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Shabbat (Hebrew: שבת, shabbāt, "rest"; Shabbos or Shabbes in Ashkenazic pronunciation, ShabawTH in Teimoni pronunciation), is the weekly day of rest in Judaism. It is observed, from before sundown on Friday until after nightfall on Saturday, by many Jewish people with varying degrees of involvement in Judaism. Etymology The Hebrew word shabbat comes from the Hebrew verb shavat, which literally means "to cease," or shev which means "sit." 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 the striking workers actively abstain from work, rather than passively. Incidentally, this clarifies the often-asked theological question of why God needed to "rest" on the seventh day of Creation according to Genesis. When it is understood that God "ceased" from his labor rather than "rested" from his labour, the usage is more consistent with the Biblical view of an omnipotent God who does not "rest." A common linguistic confusion leads many to believe that the word means "seventh day." Though the root for seven, or sheva, is similar in sound, it is derived from a different root word. Shabbat is the source for the English term Sabbath, and for the word in many languages meaning "Saturday", such as the Arabic Sabt (السبت), the Armenian Shabat (Շաբաթ), the Farsi shambe and the Spanish Sábado. It is also responsible for the word "sabbatical," although that concept is also derived from the Jewish concept of the sabbatical year. Definition Observance of Shabbat is mentioned a number of times in the Torah, 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, apart from numerous other allusions in the Hebrew Bible. Jewish law's definition defines a day as ending at dusk and nightfall, which is when the next day then begins. Thus, Shabbat begins before sundown Friday night and ends at after nightfall Saturday night (traditionally, after three stars can be seen in the sky). The added time between sunset and nightfall on Saturday night owes to the ambiguous status of that part of the day according to Jewish law. On occasions the word Shabbat can refer to the law of Shemittah (Sabbatical year) or to the Jewish holidays, or to a week of days, dependent on the context. Status as a holy day The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and the Siddur (Jewish prayer book) describe Shabbat as having three purposes: While the Jewish Sabbath is not considered a "holiday" by many other cultures and religions, 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. Observance Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as one of prayer. Three sumptuous meals are eaten each Shabbat after synagogue services conclude: on Friday night, Saturday around noon, and late Saturday afternoon before the conclusion of the Shabbat. More Jews attempt to attend Shabbat services at a synagogue during Shabbat, even if they would not normally do so on weekdays. With the exception of Yom Kippur, 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 indeed forbidden to express public signs of mourning. Yom Kippur, the annual Day of Atonement, is excepted because it is called the "Shabbat of Shabbatot" by the Torah, meaning that it and its practices take precedence if it falls on Shabbat. Additionally, its practices are not for the purposes of mourning but to mark the spiritual and indeed joyful character of the day. Mandatory activities
Prohibited activities 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. Orthodox Jews and observant 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: 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). A common solution involves pre-set timers for electric appliances, to turn them on and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat itself. 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 which stands in the way of saving that life. 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 is viewed as bedi'avad (post facto) and does not cause a forbidden activity to be permitted barring extenuating circumstances. Legal workarounds 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 Orthodox 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. On the more rabbinically traditional side of Reform and Reconstructionism, it is believed that these halakha 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 liberal Jewish community who accept these laws in much the same way that Orthodox Jews do. Permitted activities The following activities are encouraged on Shabbat: 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. 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. "In addition to both work and trade being prohibited, it was common for Muslims to drink on this day." See also Recommended reading | |||||||||
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