Sabbath in the Jewish Home and Synagogue

1429 Words3 Pages

Sabbath in the Jewish Home and Synagogue

The Sabbath (Shabbat) is the most important festival of the Jewish

calendar and is celebrated at least fifty-two times a year.

Jews celebrate the Sabbath because it is believed that God rested on

the seventh day. Jews also celebrate Sabbath because of the exodus

from slavery in Egypt. The ancient Israelites were determined never to

be enslaved again and one of the Ten Commandments tells Jews they

should remember how hard it is to work without rest and so should give

all their employees a day off.

This is the fourth of the ten commandments in Exodus 20 verses 8-11:

"8Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. 9You have six days in which to

do your work, 10but the seventh day is a day of rest, dedicated to me.

On that day no-one is to work - neither you, your children, your

slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. 11In

six days I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the sea, and everything

in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the Lord,

blessed the Sabbath and made it holy."

[IMAGE]

Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday.

Altogether it lasts 25 hours rather than 24. This is because sunset

doesn't happen exactly 24 hours after the previous sunset so Jews

allow half an hour each way.

The Sabbath is based mainly in the Jewish home and the whole family

will be together. However, there will also be two services during the

25 hours in which the Sabbath takes place. One will be just before the

Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday, when all the male members of the

family will go to the synagogue. The main act of worship takes place

on a Saturday morning at approximately 10 o' clock and lasts just over

two hours. It is a special service during which prayers will be said,

songs will be sung and discussions will take place.

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