About
Shabbat (Source: Wikipedia)
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in
Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the
appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact
time, therefore, differs from week to week and from place to place,
depending on the time of sunset at each location.
Shabbat recalls the Biblical Creation account in Genesis,
describing God creating the Heavens and the Earth in six days, and
resting on and sanctifying the seventh (Genesis 1:1-2:3).
Shabbat is considered a festive day, when a person is freed from
the regular labors of everyday life, can contemplate the spiritual
aspects of life, and can spend time with family. Traditionally, on
that day three festive meals are eaten — on Shabbat-eve, at
lunch, and as an end-of-Shabbat evening-meal. The day is also noted
for those activities which are prohibited on Shabbat prescribed by
Rabbinic Judaism, but not all Jews follow these categories, and
Karaite Judaism has its own traditions.
Origin
Etymology
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, a
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 source
Shabbat is given special status as a holy day at the very
beginning of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), 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.
Origin
theories
A longstanding Jewish position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat
originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred
institution, whether this Mosaic tradition preserves an origin in
special creation, or whether it indicates some obscure later
naturalistic origin Seventh-day Shabbat did not originate with the
Egyptians, to whom it was unknown; and other origin theories based
on the day of Saturn, or on the planets generally, have also been
abandoned. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia advanced a theory of
Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch that Shabbat originally
arose from the lunar cycle,containing four weeks ending in Sabbath,
plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month. 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.
Status as a holy
day
The Tanach and siddur (Jewish prayer book) 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" (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 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.
* The punishment in ancient times for desecrating Shabbat (stoning)
is the most severe punishment in Jewish law.
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 Shabbat eve, lunch on Shabbat, and another meal
before the conclusion of Shabbat later in the afternoon.
Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not
do so during the week. Services are held on Shabbat eve and Shabbat
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 display
public signs of mourning.
Bronze Shabbat candlestick holder made in 1940s Israel.
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 Shabbat candles late afternoon on Preparation Day
(Friday; 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.
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:
* Honouring 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.
* 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 Jewish prayers and
blessings)
* Eating three festive meals (shalosh seudot). 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
God gave the Jewish people on Preparation Days during their time in
the desert after the exodus from Egypt. It is customary to serve
meat or fish, and sometimes both, for Shabbat eve dinner and
Shabbat lunch. 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.
* Recitation of havdalah, or "separation," at the conclusion of
Shabbat at nightfall (over a cup of wine, and with the use of
fragrant spices and a candle).
It is customary to avoid talk about money or business matters on
Shabbat.
Prohibited
activities
Jewish law (halakha) prohibits doing any form of melachah
(מְלָאכָה, plural melachot) on Shabbat, with some
exceptions. Though melachah is commonly translated as "work" in
English, a better definition is "deliberate activity" or "skill and
craftmanship". There are 39 categories of prohibited activities
(melachot) 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 the Sabbath [...] are like mountains hanging by a
hair, for they are little Scripture but many laws" (Hagigah 1:8).
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 melachah 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 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.
Given the above, the 39 melachot 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
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 (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" 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 (Shabbat clocks) for electric appliances, to turn them on
and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat
itself. Some Conservative authorities reject altogether the
arguments for prohibiting the use of electricity.
Automobiles
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
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 the Sabbath day (e.g., Shmirat Shabbat ke-Hilkhata).
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
Judaism, excluding murder, idolatry, and forbidden sexual acts,
must be broken if doing so will help save the life of one who is in
grave danger.) The concept of life being in danger is interpreted
broadly: for example, it is mandated that one violate 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.
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. (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 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. 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.
Reform and Reconstructionist
views
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. Radical Hungarian-born
Reform rabbi Ignaz Einhorn even shifted his congregation's Shabbat
worship to Sundays.
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
All Jewish denominations encourage the following
activities on Shabbat:
* Spending Shabbat together with other Jews;
* Synagogue attendance for prayers;
* Socializing with family and friends;
* Hosting guests for Shabbat meals (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.
* Sexual relations between husband and wife, particularly on
Shabbat eve. (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.)
* Taking Shabbat naps
Special Shabbats
The Special Shabbats are the Shabbats that precede important Jewish
holidays: eg. Shabbat Hagadol is the Shabbat before Passover,
Shabbat Zachor is the Shabbat before Purim, and Shabbat Teshuva is
the Shabbat before Yom Kippur.
Sabbath
Most Christians do not celebrate Shabbat, citing, e.g., Colossians
2:14-17. Instead, they observe a weekly day of worship on Sunday,
known as the Lord's Day or Sabbath. This Sabbath in Christianity is
often also a day of rest, and is sometimes observed with a
strictness as vigorous as that in Judaism.
Several Christian denominations, such as seventh-day Churches of
God, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh Day Baptists, the
True Jesus Church, etc., observe seventh-day Sabbath, generally
from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset (rather than Saturday
nightfall). Some of Messianic Judaism considers its Shabbat to be
kept according to Jewish tradition, while most of Rabbinic Judaism
disagrees.
The principle of weekly Sabbath, derived from Shabbat, has also
been adopted and instituted by other religions as well.
