Within Exodus 31:12 - 18 Moses is told the importance of the seventh day by God, he is reminded that it must be kept holy. The significance of the sabbath is of clear importance to the Jews who are told, “Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death”. (Exodus 31:14) For Jews, defiling the Sabbath day is one of the top sins, only outranked by those of idol worship and murder, historically people have been stoned to death for committing this sin. This essay will be looking at why the sabbath day is important to the jews, what makes the sabbath day distinct and the practices of the sabbath.
The Sabbath is believed to have two main reasonings. The first of these reasonings is that it is the day of rest put aside by God, “for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” (Exodus 31: 17) This quote is written when Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the commandments from God. The Sabbath day is the only holy day mentioned in these commandments, as well as instructions on how it should be conducted. The quote itself shows to the Jews that a day of rest and reflection is of importance, even God needed time to refresh himself after creation was complete. The sabbath day because of this has become a day to reflect over the week and think of God, it is a spiritual day full of celebration about achievement. One misconception about sabbath day is that it is only for spiritual reflection, this is not how it is viewed by Jews, it is a day God gave them to enjoy. The second reasoning for the creation of the sabbath day is that it is a time to reflect upon their freedom from enslavement by the Egyptians. Jewish people belie...
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...enjoy themselves. The Sabbath means that a Jewish week always begins and ends in celebration.
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Solomon, Norman. 1996 - Judaism, a very short Introduction - Oxford University Press
Leaman, Oliver. 2011 - Judaism, an Introduction - I.B.Tauris and Co Ltd
Cohn-Sherbok, Lavinia & Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. 1999 - Judaism: A Short Introduction - Oneworld Publications
Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. 2003 - Judaism: History, Beliefs and Practices - London ; New York : Routledge
Works Cited
Solomon, Norman. 1996 - Judaism, a very short Introduction - Oxford University Press
Leaman, Oliver. 2011 - Judaism, an Introduction - I.B.Tauris and Co Ltd
Cohn-Sherbok, Lavinia & Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. 1999 - Judaism: A Short Introduction - Oneworld Publications
Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. 2003 - Judaism: History, Beliefs and Practices - London ; New York : Routledge
Upon accepting a position to work for the New York Transit Authority, Mary Myers was forthright in informing her supervisor(s) know that she was unable to work any sundown Fridays to sundown Saturdays. (Feazell, 2003) As it relates to keeping “the Sabbath”, sundown Friday to sundown Saturday adherence to set aside this time period for rest and worship. (Feazell, 2003) Consequently, after Ms. Myer begin working for Transit Authority, her scheduled hours were involuntary changed, and she was then required to work on the Sabbath. (Feazell, 2003)
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He says, “in our own contemporary context of the rat race of anxiety, the celebration of Sabbath is an act of resistance.” He says that this is resistance because it is a “visible insistence that our lives are not defined by the production and consumption of commodity goods.” The Sabbath is also an alternative “to the demanding, chattering, pervasive presence of advertising and its great liturgical claim of professional sports that devour all our “rest time.” Our world is a world of production, we continuously produce and never stop. The need for over-production will someday destroy us. Everyone needs a day of rest to have a moment to realize their content with themselves and with others. The Sabbath is a way that can defend the production of this world. Many many Americans are being abused by this type of production system because when they have the time to take a break and rest, they fear that they will need more and more. Brueggemann states that “Thus I have come to think that the fourth commandment on Sabbath is the most difficult and most urgent of the commandments in our society, because it summons us to intent and conduct that defies the most elemental requirements of a commodity-propelled society that specializes in control and entertainment, bread and circuses … along with anxiety and
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In regards to religion, most of the Jewish population practice Judaism. Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions, being over three thousand years old (Schub T & Pravikoff D, 2013). One religious practice of the Jews is circumcising their sons. The Jewish Written Law, or Torah, compels the father to make sure that his son is circumcised on the eighth day of life. Although the topic of circumcision is somewhat controversial, the Jews strongly believe that the ritual is created by G-d himself and that “He certainly knows what’s good and not good for us” (Rich T.R., 2011). In addition to religious practices, Jews tend to have a resting day, also known as Sabbath Day. During Sabbath, the Jews avoid any form of work, which includes driving, walking, and even going as far as to refrain from pressing the bedside button in a hospital setting (Schu...
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On some moonlight nigts us was ‘lowed to pick de cotton. De us’d get a little res’ de nex’ day” . Ismaan’s accountant shows the small time that the slaves had during the weekdays usually meant that they would not gather as a community, or even individually, to sing, dance, and have fun. On Saturdays though, most masters let the slaves off early in the day and then gave them Sunday off for religious reasons. The weekends in slave cultures was all about the people meeting up and enjoying themselves.
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As Christ Beloved, it is our duty to keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father and honor the Sabbath as it is written in the book of Isaiah, 58:-13-14.