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Shabbat (Hebrew: שבת, shabbāt,
"rest/inactivity"; the Sabbath, often Shabbos using
Ashkenazi pronunciation), is the weekly day of rest in
Judaism, symbolizing the Seventh Day in the Book of
Genesis, after six days of creation. It is observed
from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three
stars in the sky on Saturday night. Shabbat is ushered
in by lighting candles. Candlelighting time changes
from week to week and from place to place, depending
on when the sun sets.
Etymology
The Hebrew word Shabbat comes from the Hebrew verb
shavat, which literally means "to cease." Although
Shabbat (or its anglicized version, "Sabbath") is
almost universally translated as "rest" or a "period
of rest," a more literal translation would be
"ceasing", with the implication of "ceasing from
work."
Thus, Shabbat is the day of ceasing
from work; while resting is implied, it is not a
necessary denotation of the word itself. For example,
the Hebrew word for "strike" (as in work stoppage) is shevita,
which comes from the same Hebrew root as Shabbat, and
has the same implication, namely that striking workers
actively abstain from work, rather than passively.
Some people ask why God needed to "rest" on the
seventh day of Creation according to Genesis. If the
meaning of the word is understood as "ceasing from
labor" rather than "rested," this is more consistent
with the biblical view of an omnipotent God.
Shabbat is the source for the English term Sabbath,
and for the word denoting this day of the week in many
languages.
The word "sabbatical" - referring to the sabbatical
year in the Bible, or a year that one takes off from
work, mainly in the academic world, also comes from
this root.
Shabbat in the Hebrew Bible
The observance of Shabbat is mentioned many times in
the Tanakh, most notably as the fourth of the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15).
Other instances are Exodus 31:12-17 and 35:2-3,
Leviticus 19:3 and 30, 23:3 and Numbers 28:9-10 (the
sacrifices). It is referred to directly by the
prophets Isaiah (56:4,6) and Ezekiel (ch. 20, 22, 23)
and Nehemiah 9:14.
Status as a holy day
The Tanakh and the Siddur describe Shabbat as having
three purposes:
1. A commemoration of the Israelites' redemption from
slavery in Ancient Egypt;
2. A commemoration of God's creations of the universe;
on the seventh day God rested from (or ceased) his
work;
3. A taste of the world in Messianic times.
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 Sabbath as a "bride" and
"queen".
* The Sefer Torah is read during the Torah reading
which is part of the Saturday morning services, with a
longer reading than during the week. The Torah is read
over a yearly cycle of 54 parshiot, 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
Sabbaths (Talmud, tractate Shabbat 118).
* The punishment in ancient times for desecrating
Shabbat (stoning) is the most severe punishment in
Jewish law.[1]
Shabbat rituals
Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as one of
prayer. It is customary to eat three festive meals on
Shabbat. These include dinner on Friday night, lunch
on Saturday and another meal before the conclusion of
Shabbat later in the afternoon.
Table set for Friday night meal
Table set for Friday night meal
Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if
they do not do so during the week. Services are held
on Friday night and Saturday morning. With the
exception of Yom Kippur, which is referred to in the
Torah as the "Sabbath of the Sabbaths," 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 express public signs of mourning.
An example of a bronze Shabbat candlestick holder made
in Israel in the 1940s.
An example of a bronze Shabbat candlestick holder made
in Israel in the 1940s.
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 lighting candles late Friday afternoon
(in most communities, eighteen minutes before sunset
is customary) 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.[2]
Although most Shabbat laws are restrictive (see
below), the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus
is taken by the Talmud to allude to the positive
commandments of the Shabbat. These include:
* Recitation of kiddush, or "sanctification," over a
cup of wine at the beginning of Shabbat before the
first meal and after the conclusion of morning prayers
(see List of Hebrew Prayers)
* Eating three festive meals (shalosh seudot). Meals
begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread (lechem
mishneh), usually a braided challah. It is customary
to serve meat or fish, and sometimes both, for Friday
night dinner and Shabbat lunch. The third meal, eaten
late Saturday afternoon, is called Seudah Shlishit
(literally, "third meal"). This is generally a light
meal and may be parve or dairy.
* Recitation of Havdalah, or "separation," at the
conclusion on Saturday night (over a cup of wine, and
with the use of fragrant spices and a candle)
* Enjoying Shabbat (Oneg Shabbat). Engaging in
pleasurable activities such as eating, singing,
spending time with the family and marital relations.
* Honoring Shabbat (Kavod Shabbat) Preparing for the
upcoming Shabbat by bathing, having a haircut, and
cleaning and beautifying the home (with flowers, for
example), or on Shabbat itself, wearing festive
clothing and refraining from unpleasant conversation.
It is customary to avoid talk about money or business
matters on Shabbat.[3]
Prohibited activities
Main article: 39 categories of activity prohibited on
Shabbat
Jewish law prohibits doing any form of melachah
("work", plural "melachot") on Shabbat. Melachah does
not closely correspond to the English definition of
the term "work", nor does it correspond to the
definition of the term as used in physics.
Different denominations view the prohibition on work
in different ways. Observant Orthodox and Conservative
Jews do not perform the 39 categories of activity
prohibited by Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 7:2 in the
Talmud. These categories are exegetically derived -
based on juxtaposition of corresponding Biblical
passages - from the kinds of work that were necessary
for the construction of the Tabernacle. 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 are:
1. Sowing
2. Plowing
3. Reaping
4. Binding sheaves
5. Threshing
6. Winnowing
7. Selecting
8. Grinding
9. Sifting
10. Kneading
11. Baking
12. Shearing wool
13. Washing wool
14. Beating wool
15. Dyeing wool
16. Spinning
17. Weaving
18. Making two loops
19. Weaving two threads
20. Separating two threads
21. Tying
22. Untying
23. Sewing stitches
24. Tearing
25. Trapping
26. Slaughtering
27. Flaying
28. Tanning
29. Scraping hide
30. Marking hides
31. Cutting hide to shape
32. Writing two or more letters
33. Erasing two or more letters
34. Building
35. Demolishing
36. Extinguishing a fire
37. Kindling a fire
38. Putting the finishing touch on an object
39. Transporting an object between a private domain
and the public domain, or for a distance of 4 cubits
within the public domain
Each melachah 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 melachot. Direct derivatives
(toledoth) have the same legal severity as the
original melachah (although there are marginal
differences); examples are the related activities of
cooking, baking, roasting and poaching, all of which
fall under "baking." Indirect derivatives instituted
by the rabbis are termed shevuth and are much less
severe in legal terms (e.g. they were not punished
with stoning when this punishment was still in force).
Given the above, the 39 melachot are not so much
activities as "categories of activity." For example,
while "winnowing" (category 6, above) usually refers
exclusively to the separation of chaff from grain, and
"selecting" (category 7, above) 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 a traditional
Ashkenazi solution to this problem.)
Another example is the prohibition (according to
Orthodox and some Conservative rabbinic authorities)
against turning electric devices on or off, which is
derived from one of the "39 categories of work (melachot)".
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 of one of the original categories. A common
solution to the problem of electricity involves
pre-set timers for electric appliances, to turn them
on and off automatically, with no human intervention
on Shabbat itself, while some Conservative
authorities[4][5][6] reject altogether the arguments
for prohibiting the use of electricity.
Extenuating circumstances
In the event that a human life is in danger (pikuach
nefesh), a Jew is not only allowed, but required, to
violate any Shabbat law that stands in the way of
saving that person. (In fact, any law in all of
Judaism - excluding certain prohibited actions:
murder, idolatry, and various sexual relations and
acts such as incest and rape - is to be broken if
doing so is necessary to help someone who is in grave
danger.) Lesser, rabbinic restrictions are often
violated under much less urgent circumstances, e.g. 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.
Technology in the service of Shabbat
When there is an urgent human or medical need which is
not 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. (Regenerative
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 Sabbath 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 Sabbath, 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.
Reform and Reconstructionist views
Adherents of Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist
Judaism, generally speaking, believe that it is up to
the individual Jew to determine whether to follow
those prohibitions on Shabbat or not. For example,
some Jews might find writing or other activities (such
as cooking) for leisure and enjoyment purposes to be
an enjoyable activity that "enhances" Shabbat and its
holiness, and therefore encourage such practices. Many
Reform Jews believe that what constitutes "work" is
different for each person; thus only what the person
considers "work" is forbidden ([1]).
On the more rabbinically traditional side of Reform
and Reconstructionism, it is believed that these
halakhot in general may be valid, but it is up to each
individual to decide how and when to apply said laws.
Thus one can find a small fraction of Jews in the
Progressive Jewish community who accept these laws in
much the same way that Orthodox Jews do.
Permitted activities
The following activities are encouraged on Shabbat:
* Spending Shabbat together with one's immediate
family;
* Synagogue attendance for prayers;
* Visiting family and friends (within walking
distance);
* Hosting guests (hachnasat orchim, "hospitality");
* Singing zemirot, special songs for the Shabbat meal
(commonly sung during or after a meal).
* Reading, studying and discussing Torah and
commentary, Mishnah and Talmud, learning some Halakha
and Midrash.
* Marital relations, particularly on Friday night.
(The Shulkhan Arukh describes this as a "double
mitzvah," as it combines procreation with enjoyment of
Shabbat, both of which are considered to be mandated
by the Torah.)
Special Sabbaths
Main article: Special Sabbaths
The Special Sabbaths are associated with important
Jewish holidays that they precede: For example,
Shabbat Hagadol, which is the Shabbat before Passover,
Shabbat Zachor is the Shabbat before Purim, and
Shabbat Teshuva is the Shabbat before Yom Kippur.
Adaptation by other religions
The principle of a weekly day of prayer and rest,
derived from Shabbat, was eventually adopted and
instituted by other religions as well. Christianity
moved observance of the Sabbath from Saturday to
Sunday in the process of its theological and
historical split from Judaism. The Seventh-day
Adventist Church and the True Jesus Church observe the
Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset as
mentioned in Bible. None of these religions currently
keep Shabbat in the Jewish way.[citation
needed]Muslims (according to the ninth century Chinese
text, the Tongdian of Du Huan, volume 192 and 193, as
well as other contemporary non-Muslim sources) also
kept the Sabbath in a manner which closely
approximated the Jewish manner, for at least the first
two centuries after Muhammad.
1. ^ See e.g. Numbers 15:32-36.
2. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim chapter 261.
3. ^ Derived from Isaiah 48:13
4. ^ Neulander, Arthur. "The Use of Electricity on the
Sabbath." Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly 14
(1950) 165-171
5. ^ Adler, Morris; Agus, Jacob; and Friedman,
Theodore. "Responsum on the Sabbath." Proceedings of
the Rabbinical Assembly 14 (1950), 112-137
6. ^ Klein, Isaac. A Guide to Jewish Religious
Practice. The Jewish Theological Seminary of America:
New York, 1979.
Recommended reading
The Modern Jewish Mom's Guide to Shabbat" Meredith Jacobs,HarperCollins Publishers
The Sabbath Abraham Joshua Heschel
The Sabbath: A Guide to Its Understandings and
Observance Dayan Isadore Grunfeld, Philipp Feldheim
Inc.
A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice Isaac Klein, Ktav, 1992
The Artscroll Siddur Ed. Nosson Scherman, Mesorah
Publications
The Encyclopaedia Judaica, entry on "Shabbat", Keter
Publishing House Ltd
Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals Ed.
Leonard S. Cahan, The Rabbinical Assembly and the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Siddur Sim Shalom Ed. Jules Harlow, The Rabbinical
Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism
Sabbath - Day of Eternity by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan -
online version.
The Laws of Shabbat (A 37-part self study course)
Rabbi Daniel Schloss - here
