Describe and explain the ways in which the Sabbath is observed in the Jewish home and Synagogue
A) Describe and explain the ways in which the Sabbath is observed in the Jewish home and Synagogue
The Jewish celebration of Sabbath (or Shabbat) is celebrated from sunset on Friday evening until sunset on Saturday. The Jews will usually celebrate the Sabbath at home and at the Synagogue in different ways. The Sabbath takes place on a Saturday, as that is the day God rested. It is also this day as the 10 commandments state that as God rested on this day then so should the Jews.
At home, most members of the family will gather at the house of the eldest capable of hosting the rest. All the family leave work or school between 2 and 3 o'clock and change into their best clothes. At the home timers are put on the lights and the bulb is taken out of the fridge door. This is most likely only in orthodox Jewish homes, as they will take their laws more seriously than the progressive Jews.
The preparation for the celebration starts on Friday afternoon; this is when the whole house is cleaned as though the family are preparing for a party. On the Friday evening, the Sabbath candles are lit and the blessing of the father to the children is made, this must be done no later than 18 minutes before sunset. The two candles are signs of two commandments, Zacher, which is remembrance and Shamar meaning, observe. At this time the father or head of house blesses his family and those around the table. This is to signify that Jews will remember Shabbat and observe its customs. This blessing is then followed by a 45-minute service in the Synagogue that the family attends, before returning home to take the prayer of Kiddush, which is said over the wine.
After Kiddush the Friday night meal is taken. This is usually the best meal that the family can afford, at the beginning two loaves, representing two lots of manna, are cut as the prayers are said. Before being cut the manna are blessed twice for remembrance. After the meal Birkat-ha-mazan (grace after meal) is said, as the Sabbath is greeted as a queen to God. Following this, the family members either read or rest.
On the Saturday, Kiddush is again taken and the morning is spent at the Synagogue. In the afternoon Cholent is eaten. This meal has been cooked before Sabbath begins and kept warm on a continuous flame. The word Cholent comes from the French words 'Chaud' and 'Lent' meaning 'hot/slow' this shows the time taken to cook the food on the Saturday. The family then leave for the Synagogue, to celebrate the end of the Sabbath. For Jews the home celebrations are the most important part of Shabbat
There are more customs in the Synagogue at Shabbat also. There are 4 services during this celebration. 1 on Friday and 3 on Saturday
On the Friday there is a brief 45-minute service in the Synagogue where special hymns are sung to welcome the Sabbath. Psalms 95 - 99 are also sung as the Shabbat is welcomed into the synagogue as the bride of God. Singing Yigdal then closes the ceremony. The 6 psalms are nature psalms and represent the 6 working days. This is to enforce the whole idea of Shabbat being for rest, as Jews believe they are lesser than God, as he rested on the 7th day, so they must do as well. This is from the very beginning of Jewish history up to present day; there are some exceptions though such as when the Jews were held captive as slaves in Egypt, His telling the Jews what to do and how to lead their lives strengthens this remembrance of God.
In the morning on the Sabbath there is another ceremony, many Jews will walk to this as driving I not permitted by the Shalom. This is alongside 39 other Jewish law that include: not being allowed to cook not allowed to light a lamp and not allowed to write a letter. These rules are to prevent the Jews from doing constructive and creative effects; this is because they are supposed to rest on this day. During this service prayers are made about the afterlife and the coming messiah. In England also there are prayers for the Queen and ...
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In the morning on the Sabbath there is another ceremony, many Jews will walk to this as driving I not permitted by the Shalom. This is alongside 39 other Jewish law that include: not being allowed to cook not allowed to light a lamp and not allowed to write a letter. These rules are to prevent the Jews from doing constructive and creative effects; this is because they are supposed to rest on this day. During this service prayers are made about the afterlife and the coming messiah. In England also there are prayers for the Queen and the Government. At the end of this service Kiddush is taken in the hall.
In the afternoon service on Saturday the Ark is opened and the scroll taken out, this is received with joy and singing. What is strange about this particular service is that the Torah is read. More prayers are also said at this service, Kiddush again and Alenus and the Sabbath Amidah. This service is relatively short at one hour long.
In the final evening (concluding) service on the Saturday, Havdalah is said; this is often called the 'dividing service' as it divides the resting weekend from the working week. Here all the 5 senses of the body are used. Wine and light is throughout the Synagogue as light is realised as a gift from God. At the end of the ceremony, Berachot is made. This is a blessing with sweet smelling spices in a container. This is meant to represent for Jews a sweet week in coming.
b) Explain why Jews may observe the Sabbath in different ways
In Judaism there are many divisions of Jews and their faiths. However, there are two main sub-divisions that all Jews will fit into unless they are only Jews by race and not by faith (Secular) although these Jews may carry on the traditions of their ancestors. The sub-divisions are Progressive Jews and Orthodox Jews.
Orthodox can be translated from ancient Greek as meaning 'God given/ Right Belief', Orthodox Jews are those who are very strict observers of the Torah and rules regarding Jewish celebrations. Due to the ways in which society has changed since the torah has written, the orthodox Jews try to find ways of fulfilling the Torah in their society.
The orthodox Jews believe that the Torah is the exact word of God as given to Moses who carved out the 10 commandments. The orthodox Jews believe that Moses was only secretary to God and what is written in the Torah is exactly Gods words from Mount Sinai. This makes it very important for orthodox Jews to keep all 613 mitzvot.
As a result of this strict following of the law means that the orthodox Jews have strict ways of following the Sabbath. On this day they will always eat Kosher meals, as at all other times in the year, they will not drive a car, this is thought to resemble lighting a fire- forbidden to do on Sabbath in Torah, and this can be seen because the car parks at Orthodox Synagogues are always closed during Shabbat. The Jews will also not be allowed to cook, write or turn on lights as the Torah forbids that any creative work may be done at Shabbat because as God rested on this day then why should the Jews work. The above three examples are forbidden because they either result in fire being made, which is not allowed, or can have a creative effect, i.e. letter to politician. Other everyday happenings not allowed are turning on/ watching television and driving a car. These are both because they use electricity or petrol and so mean a flame being created to start them.
Progressive Jews are those that have broken off from the orthodox Jewish community. Their main difference to the orthodox Jews is that they do not believe that the Torah is the exact word of God. However, Progressive Jews are still as strict about moral laws for the community but less concerned about ritual laws. Progressive Jews believe that as the rules have been intended for man then the ancient rabbis have written the Torah. They also believe that Judaism should change in order to accommodate modern society and so each generation of Jews should choose their own laws to follow. For example, some Progressive Jews might choose not to follow the 'Kosher' laws and eat food products that Progressive Jews who do follow 'Kosher', would not, such as pork and bacon. (Jewish law believes the pig to be an unclean animal and so does not allow Jews to eat its meat, or that of any other unclean animal.)
As a result of their different beliefs in the Torah the Progressive Jews will probably be less strict with their laws on Shabbat. Some progressive Jews might not follow kosher meals although many still will. Others will still drive to work, light a lamp or write a letter. The items that are forbidden in the Talmud are known as 'Melachah', which translates as 'work', this is because Jews are supposed to abstain from work on the Sabbath.
Another main difference would be in the Synagogue. The service would often be in the vernacular language, whereas in orthodox synagogues the service is often in Hebrew, women would sit with men and sometimes there may be a female rabbi.
However even with these difference s the fundamentals of Orthodox and Progressive Jews is the same. These are the family and the centrality of the Sabbath to the continuation of the Jewish faith.
c) 'It strengthens the Jewish family to share rituals in the home'. Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.
In all divisions of the Jewish faith, the family is regards the most important fundamental beginning of the faith and the Jewish community. The importance of the Jewish family is that it can carry on customs of the Jewish faith without the need for a synagogue. This would have been particularly good for the Jews who were held in captivity in Egypt. Due to many of their rituals taking place in the home and not in a Synagogue they would have been able to carry on carrying out their customs in their own homes even though there was no Synagogue.
Firstly I would agree that rituals in the home strengthen the Jewish family. This helps them because once a week, the family spends time together and so each family member can get to know the others very well. This is different to Christian families who do not have this time together often and when they do (e.g. Christmas), the family do not always like it; lawyers stating that their busiest time of year is just after Christmas with lots of divorces after families being forced to spend time in each other's company confirm this point. By having the ritual of Shabbat every week, I believe that the family unit in a Jewish household is strengthened as the family is required to spend time together, so each member of the family becomes closer to each other than they otherwise would, e.g. elder brother and sisters.
The other rituals that are held in the home also increase knowledge of the faith and religion. The celebrations at Passover, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah all allow the children to ask questions about their faith and why certain rituals occur. This is particularly noticeable at Passover when a part of the ritual is that the youngest child asks the father about the story of Passover. I believe that this allows the children to learn about their religion from learning by stories. As a result I believe that they will appreciate their faith more and take part in it more strongly because they have learnt the rituals in their house.
The family may also be brought together by the enjoyment of preparing for their celebrations in the home, as young Christian children celebrate Christmas together and really get along in the 'Christmas Spirit', the same can be said of young, Jewish children who prepare for the celebrations and the special meal. This meal can also bring the family together, like Thanksgiving and Christmas as the whole family enjoys themselves at the same time, sharing jokes and stories.
When the family get together, usually in the house of the eldest, the whole family would be under one roof. This allows everyone to keep in contact with relatives they would otherwise see only perhaps once every few years. I believe that this is good for the family as there is no feeling of some person becoming left out and, again the family unit bonds together.
However, I do believe that there would be times when the rituals of the Jewish household may have an adverse effect on the family. Due to the whole family being under the same roof and, at Shabbat, together for some length of time I believe that tension might grow between family members, especially ones who do not get along. This forced time together might only make the tension worse and if a row were to follow, family ties might become cut, although perhaps only in serious cases.
Another problem with the rituals of the Jewish family I think would be for the children. Firstly, they might miss out on schoolwork due to the timings of celebrations, although some schools acknowledge the faith and the problem can be averted. Secondly the children might lose out on the social aspect of their life. If they have to spend every Friday night and Saturday at home to celebrate the Sabbath, then their non-Jewish friends might think that something is strange and, as a result, will not invite them around, as they know that the children cannot come.
The final area I think there would be a problem for the household would be where the family splits or family members move far away. For those who are divorced there would be the issue of what happens at Passover, Shabbat etc. Which house do they visit, which parent would take the children? All of these pressures build up in the family and it could suffer. Also, for those who live far away, the strain of getting to the house for the celebration may be too much and they may decide not to go at all. This may cause an argument in the family, which again is due to the rituals that would be taken.
In conclusion I believe that Jewish families do mostly become stronger as a result of the rituals in the home as they allow children to learn and the family unit to become one. However, as with anything, there may be a problem in some families.
Thomas Cullen
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Thomas Cullen
RE Coursework 2
