Describe some of the different ways in which Shabbat is observed in Jewish homes and the synagogue.

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A) Describe some of the different ways in which Shabbat is observed in Jewish homes and the synagogue.

Every week Jews have a day of rest known as the Sabbath. Jews usually call it Shabbas or Shabbat, coming from the Hebrew root Shin-Bet-Tav meaning to cease, to end or to rest. Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends on Saturday night when the stars appear. Shabbat is the Hebrew name for the seventh day of the week. When God made the world he rested on the seventh day, “By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working.” (Genesis 2: 2-3). The fourth of the Ten Commandments, sacred to both Jews and Christians, commands ‘observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me’ (Exodus 20:8-10). This is why Jews have made resting on the seventh day of the week a tradition in commemoration of God resting on the seventh day of creation. Shabbat is a holy day for them concerned with both remembering (zachor) and observing (shamor).

     

First of all, I intend to explain how Shabbat is observed in Jewish homes and then how Shabbat is observed in the Synagogue.

No work can be done on Shabbat therefore all the food has to be prepared before hand as well as cleaning and tidying the house. People often find it difficult to understand the term ‘work’ on Shabbat as surely the rabbi is ‘working’ by leading the services in the Synagogue? However, some Jews will refrain from turning on light switches during Shabbat and it is therefore confusing as to what the term ‘work’ actually refers. The Hebrew term ‘melachah’ is often used instead which is simply a type of job, and on Shabbat there are 39 melachot that are forbidden. These are the 39 types of job that were necessary for building the Sanctuary, the portable Temple that the Israelites built in the desert. These jobs not only include building but also cooking.

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 As Shabbat is such a special day Jews try to make the atmosphere at home different from how it is on other days of the week. Just before sunset on Friday the wife or mother in the house lights two candles used especially for Shabbat. By doing this she is inviting Shabbat into her home. This is a very special moment. The lady feels connected to the thousands of other women across the world who are also experiencing the moment, and with fellow Jews throughout history.

  Later in the evening the whole family sit down together ...

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