This passage from the bible describes Shabbat to Jews and how they should keep it. Shabbat is a time when Jews reflect on their special relationship with God it is also a release from everyday life and helps Jews to feel peaceful and rested.
Shabbat-This is a description of what is done on Shabbat and what it symbolises
On Friday the mother of the house will come home from work early maybe at midday and will prepare the house all the cleaning will be done and also she will cook tonight’s meal and any meals to be eaten on Shabbat as no fires can be lit on Shabbat so the mother of the house will cook the meal and light a hob on the cooker put it on low and but a hot plate called a blech on it then the meal i.e. Stew will be put on the blech and then it will be kept warm until eaten (several blechs can be used). The cleaning will continue and the children will arrive home early also as will the man of the house any girls will help the mother with thee cleaning and the father and son(s)will go to the synagogue and pray in the synagogue Shabbat is welcomed by singing hymns and these would be from psalms 95-9; 29
“The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace”
Psalms 95-9; 29
These are sung by the congregation. In synagogues a hymn is sung that welcomes Shabbat like a queen or a bride this is done because Shabbat is seen as the queen of the days and is held in very high regard by most Jews. In the home Shabbat is also welcomed by the mother she will light two special candles just before dusk the candles symbolises joy and peace as they bring light to the home (like Shabbat itself does). Women have a very important duty in the welcoming of Shabbat as this ceremony is important in welcoming Shabbat to the entire family during the lighting of the candles the mother will say a special blessing called the berachah
“ King of the universe who has hallowed us by the commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Sabbath lights” Berachah (blessing)
Family is also very important in Shabbat and this is shown at the Shabbat meal which is a meal that is eaten on Friday evening the whole family will sit down at the table and eat a meal during this the children will be blessed by both parents. The parents will say: -
“Boys: Make you as Ephraim and Manasseh
Girls: God make you as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah”
Proverbs 31:10-31
The Jewish meal on Shabbat is Kiddush- Sanctifying made Holy and set apart This is what the meal on Shabbat night is The meal is made Holy because of the special items which have to be on the table for the meal to be holy theses special items are two loaves of bread (challot), candles and wine. Theses items are special as they all symbolise something that shows that the meal is a special occasion. The challot represent manna which is a substance that makes bread because when the Jews were in the desert for 40 years with Moses they had no food and so every day God would put manna outside so that when they woke up they could collect it and so they would have food but on the day before the Sabbath God said to the people “collect double the amount of manna today so that on the Sabbath you don’t have to collect any” so the challot symbolise the two portions of manna that the Jews were given on the Sabbath a blessing is said over these. A white cloth is also placed over the loaves and some people think that this symbolises the dew on the manna. The host will then dip each piece of the challot in salt and hand it out to every person in the room.
The wine used in the Kiddush meal on Sabbath night is also very special it represents how sweet Shabbat is and how joyful the occasion is. There are also the two candlesticks on the table that the mother lit at the beginning of Shabbat these symbolises Shabbat lights. The Shabbat meal is very often eaten with guests, as Jewish orthodox communities are often very close and the will very often share meals on Shabbat night. Songs are also very often sung round the table proclaiming the fact that they depend entirely on God and that everything is good in a life that contains God
“ You commanded our fathers who stood at mount Sinai …you have made this the Holy most blessed of the days…a Sabbath day of rest” Jewish song sung at the Shabbat meal ‘this day for Israel’
On Shabbat morning the Jews have a service much the same as the Christian Eucharist in the fact that it is the most important service of the week prayers are said and hymns sung and Jews thank God for the Sabbath. In this service the scroll is taken out and then taken round the church and the entire congregation rejoice, as it is the as symbol of the covenant that Moses made with God when the commandments were written. After the service Kiddush may be served in the hall in the synagogue.
On Shabbat afternoon Jews spend it relaxing and thinking about God they may visit nearby friends and family or take a walk or go out to the park. They do something that isn’t classed as work but is enjoyable and fun or relaxing. There is also a synagogue service in the afternoon in which the torah is read this is strange for an afternoon service.
At the end of Shabbat a ceremony is preformed called Havdalah this is preformed in the home and in the synagogue this ceremony praises God for dividing things first as Havdalah means division i.e. light from dark Shabbat from the other days of the week etc. Then a blessing is said over a small box of spices. The spice box is passed around the family and each smell it, this is done so because the sweet smell of the spices is supposed to symbolise the sweetness of Shabbat and they smell the spices in the hope that the sweet memory of Shabbat will linger into the week. Then a candle is lit and a blessing said over that. The candle symbolises that Shabbat is over because a fire can be lit and also that it is now a new week because the first thing that God created was light and so Jews are following God in this way. Then the ceremony closes and it ends when the plaited candle is extinguished by wine. This ends Shabbat and life for Jews returns to normal.
Shabbat is the highlight of the week for Jews and they look forward to it. Many symbolic things happen every Shabbat but mainly on Shabbat the Jews hope to feel the physical heightening of their souls and that there relationship with God has got stronger.
Bibliography
Pilkington CM Judaism an approach for GCSE
