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Shabbat (שבת ''shabbāt'', "rest" Hebrew , or '''Shabbos''' in Ashkenazi c pronunciation), is the Week ly day of rest in Judaism . It is observed, from before sundown on Friday until after nightfall on Saturday , by many Jew ish people with varying degrees of involvement in Judaism . It is the source for the English term Sabbath , the Arabic day ''Sabt'' (السبت), and the Armenian day ''Shabat'' (Շաբաթ). It is also responsible for the name '' Sabbatical '' year although that concept is also derived from the Jewish concept of the '' Shemittah '' year. ETYMOLOGY The Hebrew word ''shabbat'' comes from the Hebrew verb ''shabat'', 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", shevita, 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 "resting". Incidentally, this clarifies the often-asked theological question of why God needed to "rest" on the seventh day of Creation , as related in the Genesis account. 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 need "rest." Notwithstanding this clarification, this article will follow the far more common translation of ''shabbat'' as "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 spelled differently. DEFINITION Observance of Shabbat is mentioned a number of times in the . 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 Star s 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 Holiday s, 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: #A commemoration of the Israelites' redemption from slavery in Ancient Egypt ; #A commemoration of God 's Creations Of The Universe ; on the seventh day God rested from his work; #A taste of the world in Messianic times. 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 at a Synagogue during Shabbat, even if they would not normally do so on weekdays. With the exception of Yom Kippur (because it is ''not'' a mournful day and is in fact a great holiday), days of public fasting are postponed or advanced for a day if they coincide with Shabbat, and mourners sitting Shivah outwardly conduct themselves normally for the duration of the day and are indeed forbidden to express public signs of mourning. MANDATORY ACTIVITIES According to Rabbinic Literature , Jews are commanded by God to ''observe'' (refrain from forbidden activity) and ''remember'' (with words, thoughts, and actions) the Shabbat, and these two actions are symbolised by Lighting Two Candles late Friday afternoon (no later than eighteen minutes before sunset on Friday) by Jewish women, usually the mother/wife. 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:
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES See Also: 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 . Rather, it refers to the 39 Categories Of Activity that the Talmud prohibits Jews from engaging in on Shabbat; they 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 something in common -- they prohibit any activity that is "creative," or that exercises control or dominion over one's Environment . The 39 activities As based on the Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 7:2, the 39 activities are: #Sowing #Plowing #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 #Transporting an object between a private domain and the public domain, or for a distance of 4 cubits within the public domain Status of prohibitions 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 Rabbi nic sages 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" usually refers exclusively to the separation of Chaff from Grain , and "selecting" refers exclusively to the separation of debris from grain, it refers 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) on turning Electric entities on or off, which according to some Poskim , is derived from one of the "39 categories of work (''melachot'')" known as "building" and "tearing something down" (the Hebrew word that is used can be interpreted as "destroying for the purpose of rebuilding"). The solution to avoid using electric appliances and switches commonly used involves pre-set timers. Delineations In the event that a human Life (Jewish or non-Jewish, one's own life or someone else's) 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. Orthodox Jews and many followers of Conservative Judaism believe in literal adherence to these prohibitions. Reform Judaism , generally speaking, believes that while one should study those prohibitions, as one would study Jewish law, 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 some other ''malachah'', or derivative of such a ''melachah'') for leisure purposes to be an enjoyable activity that "enhances" Shabbat and its holiness, and therefore encourage such practices. 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. PERMITTED ACTIVITIES The following activities are encouraged on Shabbat:
ADAPTATION BY OTHER RELIGIONS Judaism 's teachings about the ''Shabbat'' were 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. Seventh-day Adventist Church observes the Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset as mentioned in Bible. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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