391. Don’t Not Lock It Up: The prohibition against leaving the Temple unguarded

Just as there is a positive mitzvah (Mitzvah #388) to guard the Temple overnight, there is a negative mitzvah prohibiting us from shirking this duty. Now, you might look at the wording of our verse and think otherwise: “’And you shall guard the watch of the Temple’ – surely that’s a positive commandment!” Not so! The verb ShMR, meaning to be on guard, is just another way of saying, “be careful NOT to do X.” It’s a positive way of stating a negative commandment. (See Talmud Eiruvin 96a.)

A well-known example of this “ShMR is a negative” concept occurs in, of all places, the Aseres HaDibros (commonly rendered “Ten Commandments,” even though they actually contain 14 mitzvos). The Torah recounts the “Ten Commandments” twice. In parshas Yisro, God tells us to “remember” Shabbos – that refers to the positive things that we are to do each week. The version in parshas Va’eschanan, however, says to “guard” Shabbos, referring to the things from which we are to refrain (see Ramban on Exodus 20:8).

Getting back to our mitzvah, the reason is what we discussed back in Mitzvah #388. If something is precious, you guard it. While God is certainly capable of watching the Temple Himself, it would be disrespectful for us to leave it unattended overnight.

This mitzvah applies to kohanim and Leviim in Temple times. In the Talmud, it is discussed in the first chapters of tractates Tamid and Middos. It is codified in the Mishneh Torah in the eighth chapter of Hilchos Beis HaBechira. This mitzvah is #67 of the 365 negative mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos.