Shabbat


Shabbat or the Sabbath, also called Shabbos by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the creation of the heaven and earth in six days and the redemption from slavery and the Exodus from Egypt. Since the Jewish religious calendar counts days from sunset to sunset, Shabbat begins in the evening of what on the civil calendar is Friday.
Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities, and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. Judaism's traditional position is that the unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution. Variations upon Shabbat are widespread in Judaism and, with adaptations, throughout the Abrahamic and many other religions.
According to halakha, Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before the sun sets on Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night, or an hour after sundown. Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles and reciting blessings over wine and bread. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: The first one is held on Friday evening, the second is traditionally a lunch meal on Saturday, and the third is held later Saturday afternoon. The evening meal and the early afternoon meal typically begin with a blessing called kiddush, said over a cup of wine.
At the third meal a kiddush is not performed, but the hamotzi blessing is recited and challah is eaten. In many communities, this meal is often eaten in the period after the afternoon prayers are recited and shortly before Shabbat is formally ended with a Havdalah'' ritual.
Shabbat is a festive day when Jews exercise their freedom from the regular labours of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and to spend time with family. The end of Shabbat is traditionally marked by a ritual called Havdalah, during which blessings are said over wine, aromatic spices, and Havdalah candle lighting, separating Shabbat from the rest of the week.

Etymology

The word Shabbat derives from the Hebrew root ש־ב־ת. Although frequently translated as "rest", another accurate translation is "ceasing ." The notion of active cessation from labour is also regarded as more consistent with an omnipotent God's activity on the seventh day of creation according to Genesis.

Origins

Babylon

A number of scholars propose a cognate Akkadian word šapattu or šabattu, which refers to the day of the full moon. A lexicographic list found in the library of Ashurbanipal glosses šabattu as " day of the heart's rest", although this probably refers to the appeasement of the gods' anger. Other scholars doubt that there is a connection between the biblical Sabbath and the Akkadian šapattu/''šabattu, as the two words may not have a common etymology and šapattu refers almost exclusively to the fifteenth day of the month or the phenomenon of lunar alignment, not to the seventh day of a week.
Connection to Sabbath observance has been suggested in the designation of the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eight days of a lunar month in an Assyrian religious calendar as a 'holy day', also called 'evil days'. The prohibitions on these days, spaced seven days apart, include abstaining from chariot riding, and the avoidance of eating meat by the King. On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day". This theory has also been challenged on the grounds that the 'evil days' did not always fall every seven days and did not entail a general cessation of work.
The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia'' advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch that Shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle in the Babylonian calendar containing four weeks ending in a 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 Sabbath in any language.

Egypt

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.

Hebrew Bible

Sabbath is given special status as a holy day at the very beginning of the Torah in Genesis 2:1-3. It is first commanded after the Exodus from Egypt, in Exodus 16:26 and in Exodus 16:29. It is also commanded in Exodus 20:8-11. Sabbath is commanded and commended many more times in the Torah and Tanakh; double the normal number of animal sacrifices are to be offered on the day. Sabbath is also described by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Nehemiah in the bible.
The longstanding Jewish position is that the continuous observance of the seventh day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution. The origins of Shabbat and a seven-day week are not clear to scholars; the Mosaic tradition claims an origin from the Genesis creation narrative.
The first non-Biblical reference to Sabbath is in an ostracon found in excavations at Mesad Hashavyahu, which has been dated to approximately 630 BCE.

Status as a Jewish holy day

The Tanakh and siddur describe Shabbat as having three purposes:
  1. To commemorate God's creation of the universe, on the seventh day of which God rested from his work;
  2. To commemorate the Israelites' Exodus and redemption from slavery in ancient Egypt;
  3. As a "taste" of Olam Haba.
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 Hebrew calendar:
  • It is the first holy day mentioned in the Bible, and God was the first to observe it with the cessation of creation.
  • Jewish liturgy treats Shabbat as a "bride" and "queen" ; some sources described it as a "king".
  • 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 parashioth, one for each Shabbat. 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 Shabbatoth.
  • The punishment in ancient times for desecrating Shabbat is the most severe punishment in Jewish law. In addition, the divine punishment for desecrating Shabbat, ''kareth, is the most severe of divine punishments in Judaism.
  • On Shabbat an offering of two lambs was brought in the temple in Jerusalem.

    Rituals

Welcoming Shabbat

Honoring Shabbat on Preparation Day includes bathing, having a haircut and cleaning and beautifying the home.
Days in the Jewish calendar start at nightfall, therefore many Jewish holidays begin at such time. According to Jewish law, Shabbat starts a few minutes before sunset. Candles are lit at this time. It is customary in many communities to light the candles 18 minutes before sundown, and most printed Jewish calendars adhere to this custom.
The Kabbalat Shabbat service is a prayer service welcoming the arrival of Shabbat. Before Friday night dinner, it is customary to sing two songs, one "greeting" two Shabbat angels into the house and the other praising the woman of the house for all the work she has done over the past week. After blessings over the wine and challah, a festive meal is served. Singing is traditional at Sabbath meals. In modern times, many composers have written sacred music for use during the Kabbalat Shabbat observance, including Robert Strassburg and Samuel Adler.
According to rabbinic literature, God via the Torah commands Jews to observe and remember Shabbat, and these two actions are symbolized by the customary two Shabbat candles. Candles are lit usually by the woman of the house. Some families light more candles, sometimes in accordance with the number of children.

Other rituals

Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as prayer. It is customary to eat three festive meals: Dinner on Shabbat eve, lunch on Shabbat day, and a third meal in the late afternoon. It is also customary to wear nice clothing on Shabbat to honor the day.
Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not do so during the week. Services are held on Shabbat eve, Shabbat morning, and late Shabbat afternoon.
With the exception of Yom Kippur, days of public fasting are postponed or advanced if they coincide with Shabbat. Mourners sitting shivah outwardly conduct themselves normally for the duration of the day and are forbidden to display public signs of mourning.
Although most Shabbat laws are restrictive, the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus is taken by the Talmud and Maimonides to allude to the positive commandments of Shabbat. These include:
  • Honoring Shabbat : on Shabbat, wearing festive clothing and refraining from unpleasant conversation. It is customary to avoid talking on Shabbat about money, business matters, or secular things that one might discuss during the week.
  • Recitation of kiddush over a cup of wine at the beginning of Shabbat meals, or at a reception after the conclusion of morning prayers.
  • File:Shabbat Challos.jpg|thumb|Two homemade whole-wheat challot covered by traditional embroidered Shabbat challah coverEating three festive meals. Meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread, usually of braided challah, which is symbolic of the double portion of manna that fell for the Jewish people on the day before Sabbath during their 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Ancient Egypt. It is customary to serve meat or fish, and sometimes both, for Shabbat evening and morning meals. Seudah Shlishit, generally a light meal that may be pareve or dairy, is eaten late Shabbat afternoon.
  • Enjoying Shabbat : Engaging in pleasurable activities such as eating, singing, sleeping, spending time with the family, and marital relations. Sometimes referred to as "Shabbating".
  • Recitation of havdalah.