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Shabbat
Shabbat is Judaism’s day of rest and the Jewish week’s seventh day. Considered a festive day, Jews reflect on the Biblical Creation when God rested on the seventh day after creating heaven and Earth in six days.
535 Questions
What can you do on the sabbath day?
On Shabbat (the Sabbath Day) you should rest. This is because God ceased creating on the 7th day which is Shabbat. During Shabbat one can visit with family and friends, pray, study (no writing though), go for walks, and pretty much anything that doesn't fall within the 39 categories of "work" as specified in the Torah.
Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement, where you fast for 25 hours. The holiday will sometimes fall during Shabbat.
However, Yom Kippur is the only time when fasting is allowed during Shabbat. Every other week out of the year, one of the requirements of observing Shabbat is to have three wonderful meals: Friday night dinner, Saturday lunch, and Saturday dinner.
Can orthodox Jews use an umbrella on the sabbath?
No - because doing so would contradict melachah, the prohibition against carrying out deliberate activity during Shabbat, which includes a law against carrying any item from a private place into a public place or for any distance further than four cubits within the public place. It is possible to get around this prohibition by establishing an eruv, a legal aggregation of land property within a chatzer (literally "walled courtyard"). Rabbinical discussion has ruled that a chatzer can be defined not just as walled courtyard but any area that can be enclosed within a continuous wall or fence - this can be made up just not of the walls of exiting properties but also by wire used to symbolise walls, including utility wires such as electricity and telephone cables. As such, it is very easy to declare the urban areas within which many Jews live to be eruvim, allowing the Jews who live within the boundaries to transport items such as baby carriages, disabled wheelchairs and umbrellas out of their homes.
Traditionally, the Shabbat candles are lit by women. If the woman is unmarried, she will usually light one candle, if she's married two and often one for each child.
Why do Jews read stories from the Torah on shabbat?
Traditional Jews observe Shabbat because the day of rest is commanded in the Torah. It is one of the 10 commandments. Non-Tradtional Jews may have different motivations, but most agree that it is a deeply rooted tradition that enhances our lives.
Are there certain days where Jews cannot work because of their beliefs?
Yes; these are commanded in the Torah (Leviticus ch.23) and mostly consist of Shabbat (every Friday sundown to Saturday after twilight) and Holidays. See the attached Related Link for a list and descriptions.
Do jews celebrate the sabbath?
The Torah contains 613 commandments which Jews are meant to follow. Some of these only apply to specific people and some no longer apply, but the rest are still observed today by Orthodox Jews. The Sabbath is just one of these commandments. It does have a central place in Jewish community life.
How many Sabbaths does Israel have?
According to the Tanach, Shabbat (The Sabbath) occurs every week on the seventh day.
What is the Italian translation of the Hebrew phrase 'Shabbat shalom'?
"Peace" is an English equivalent of the French word paix.
Specifically, the word is a feminine noun in its singular form. It may be preceded by the feminine singular definite article la ("the") or by the feminine singular indefinite article une ("a"). The pronunciation will be "peh" in French.
Where in the Bible does it tell to do bathing before the sabbath begins?
The Bible makes various references to bathing... especially in Leviticus. So, while the Bible does advocate general personal hygiene and cleanliness... there's no commandment for the general populace to bathe for the Sabbath.
Nor should there be any need for a commandment to appear before the Lord on the Sabbath "scrubbed and clean." It should be common sense and courtesy to clean oneself daily just to be around people. That way, you'll always be prepared for the Lord in that regard.
Jewish AnswerThe Tanach (Jewish Bibloe) doesn't specify that one must bathe before Shabbat starts. However, during Shabbat, fires can't be started, water can't be heated from cold, and electricity can't be turned on unless it is done passively according to Jewish law. These prohibitions would require one to take a cold shower or bathe which isn't very comfortable at all.
Why is Saturday the Jewish sabbath?
The question can be read two different ways:
Why is the Sabbath on Saturday as opposed to Monday or Thursday?
The Jews were observing Shabbat long before the English language came into existence. They counted out seven says and made the seventh day their Sabbath in accordance with the Biblical Creation story which claimed the seventh day would be the day of rest. When the English names of the days came into existence, the day that the Jews observed Shabbat coincided with the day Saturday.
Why is the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday while the Christian Sabbath is on Sunday?
The Sabbath was originally Saturday, but the Church fathers changed the day of prayer and rest to Sunday. The reason for this is hotly debated with some Church fathers saying that they did this to coincide with Jesus' Resurrection while others say that the Sabbath was always celebrated on Sunday in the Diaspora.
Can a Jew Disembark from a ship on the sabbath?
There is no prohibition against marrying during Shabbat. However, there is a prohibition against playing musical instruments during Shabbat. Due to the prohibition against musical instruments, Jewish weddings are not held during Shabbat.
Why can't Jews use electricity on shabbat?
Jews people can't carry things on Shabbat because it is considered work. On Shabbat, which is the Jewish holy day, they follow the belief of not working because God took the 7th day of creation to rest and said that we should also. The definition of what is worked is based on the 39 categories of work that were prohibited during the building of the first Temple. Carry things is part of the 39 prohibited activities. However, there is no prohibition of carrying items within the home, this includes the yard surrounding the home.
The 39 categories of melachah, or work on Shabbat,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.
So any Jew can not do these labors along with not being able to use electricity and technology, unless in emergencies. However, electricity can be used in a passive manner, such as leaving a light on, using timers to turn lights off and on, using slow cookers, etc.
The hard part is what is considered work to one Jew may not be considered work to another.
What can Modern Orthodox Jews do on the Sabbath day?
Traditional Jews do not work on Shabbat (the sabbath). Orthodox Jews define work by the following 39 activities:
1 Planting
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 (Scouring/Laundering)
14 Beating/Combing wool
15 Dyeing
16 Spinning
17 Weaving
18 Making two loops
19 Weaving at least two threads
20 Separating two threads
21 Tying
22 Untying
23 Sewing
24 Tearing for the purpose of sewing
25 Trapping
26 Slaughtering
27 Flaying
28 Curing hide
29 Scraping hide
30 Scoring
31 Cutting hide into pieces
32 Writing
33 Erasing
34 Building
35 Tearing something down
36 Extinguishing a fire
37 Igniting a fire
38 Applying the finishing touch
39 Transferring between domains
Why do you have Shabbat ha-Gadol?
Because God commanded it. 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.
What country does the word Sabbath come from?
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word shabbat which means "to cease." This is because the Sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest when work has ceased.
Answer:
The source of the Hebrew word Shabbat (sabbath) is in Genesis ch.2, from God having ceased from creating.
In the old testament, the Sabbath used to be the seventh day (Saturday). After the ascension of Christ, the members of the Church, whether Jews or gentiles, kept holy the first day of the week (Sunday) as a weekly commemoration of Christ's resurrection. __________
To this day the Jews keep Shabbat as per the Torah, on the seventh day of the week. This means that Shabbat starts at sundown Friday and ends sundown Saturday.
What time does shabbat finish next week?
The beginning and end of Shabbat are closely keyed to the time of sundown.
For that reason, the times are different for each week, and in every location.
No answer can be given that's true everywhere. A Hebrew calendar or a rabbi
in the specific location of interest should be consulted.
What foods are eaten on start of shabbat?
Bread (challah, a braided egg bread) and wine (or grape juice).
Why does shabbat start on a Friday night?
The Jewish calendar goes by the moon instead of the sun. When the sun goes down, a new day starts.
What is shabbat in Jewish religion?
The Jewish sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. It is practiced because it is one of the commandments given by God to the Jews in the Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Dueteronomy) which traditional Jews believe were given directly from God to Moses.
The Sabbath (shabbat in Hebrew) is mentioned in numerous places in the Torah -- in Genesis, Exodus, and Dueteronmy the Jews are commanded to "remember the sabbath day and keep it holy ... six days shall you labor and do all of your work but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God, you shall not do any work ..."
The Sabbath is a reminder of the creation story in the Bible -- God worked for six days to create the world and rested on the seventh. To remember this, Jews also rest completely on the seventh day.
Traditional Judaism contains a legal system called halacha. This legal system defined the word "work" (melacha in Hebrew) in a very broad way. 39 different types of labor are forbidden on the sabbath -- everything from pruning to lighting a fire to writing to cooking.
Orthodox Jews maintain these rules quite strictly. As new technology is introduced, there are many discussions about whether it violates one of the 39 categories of labor and whether the technology can be used on shabbat.
Orthodox Jews do not drive, use electricity or phones, go to work, write, touch or use money from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. It is a day of complete rest -- people go to synagogue, pray, eat meals that were prepared before the sabbath, meet with friends, study religious topics, sing, sleep, take walks and similar activities.
In modern times, liberal Jews understand the idea of shabbat as a time for rest and reflection but they do not necessarily follow all of the rules above. This is one of the main dividing lines between Orthodox Judaism and more liberal forms of Judaism. Keeping shabbat strictly (being shomer shabbat) is one of the signs of being an Orthodox Jew.
What does shabbat commemorate?
1) God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh - Sabbath.
2) God took the Jews out of Egypt; out of slavery.
Is the real sabbath a Saturday or Sunday?
You won't find the word Saturday mentioned in the Bible. The names for days that we use today such as Saturday, Sunday, etc, weren't in use by the Jews of that day. Exodus 20:10 refers to the seventh day as the sabbath. The seventh day on the Jewish calendar was Saturday. In fact, even on today's calendars, Saturday is still the seventh day of the week. Sunday is actually the first day of the week.
What is a kiddush cup and how is it used?
Drinking from the kiddush cup is an important part of Shabbat and most Jewish holidays. The word kiddush refers not to the cup itself but to the blessing said over the wine or grape juice in the cup, an event that blesses and sanctifies the holiday and it one of the chief ways (along with avoiding the 39 categories of work forbidden during Shabbat) that Jews abide by the mitzvah("commandment") to observe these special days. Reciting the kiddush blessing before the meal eaten after nightfall on Shabbat (the first meal of Shabbat) is commanded by the Torah whereas reciting it before other meals during Shabbat is a tradition of rabbinic orgin, meaning that rabbis decided it should be done without the Torah commanding it. Reciting kiddush before the last meal during Shabbat is largely optional - most Jews do not, but the 12th Century rabbi, doctor and philosopher Maimonides, who still has an enormous influence on Jewish thought to this day, believed that it should be carried out and so there are many Jews who do.
A kiddush cup can be any cup and of any material, but as is commonly the case with any ceremonial object (such as the crucifix a Christian might wear, the idols used by Hindus in their household temples and so on) people like to have a cup and so most are made of silver and often beautifully decorated.
