Shabbat

The Jewish day of rest, called Shabbat, starts Friday at sundown and ends Saturday at sundown.

On the Sabbath, no work is done. Many Jews go to Shul (Synagogue) on the Sabbath. Every Jew is required to eat three meals on the Sabbath. One at night, one in the morning / noon time, and one in the afternoon.

Wine has always had an important role in religious observance for Jews and Jewish religious law is very strict in regard to producing and handling wine. One of the core laws is that unpasteurized wine that has been handled by non-Jews cannot be used by Jews. The reason behind this is that other religions also used wine in religious rites and any item used by another religion cannot be used in Jewish rites.

When Jews were dispersed and groups ended up in northern Europe, the land produced poor quality grapes. To make up for the poor quality grapes, Jews added more sugar to make the wine palatable, this led to Manischewitz wine.

That being said, in the last 20 years, kosher wine has evolved greatly and even the Manischewitz company produces some nice wines in addition to their classic sugary ones.

Most of our cuisine (once it's kosher) isn't bound by Jewish law. For that reason, there's a lot of variation in such a minor matter as what is served at meals.

1) These are necessary at Shabbat and festival meals: bread and wine. Slightly sweet, braided challah-bread is customary; as is sweet red wine.

2) These are long-established customs: fish (typically gefilte fish, and especially at the evening meal); and cholent at the morning meal. Cholent is a slow-cooked stew of barley, meat and beans, with other ingredients to taste, but each family adjusts the basic makeup of the cholent as they wish.

3) These are common: soup at the evening meal; especially chicken soup (that's the famous "Jewish chicken soup" with its reputed healing-properties). Egg salad with chopped onions, and/or chopped liver.

4) Other dishes, including dessert, will vary according to family or community habits and taste.

The Shabbat candles symbolize the dual commandments to remember and observe the Sabbath day. Lighting the candles marks the beginning of the Sabbath and signifies the separation between the ordinary week and the sacred day of rest. The two candles typically represent the two aspects of Shabbat observance: zachor (remember) and shamor (observe). The candles also bring light and warmth into the home, creating a peaceful and festive atmosphere for the Sabbath meal.

If "they" are Jews, they might enjoy eating several meals, plus worship services on Friday evening, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon-evening. The Shabbat morning service takes most of the morning and has study and singing as well as prayers. I think it's fun, but there are people who get bored. Saturday afternoon is a good time for a walk, or board games, or reading, or even a nap. When I had a dog, Saturday afternoons were a fun time for a very long dog walk. He liked that alot.

A Sabbath-day is a day kept holy as the Sabbath.

The blessings of the Havdalah ceremony mark the end of Shabbat.

To refrain from the forbidden forms of creative work.

To pray in synagogue.

To have the customary meals.

Here's more:

The Jewish Sabbath is from Friday sundown until Saturday after twilight. Its origin is in the Torah (Genesis ch.2, Leviticus ch.23, Exodus ch.20 and many other passages).

The Sabbath is considered in the Jewish religion to be a day blessed by God (Genesis ch.2), a day of rest (Exodus ch.20, ch.31), and a day of strengthening ties with the family, the community, and with God.

There are two main aspects to Shabbat observance: what we do and what we don't do.

What we don't do: we're not permitted to work on the Shabbat (Exodus ch.20). This includes 39 categories of productive interaction with the world, such as planting, writing, kindling fire, etc. (Talmud, Shabbat 73b).

What we do: candles are lit, customarily by the lady of the household, around 20 minutes before sunset on Friday afternoon. We then attend synagogue for the Friday afternoon prayer (mincha), the kabbalat Shabbat (ushering in of the Shabbat), and the Shabbat evening prayer (maariv).

On Shabbat morning, we again attend synagogue. The services are longer than on weekdays and include prayers as well as reading the weekly Torah-portion. There's often a kiddush (refreshments) afterwards, and congregants have a chance to schmooze (to talk). Towards the late afternoon, there's another (short) service (Shabbat mincha).

After Friday night services and on Shabbat morning after services, we come home, often with guests, make kiddush (blessing over wine), and have a leisurely multi-course Shabbat meal including singing and words of Torah. Customarily, that week's Torah-reading (parsha) will be a topic of conversation; and the children of the family will have a chance to speak of what they've learned in school.

After that, Shabbat is a quiet time: no phones, radio or TV (etc.), just schmoozing, taking walks, visiting friends, reading, learning Torah, playing board games, etc. Husband and wife, in particular, finally have a chance to be together after a hectic week.

"You too, thank you!"

Yes.

Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, starts at sundown on Friday evening end ends at nightfall on Saturday evening. Note that sundown occurs when the sun sets, while nightfall is defined by the appearance of 3 fixed stars in the sky (or about an hour after sundown if you can't see the sky). Jewish calendars are frequently printed with the time of day of each of these in larger Jewish communities, and nowdays, you can find apps that use GPS to give these times wherever you are.

They symbolise light. They mark the presence of the Shabbat itself, and also hint to the Divine presence.

Generally the havdalah spice is clove or myrtle, but any sweet smelling spice can be used.

Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday night. Since the length of a day changes every day, this is not a consistent minute or hour.

There are a great number of things you can do. The following list has the most commonly done things: Pray in a Synagogue, Eat Meals, Socialize with your Family, Read, Sleep, Play Games, and Study.

Of course children are allowed to play during Shabbat! The one restriction is that their play can't involve creation such as colouring and writing or destruction such as cutting paper.

Saturday at sundown

Whether or not it's celebrated, observed, or even acknowledged, the Shabbat is

the seventh day, which, in Judaism, corresponds to Saturday.

As in many other ancient cultures, each day in Judaism is considered to begin at

sundown and end at the following sundown. Accordingly, the Shabbat begins at

sundown on Friday evening and extends until sundown on Saturday evening.

Those who observe it, whether in the synagogue, in their homes, or in some

part of their private lives, observe it during that period of time.

The spice box is the box used for the Havdalah service after Shabbat.