belong to the class of commandments whose purpose is to keep us away from idolatrous practices. RedNaxela [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shabbat-question-regarding-work/94064.md?page=1)