Shabbat candles

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Shabbat (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת‎, Ashkenazi pronunciation: Shabbos, Yiddish: שאבּעס, in English: the Sabbath, "rest" or "cessation") is the seventh day of the Jewish week and the Jewish day of rest. On Shabbat, Jews recall the Biblical Creation account in Genesis in which God creates the Heavens and the Earth in six days and rests on the seventh.

Shabbat is a festive day when Jews are freed from the regular labors of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and spend time with family. Shabbat observance entails refraining from a range of activities prohibited on Shabbat, such as lighting a fire and cooking.

Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.^[1] Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles and reciting a blessing. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: on Friday night, Saturday morning, and late Saturday afternoon. Friday night dinner begins with kiddush and a blessing recited over two loaves of challah.

Etymology[link]

The word Shabbat derives from the Hebrew verb shavat. Although frequently translated as "rest" (noun or verb), another accurate translation of these words is "ceasing [from work]", as resting is not necessarily denoted. The related modern Hebrew word shevita, (labor strike), has the same implication of active rather than passive abstinence from work. The notion of active cessation from labor is also regarded as more consistent with an omnipotent God's activity on the seventh day of Creation according to Genesis.

Biblical origin[link]

Shabbat is given special status as a holy day at the very beginning of the Torah in Genesis 2:1–3. It is first commanded after the Exodus from Egypt, in Exodus 16:26 (relating to the cessation of manna) and in Exodus 20:8–11 (as the fourth of the Ten Commandments). Shabbat is commanded and commended many more times in the Torah and Tanakh; special sacrifices are to be offered on the day. Shabbat is also described by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Nehemiah.

History[link]

A longstanding Jewish position is that unbroken seventh-day shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution,^[2] whether this Mosaic tradition preserves an origin in special creation,^[3] or whether it indicates some obscure later naturalistic origin.^[4] Seventh-day shabbat did not originate with the Egyptians, to whom it was unknown;^[5] and other origin theories based on the day of Saturn, or on the planets generally, have also been abandoned.^[6] The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch^[2] (and of Marcello Craveri),^[7] that shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle in the Babylonian calendar^[8][9] containing four weeks ending in Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month.^[10] The difficulties of this theory include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as shabbat in any language.^[6]

Status as a holy day[link]

Reciting blessing over Shabbat candles

The Tanakh and siddur (Jewish prayer book) describe Shabbat as having three purposes:

1. To commemorate the Israelites' redemption from slavery in ancient Egypt;
2. To commemorate God's creations of the universe; on the seventh day God rested from (or ceased) his work;
3. As a "taste" of Olam Haba (the Messianic Age).

Judaism accords Shabbat the status of a joyous holy day. In many ways, Jewish law gives Shabbat the status of being the most important holy day in the Jewish calendar:

• It is the first holy day mentioned in the Bible, and God was the first to observe it with the cessation of Creation (Genesis 2:1–3).
• Jewish liturgy treats the Shabbat as a "bride" and "queen" (see Shekhinah).
• The Sefer Torah is read during the Torah reading which is part of the Shabbat morning services, with a longer reading than during the week. The Torah is read over a yearly cycle of 54 parshiyot, one for each Shabbat (sometimes they are doubled). On Shabbat, the reading is divided into seven sections, more than on any other holy day, including Yom Kippur. Then, the Haftarah reading from the Hebrew prophets is read.
• A tradition states that the Jewish Messiah will come if every Jew properly observes two consecutive Shabbatot.^[11]
• The punishment in ancient times for desecrating Shabbat (stoning) is the most severe punishment in Jewish law.^[12]

Friday night rituals[link]

According to Jewish law, Shabbat starts a few minutes before sunset. Candles are lit at this time. It is customary to light the candles 18 minutes before sundown and Jewish Calendars adhere to this custom. The Kabbalat Shabbat service is a prayer service welcoming the arrival of Shabbat. Before Friday night dinner, it is customary to sing two songs, one "greeting" the Shabbat angels into the house^[13] and the other thanking the woman of the house for all the work she has done over the past week. After blessings over the wine and challah, a festive meal is served. Singing is traditional at Sabbath meals.

Shabbat rituals[link]

Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as prayer. It is customary to eat three festive meals: Dinner on Shabbat eve (Friday night), lunch on Shabbat day (Saturday), and a third meal, known as Seudah Shlishit, in the late afternoon (Saturday).

Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not do so during the week. Services are held on Shabbat eve (Friday night), Shabbat morning (Saturday morning), and late Shabbat afternoon (Saturday afternoon).

With the exception of Yom Kippur, which is referred to in the Torah as the "Shabbat of Shabbats", days of public fasting are postponed or advanced if they coincide with Shabbat. Mourners sitting shivah (week of mourning subsequent to the death of a spouse or first-degree relative) outwardly conduct themselves normally for the duration of the day and are forbidden to display public signs of mourning.

According to Rabbinic literature, God via the Torah commands Jews to observe (refrain from forbidden activity) and remember (with words, thoughts, and actions) the Shabbat, and these two actions are symbolized by the two Shabbat candles which are lit 18 to 40 minutes ("Tosefet Shabbat") before the onset of Shabbat by Jewish women, usually the mother/wife, though men who live alone are required to do so themselves. It is customary to light two candles, although some families light more, sometimes in accordance with the number of children.^[14]

Although most Shabbat laws are restrictive, the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus is taken by the Talmud to allude to the positive commandments of the Shabbat. These include:

• Honouring Shabbat (kavod Shabbat): Preparing for the upcoming Shabbat by bathing, having a haircut, and cleaning and beautifying the home (with flowers, for example). On Shabbat itself, wearing festive clothing and refraining from unpleasant conversation. It is customary to avoid talk about money or business matters on Shabbat.^[15]
• Recitation of Kiddush over a cup of wine at the beginning of the first and second Shabbat meals, or at a reception after the conclusion of morning prayers (see list of Jewish prayers and blessings)

Two homemade whole-wheat challahs covered by traditional embroidered Shabbat challah cover.

• Eating three festive meals. Meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread (lechem mishneh), usually a braided challah, which is symbolic of the double portion of manna which fell for the Jewish people during their 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. It is customary to serve meat or fish, and sometimes both, for the Shabbat evening and morning meals. The third meal, eaten late Shabbat afternoon, is called Seudah Shlishit (literally, "Third Meal"). This is generally a light meal and may be parve or dairy.
• Enjoying Shabbat (oneg Shabbat): Engaging in pleasurable activities such as eating, singing, spending time with the family and marital relations.

Observing the closing Havdalah ritual in 14th-century Spain.

• Recitation of Havdalah at the conclusion of Shabbat at nightfall (over a cup of wine, and with the use of fragrant spices and a candle).

Prohibited activities[link]

39 Melakhot[link]

Jewish law (halakha) prohibits doing any form of melakhah (מְלָאכָה, plural melakhot) on Shabbat, with some exceptions. Though melakhah is commonly translated as "work" in English, a better definition is "deliberate activity" or "skill and craftmanship". There are 39 categories of prohibited activities (melakhot) listed in Mishnah Tractate Shabbat Chapter 7, Mishna 2).

Different streams of Judaism view the prohibition on work in different ways. Observant Orthodox and Conservative Jews refrain from performing the prohibited activities. These prohibited activities are exegetically derived – based on juxtaposition of corresponding Biblical passages – from the kinds of work that were necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle. They are not directly listed in the Torah; elsewhere, the Mishnah observes that "the laws of Shabbat [...] are like mountains hanging by a hair, for they are little Scripture but many laws".^[16] Many religious scholars have pointed out that these labors have in common activity that is "creative," or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment.

The 39 categories of melakhah are: ploughing earth, sowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, washing wool, beating wool, dyeing wool, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying, untying, sewing stitches, tearing, trapping, slaughtering, flaying, tanning, scraping hide, marking hides, cutting hide to shape, writing two or more letters, erasing two or more letters, building, demolishing, extinguishing a fire, kindling a fire, putting the finishing touch on an object and transporting an object between the private domain and the public domain, or for a distance of 4 cubits within the public domain.

Each melakhah has derived prohibitions of various kinds. There are, therefore, many more forbidden activities on the Shabbat; all are traced back to one of the 39 above principal melakhot.

Given the above, the 39 melakhot are not so much activities as "categories of activity." For example, while "winnowing" usually refers exclusively to the separation of chaff from grain, and "selecting" refers exclusively to the separation of debris from grain, they refer in the Talmudic sense to any separation of intermixed materials which renders edible that which was inedible. Thus, filtering undrinkable water to make it drinkable falls under this category, as does picking small bones from fish. (Gefilte fish is one solution to this problem.)

Use of electricity[link]

Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that it is prohibited to turn electric devices on or off as falling under one of the 39 categories of work (melakhot). However, the authorities are not in agreement about exactly which category (or categories) this would fall under. One view is that tiny sparks are created in a switch when the circuit is closed, and this would constitute "lighting a fire" (category 37). If the appliance is one whose purpose is for light or heat (such as an incandescent lightbulb or electric oven) then the lighting or heating elements may be considered as a type of fire; if so, then turning them on constitutes both "lighting a fire" (category 37) and "cooking" (a form of baking, category 11), and turning them off would be "extinguishing a fire" (category 36).

Another view is that a device which is plugged into an electrical outlet of a wall becomes part of the building, but is nonfunctional while the switch is off; turning it on would then constitute "building" and turning it off would be "demolishing" (categories 35 and 34). Some schools of thought consider the use of electricity to be forbidden only by rabbinic injunction, rather than because it violates one of the original categories.

A common solution to the problem of electricity involves pre-set timers (Shabbat clocks) for electric appliances, to turn them on and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat itself. Some Conservative authorities^[17][18][19] reject altogether the arguments for prohibiting the use of electricity. Some Orthodox also hire a "shabbas goy", a gentile to turn light switches on and off on Shabbat.

Automobiles[link]

Orthodox and many Conservative authorities completely prohibit the use of automobiles on Shabbat as a violation of multiple categories include "igniting a fire" (category 37), "extinguishing a fire" (category 36) and "transferring between domains" (category 39). However, the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards permits driving to a synagogue on Shabbat, as an emergency measure, on the grounds that if Jews lost contact with synagogue life they would become lost to the Jewish people.

A halachically authorized Shabbat module added to an Amigo power operated vehicle may be used on the observance of Shabbat for those with walking limitations. Often referred to as a Shabbat scooter or Amigo Shabbat, it is manufactured by Zomet Institute in Israel, each Shabbat module application is individually inspected and certified by a Zomet representative. It is intended only for individuals whose limited mobility is dependent on a POV/scooter or automobile consistently throughout the week.

Shomer Shabbat[link]

The term shomer Shabbat is used for a person (or organization) who adheres to Shabbat laws consistently. The shomer Shabbat is an archetype mentioned in Jewish songs (e.g., Baruch El Elyon) and the intended audience for various treatises on Jewish law and practice for Shabbat (e.g., Shemirat Shabbat ke-Hilkhata).

Technology in the service of Shabbat[link]

When there is an urgent human or medical need which is life-threatening, it is possible to perform seemingly "forbidden" acts by modifying the relevant technology to such an extent that no law is actually violated. An example is the "Sabbath elevator". In this mode, an elevator will stop automatically at every floor, allowing people to step on and off without anyone having to press any buttons, which would normally be needed to work. (Dynamic braking is also disabled if it is normally used, shunting energy collected from downward travel, and thus the gravitational potential energy of passengers, into a resistor network.) This prevents "violation" of the Shabbat prohibition against doing "useful work." Many rabbinical authorities consider the use of such elevators by those who are otherwise capable as a "violation" of the Shabbat, with such workarounds being for the benefit of the frail and handicapped and not being in the spirit of the day.

Many observant Jews avoid the prohibition of "carrying" in the absence of an eruv by making their keys into a tie bar, or part of a belt buckle or brooch. The key thereby becomes a legitimate article of clothing or jewelry, which may be worn, rather than carried. Some also use an elastic band which has clips on both ends, and keys are placed between them as an integral link in the band, which may then be considered a belt.

In recent years, the Shabbat lamp has been developed to allow a light in a room to be turned on/off at will while the electricity remains on. A special mechanism blocks out the light when the off position is desired without violating Shabbat.

Permitted desecration[link]

In the event that a human life is in danger (pikuach nefesh), a Jew is not only allowed, but required,^[20][21] to violate any Shabbat law that stands in the way of saving that person, excluding murder, idolatry, and forbidden sexual acts. The concept of life being in danger is interpreted broadly: for example, it is mandated that one violate the Shabbat to bring a woman in active labor to a hospital. Lesser, rabbinic restrictions are often violated under much less urgent circumstances (a patient who is ill but not critically so).

Various other legal principles closely delineate which activities constitute desecration of the Shabbat. Examples of these include the principle of shinui ("change" or "deviation"): A severe violation becomes a non-severe one if the prohibited act was performed in a way that would be considered abnormal on a weekday. Examples include writing with one's non-dominant hand (according to many rabbinic authorities). This legal principle operates bedi'avad (ex post facto) and does not cause a forbidden activity to be permitted barring extenuating circumstances.

Liberal views[link]

Generally, adherents of Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism believe that the individual Jew determines whether to follow Shabbat prohibitions or not. For example, some Jews might find activities, such as writing or cooking for leisure, to be enjoyable enhancements to Shabbat and its holiness, and therefore may encourage such practices. Many Reform Jews believe that what constitutes "work" is different for each person, and that only what the person considers "work" is forbidden.^[23] Radical Hungarian-born Reform rabbi Ignaz Einhorn even shifted his congregation's Shabbat worship to Sundays.^[24]

More rabbinically traditional Reform and Reconstruction Jews believe that these halakhot in general may be valid, but that it is up to each individual to decide how and when to apply them. A small fraction of Jews, in the Progressive Jewish community, accept these laws much the same way as Orthodox Jews.

Encouraged activities[link]

All Jewish denominations encourage the following activities on Shabbat:

• Reading, studying and discussing Torah and commentary, Mishnah and Talmud, learning some Halakha and Midrash.
• Synagogue attendance for prayers;
• Spending time with other Jews and socializing with family, friends and guests at Shabbat meals (hachnasat orchim, "hospitality");
• Singing zemirot, special songs for the Shabbat meal (commonly sung during or after a meal)
• Marital relations between husband and wife^[25]
• Sleeping

Special Shabbats[link]

The Special Shabbats are the Shabbats that precede important Jewish holidays: e.g. Shabbat ha-Gadol is the Shabbat preceding Passover, Shabbat Zachor is the Shabbat preceding Purim, and Shabbat Teshuva is the Shabbat preceding Yom Kippur.

Sabbath adaptation[link]

Most Christians do not observe a Saturday Shabbat, but instead observe a weekly day of worship on Sunday, which is often called the "Lord's Day".

Several Christian denominations, such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Seventh Day Baptists, and the True Jesus Church, observe seventh-day Sabbath. This observance is celebrated from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Some of Messianic Judaism considers its Sabbath to be kept according to Jewish doctrinal tradition, while most of Rabbinic Judaism disagrees.

The principle of weekly Sabbath also exists in other beliefs: compare the Babylonian calendar, the Buddhist uposatha, the Islamic jumu'ah, the Neopagan sabbat, the Bahá'í calendar, the Unification Church Ahn Shi Il, and the parody-religion Pastafarian weekend.

See also[link]

• Baqashot
• Jewish holidays
• Jewish services for Sabbath
• Moed
• Sabbath breaking
• Sabbath in Christianity
• Sabbath mode
• Shabbos goy
• Shabbat in Karaism
• Sabbath in Seventh-day Adventism

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up sabbath in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shabbat

• A detailed summary of the laws of Shabbat from Torah.org, based on the Shulchan Aruch