Repair Design Furniture

"Shabbat Shalom!": Tradition and Spiritual Meaning of Greetings. What not to do on Shabbat What Jews do on Shabbat

Many are interested in the questions: "How to keep the Sabbath right?" "Can I work on Shabbat?""What dishes can you eat?" and "How to behave on this day?" As we said, in recent years, many people want to join the observance of Jewish traditions. All such desires are worthy only of approval and respect. After all, Jewish culture was passed down from generation to generation by many righteous Jews at the behest of the Almighty, who is a loving Father who created all of humanity.

The sages say that a complete understanding of the Sabbath can be achieved only through a systematic study of the laws of the Torah. Sacred sabbath the Torah describes it as a day of rest, and any work or work on this day is prohibited. Moreover, on Shabbat, Jews will not only have to rest, but also refrain from any everyday conversations, thoughts, for example, about business. After all, if a person continues to run in the direction of serving his ambitions, which arise from understanding his own abilities, then he is only enslaved by such a race. There are also some caveats: a person cannot feel in holy sabbath its infinity, because then all understanding of the importance of the Almighty on this day is lost.

- Is it possible on Shabbat dress like on weekdays? - No, everything should remind of the holiday and clothes, and even gait. The Sabbath instructions are divided into two groups. One describes what can be done according to the commandments, and the other - what cannot be done. " Shabbat "- translation this owl from Hebrew means Saturday, the root "shvt" - "rest", "cessation", "abstinence". In the Torah sabbath, holy sabbath, called the expression "yom menu", rest day. This means that you need to distance yourself from all your problems, experiences and enter the peace of the Almighty. After all, this day in eternity is a prototype of the future world, where both bodies and souls will feel eternal pleasure and are in a special closeness with the Almighty. But in order to get into this world, it is necessary to observe the Sabbath in our world.

On Shabbat, Jews eat challah (round or oblong flour pastries). The Torah very interestingly describes the moment when the Jews wandered in the wilderness and the Almighty sent them "manna", manna from heaven, which was collected according to the number of people in families. It was forbidden to gain in excess of the norm, since by the evening worms started in this product. But before Saturday, Friday, the Jews collected a double rate to rest on Shabbat. Therefore, on Shabbat, two challahs are put on the table, covering them with a white napkin in order to always remember this. On Shabbat, the famous song « Shabbat shalom ", in response to this wish, everyone should mentally say: "Shabbat Shalom Umevorah"- peace on the blessed Saturday.

And I also want to wish you the best in your Sabbath-keeping endeavors. And, as our sages used to say, “all undertakings are difficult,” but over time, when you begin to delve into the essence and become more interested, it becomes easier. And then the Shabbat really begins to bring pleasure, positive emotions, joy and inspiration. And all the difficulties, troubles and problems go away. And life becomes much easier, which is what I wish for you.

In the State of Israel, most of the population adheres to Judaism. According to this confession, God created the earth for six days, and on the seventh day the Creator rested, this is what He bequeathed to people. The seventh day is called Shabbat by the Jews.

Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday and continues until sunset on Saturday. During this period, you can not do almost any work. The Jews have thirty-nine Sabbath prohibitions and their violation is considered a great sin.

The bans are divided into several categories. Eleven prohibited works relate to the production of bread, namely: sowing seedlings, arable work, harvesting, tying sheaves, threshing ears, cleaning grain from straw residues, cleaning grain from debris, sorting grain, grinding grain, making dough, actually baking products from test.

Eleven other prohibited works relate to the process of making fabric from sheep's wool or linen: shearing wool, bleaching wool, combing wool, dyeing wool, making yarn, threading threads into a weaving machine, setting longitudinal threads on the machine for the base of the fabric, the process of making the fabric itself , unraveling fabric, tying knots, untying knots, sewing, tearing fabric.

Seven more Saturday prohibitions concern the manufacture of leather goods and the processes preceding this. Forbidden: hunting, killing animals, skinning animal carcasses, treating the skin, smoothing the skin, cutting the skin, cutting the skin.

The remaining prohibitions on such types of work: writing two letters, erasing two letters for rewriting them, construction, destruction, kindling a fire, putting out a fire, the last blow with a hammer, transferring things from a private territory to a public one.

The only reason you can break the Sabbath prohibitions without committing a sin is to save your own life or someone else's. Small children and madmen can not observe the Sabbath without fear of sin in any way.

All of these prohibitions should not be taken literally. Not only the described actions are prohibited, but also all logical derivatives from them. For example, the last blow with a hammer should be understood as any action that will become final, will bring something to a state of readiness: tuning musical instruments, fixing a car, and the like. Harvesting applies not only to cereals, but also to any plucked or dug up fruit.

In addition to all this, so that the "children of Israel" do not accidentally violate any prohibition, there are additional restrictions designed to timely stop a person and prevent him from doing a sinful act on Shabbat.
To be on the safe side, many actions and works fall under the Sabbath bans. For example, you cannot: turn on electrical equipment, take pictures, write letters, shave, and much more. At the same time, it is not forbidden to rearrange furniture in the room or carry other weights within the house.

Thus, one can understand that not all physical actions as such are forbidden, but only those as a result of which something will arise, change or disappear. That is, it is forbidden on Shabbat to change the world around us, including creative efforts. In turn, no one forbids using what was created before the Sabbath. A light turned on on Friday or a lit fire will not be a violation of the Sabbath if the fire is not extinguished and the light is not turned off.

Based on this, some little tricks have been devised to keep the Israelites from breaking the Sabbath by using some convenience. Many elevators in high-rise buildings in Israel on Saturday work in a special mode - so that the Jews do not press buttons, the elevator constantly goes up and down, stopping at each floor. Many people turn on one of the burners on the stove on Friday, and it burns all Saturday. There are even services of non-Jewish workers who are willing to do all the forbidden work.

Once such a question has matured, you probably already know that the Sabbath commandment is relevant for the people of God. If you are still in doubt, read the section of my book "Returning to the Origins of the Christian Doctrine" dedicated to the Sabbath.

As for the question - what is allowed and what is not, then in the Bible God does not give clear and comprehensive prohibitions and instructions regarding the observance of the Sabbath rest. This means that He did not set such a goal.

The Sabbath commandment, like other commandments, must be viewed from the point of view of the spirit, but not the letter. That is, to reflect on what purpose the Lord pursued when he gave this commandment !!!

For example, the Lord forbids lighting a fire in living quarters on this day.

Ex 35: 3 light no fire in all your dwellings on the sabbath day.

If you look from the point of view of the letter, it turns out that believers should not turn on the light on Saturday, the stove - the hearth and heat up food ... That is, people should suffer from the inconvenience, and perhaps even freeze ... (By the way, many Jews are so and do). Is this pleasing to God?

And according to the interpretation “in spirit,” that is, according to the inner meaning, which the loving, wise Lord wanted to put into the commandment, in Ex. 35: 3 Moses instructs that people not be busy preparing food on the Sabbath, as this is a lot of fuss and certain difficulties. Because of them, women cannot keep the Sabbath the way God wanted them to.

This is confirmed in the same book of Exodus, a little earlier.

Ref. 16.23 And he said to them: This is what the Lord said: tomorrow rest, holy sabbath of the Lord; what you need to bake, bake, and what needs to be boiled, cook today (i.e. Friday)

This clearly shows the thought behind the ban on the use of fire on the Sabbath. It was necessary to cook two days in advance on Friday, so as not to engage in cooking, that is, household chores, on Saturday.

The Jews, as detailed in my book, made the Sabbath a day of prohibitions, turning the Lord's Day into a day of despondency and sorrow. They could not even do good on Saturday, thinking that this is also forbidden by the Lord!

But this formal approach to the Sabbath commandment was displeasing to the Creator. Therefore, Jesus constantly denounced the spiritual leaders of Israel and deliberately did good on the Sabbath, after which he explained the correct observance.

Jesus said bluntly:

Matthew 12:12 you can do good on saturdays .

What kind of good are we talking about here? Above, from verses 9 to the beginning of verse 12, you can see that Jesus is talking about salvation and the relief of suffering.

Christ spoke about the same in other words:

Onion. 6: 9 Then Jesus said to them: I will ask you: what should be done on the Sabbath? good or evil? to save the soul, or to destroy?

Jesus constantly taught people how to properly observe the Sabbath, not listing specific rules, but returning believers to its essence. Consider the following words of Christ well:

Mark 2:27 And he said to them: Saturday for a person, not a person for Saturday

That is, not a foot for a boot, but a boot for a foot ... We do not live to eat, but eat in order to live ... Jesus explained with these words that the Sabbath was given by God for man, and the Israelites turned themselves into her slaves!

God is not a formalist and therefore does not set clear limits on the Sabbath. He approaches everything from a position of benefit to a person and taking into account compassion for him.

Look at the example Jesus gave.

In March. 2: 23-27 and Matt. 12: 1-7 Jesus tells of King David, who, fleeing from his pursuers, getting hungry, came to the temple and ate the bread of the offering, although only priests could eat them according to the law of God. It turned out that David formally violated the law, but God did not exact from him for this act, since the bread helped David's salvation and the priest allowed him to eat out of compassion for him ...

Therefore, Jesus ended this example by saying that God wants mercy, not sacrifice. That is, the Lord expects from us a kind, open, sincere, loving attitude towards Him and His law, and not violence, mockery of ourselves and other people.

Now let's see what kind of “spiritually” instruction the Scripture contains about the Sabbath:

In Ex. 20 chapter 8 to 11 verses God declares Himself to be the Creator and says that we must dedicate the Sabbath to Him, since He is our Creator.

In Deut. 5: 12-15 The Lord represents Himself as a redeemer and expresses the desire for people to rest on this day and rest for others, including animals.

And the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 58: 13-14) urges not to engage in ordinary affairs on Saturday, so that this day is a joy, a holy separated day, and not to indulge your flesh, not to please your whims ...

For example, in Nehem. 13:19, it is said that before the Sabbath, the gates to the city should be locked, so as not to sell or buy in it. Hence, some believers do not allow themselves to make any purchases on Saturday. However, above from verse 15 it can be seen that Nehemiah was outraged that the Jews on the Sabbath worked and engaged in trade, which is what he wanted to stop by closing the gates to Jerusalem. Thus, if a person goes on a mission on Saturday, for example, and his throat is dry from the heat, he can buy himself water or a drink to relieve suffering. Another thing, it would be wrong if a person gathers on Saturday to shop for purchases - “stock up” (although this can be done on another day), instead of separating Saturday and dedicating it to God ...

Summing up, we can say that according to the spirit of the commandment, the Lord wants us to make the Sabbath separate from others - a holy day. We must devote this day to God, works of the gospel and mercy! But you can also relax on this day, if on other days it is not possible to do this in order to restore the body, because in translation, Shabbat is peace. However, if a person is lying all day on the sofa, then this will not be Sabbath observance, since indulgence of the flesh or pleasing to a whim is on the face. In this case, the believer did not fulfill the first - her main purpose - did not dedicate the Sabbath to God.

The Lord wants Sabbaths to bring believers closer to Him - a loving Father - and this is for our own good!


Valery Tatarkin

To the question of Shabbat. Tell me, what is it forbidden for Jews to do on Saturday? given by the author Throw myself the best answer is Prohibited works
See also: Shabesgoy
There are thirty-nine types of work (prohibited on Saturday). This:
01. Zorea (planting).
02. Horesh (plowing)
03. Cozer (harvest).
04. Meamer (binding sheaves).
05. Dash (threshing).
06. Zore (separation of grains from the remains of straw, which in Russian is called - "blow").
07. Borer (sorting).
08. Tohen (grain grinding).
09. Maraked (separation of grains from impurities - small stones, seeds of other plants, etc.).
10. Lash (kneading dough).
11. Ofe (baking bread).
These eleven points, as we can see, represent the main types of work included in the process of making bread "lehem apanim" (according to the Jerusalem Talmud) or for the manufacture of dyes that were made to color the coatings of the Mishkan. The next eleven points “describe” the manufacturing process of the mishkan coating material.
12. Gosez (sheep wool shearing).
13. Melaben (wool bleaching).
14. Menapets (combing wool).
15. Tsovea (dyeing wool).
16. Tove (making yarn from wool or flax).
17. Meisekh (pulling threads on the loom).
18. Wasp shtei bathei nirin (set longitudinal parallel threads for the warp of the fabric on the loom).
19. Oreg (to weave).
20. Poceah (dissolve the fabric).
21. Kosher (tying knots; the word is not associated with concepts denoting kosher food).
22. Matir (untying knots).
23. Topher (sewing).
24. Korea al mnat litfor (tearing the material in order to sew later).
The next seven points give the names of the main types of work that make up the preparatory process for the manufacture of leather goods, also serving to cover the Mishkan.
25. Tsad (to hunt).
26. Shohet (slaughter cattle).
27. Mafshit (skinning carcasses).
28. Meabed (processing, tanning of leather).
29. Memahek (skin smoothing).
30. Mesartet (cut out)
31 Mechatech (cutting leather into pieces according to a pattern).
In the next group, the work necessary for the construction of the Mishkan itself, as well as the preparation of dyes for the coatings of the Mishkan and the transfer of parts of the Mishkan during the wanderings of the Jews in the desert.
32. Kotev shtei otiyot (spelling of two letters).
33. Mohek al mnat lichtov shtei otiyot (erasing two letters in order to write them again).
34. Bone (construction).
35. Soter (destruction of the built).
36. Mehabe (extinguishing the fire).
37. Mavir (kindling fire).
38. Make be-patish (inflicting the final blow with a hammer, (any action that makes an object ready, for example; tuning musical instruments, inserting new laces into shoes, tearing toilet paper along the perforation line, etc.)).
39. Ha-motsi mirashut lereshut (transferring objects from private ownership to public).
A source:

Answer from 22 answers[guru]

Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Shabbat. Tell me, what is it forbidden for Jews to do on Saturday?

Answer from Aquarius[guru]
Light a fire.


Answer from Adaptability[guru]
why are you already asking? O_o


Answer from Neuropathologist[guru]
Nothing can be done. Rivers do not flow either.


Answer from Zhen[guru]
You cannot deny the Messiah Jesus Christ. They need to accept Him and His teaching and grace, and then they will not have to shake to accidentally press a button in the elevator ...


Answer from David sergiy[guru]
disturb the rest of God ...


"Shabbat Shalom" is a greeting that any Jew greets the coming of the Sabbath. On Saturday, Jews stop all activity and sit down at the festive table. Where the tradition came from and what it means, we will consider further.

The origin of the holiday

According to the Holy Scriptures, the Creator created the world in six days, and rested in the seventh. For Jews, the holiday was established through Moses over 3000 years ago. Before the exodus from Egypt, there was no point in the holiday, since the slaves did not rest, and the masters did not need to rest, they did not work.

The Sabbath commandment was included in Jewish law at the conclusion of the covenant on the obligation to observe it was established not only for the Jews, but also for everyone who lives next to them.

On this day, the Jews try not to think about the body and food, but direct their gaze to the heavenly, eternal. They visit the synagogue and get together with the whole family at a laid table.

Features of the celebration

Saturday observance begins on Friday night. With the onset of the Jews say to everyone: "Shabbat Shalom!" These words mean the wish of a peaceful Saturday to every Jew he meets. The literal translation of "Shabbat Shalom" is "Shabbat Peace."

On Friday night, the hostess lights candles and prays for the children. The father blesses the glass of wine with special words. On this day, a special bread is used - challah. After saying the prayers, the family begins their meal. Any vain conversations are prohibited. Candles create a special atmosphere, festive songs are sung at the table. Peace and tranquility reign in the house.

The end of Shabbat is after sunset on Saturday, that is, the celebration lasts about 25 hours.

Saturday rituals

Shabbat rest begins with the greeting "Shabbat Shalom". The obligatory rituals for observing the Jewish Sabbath are as follows:

  • Lighting candles. As already mentioned, this is done by the hostess of the house with words of blessing. At least two candles are lit.
  • Prayers. On Friday nights, the men visit the synagogue for prayers.
  • Festive meal. After the men visit the synagogue, all family members sit at the table for a solemn meal. The father blesses the children, hymns are sung.
  • Consecration of the day - Kiddush. The father sanctifies the day with special words over a glass of wine. The challah is covered with a napkin. After the blessing, all those present say "amen". The head of the family then drinks the wine and gives everyone a drink.
  • Washing of hands. Everyone who participates in the meal should wash their brushes and wipe them off while pronouncing the words of glorification of the Creator.
  • Meal. On the table, in addition to treats, there are always two challahs covered with a napkin. They remind of the two pieces of heavenly manna that God gave to the Jews before the Sabbath day. The father of the family prays and cuts the challah, dips it in salt, eats it himself, and then gives it to those present. Then you can eat the rest of the dishes.
  • End of Saturday. It comes in the evening at sunset. A special prayer is said over a meal and a glass of wine, Saturday ends.

What does Shabbat Shalom mean to a Jew? These are special words, because the Jewish Sabbath holiday is an eternal institution, a symbol of the covenant between God and man.

On the eve of Shabbat, Jews clean the house, cover the table with a tablecloth, cut toilet paper, prepare holiday dishes, bake challah.

Saturday nuances

Tourists who find themselves in Israel need to consider several points:

  • All establishments close their work on Friday evening: shops, cafes, museums. Their opening will take place after the end of Shabbat - on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
  • Public transport is closed on Saturday. If you need to get there, you can do it by taxi or rented car.
  • Elevators on Saturday open on every floor so that Jews can not press a button and not break the commandment. These lifts exist in most Israeli hotels.
  • Emergency and medical services are available on Saturday. Jews believe that the commandment can be broken to save a person's life.

What else can't you do on Saturday? According to tradition, Jews are prohibited from any creative work, as a result of which the surrounding world is transformed. It is forbidden to light a fire, turn on the electricity, and ride the bus. But non-creative activities are allowed. That is, you can cut vegetables, you can read a book.

Spiritual and earthly meaning

"Shabbat shalom" is pronounced from Friday evening and throughout the entire Saturday afternoon. These words and the wish for a “peaceful Saturday” directs a person to his highest mission on earth. The answer to the wish in most Jewish communities is: "Shabbat Shalom at Mevorah!" ("Peaceful and blessed Saturdays!").

Initially, the Sabbath reminded a person of his Creator and deliverance from slavery.

To this day, the Sabbath rest stops a person in his earthly bustle, gives an opportunity to relax, communicate with family and friends, enjoy nature, and recuperate. The Sabbath allows a person to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The Jewish Saturday is a great achievement for a person, which makes it possible to realize the events of his life's journey and turn to God.