Notes for Religious Studies 369:

Introduction to Judaism

Woman preparing for the Sabbath,
from book of Jewish customs, Amsterdam 1695

Shabbat, the Sabbath

General description

Observed as day of rest from weekday labour, on Saturday:
Begins Friday at sunset and concludes Saturday night

Biblical rationales for Sabbath:
Two reasons given in different versions of the Decalogue:

1. Exodus 20:10: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
2. Deuteronomy 5:15: "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.."

Work Prohibition:

The Torah repeats in many places that no "work" or "labour" should be performed on the Sabbath -- but does not define precisely what actions are included under the prohibition.

The Mishnah provides a list of 39 basic categories of prohibited actitivity. Additional restrictions were added by the rabbis.

Description of Sabbath

Preparations on Friday:

• House-cleaning
• Festive clothing
• Setting table for festive meal:
• Wine for recitation of Kiddush (sanctification blessing)
• Two loaves of bread (preferably: special ornate loaves) covered with white cloth.
• White table cloth

Several Sabbath traditions based on Exodus 16, the story of the Mannah in the wilderness.

Friday Night Laws and Customs:

At Home

• Ritual candle-lighting at home (usually done by woman).
• Custom of parents blessing children at dinner table.
• Custom of reading "woman of valour" chapter from Proverbs 31.
• Recitation of Kiddush, blessing of sanctification, recited over cup of wine.
• Table hymns.
• Religious study, especially of weekly Biblical reading.

At Synagogue

• Weekday Afternoon service.
• Kabbalat Shabbat--special introductory Psalms and hymns introduced by Kabbalists of sixteenth-century Safed.
  Lekhah Dodi hymn welcomes the Sabbath as a queen.
• Evening Service, sung to special melodies.
  Abbreviated version of "Eighteen blessings" with central section devoted to the topic of the Sabbath.

Sabbath day (Saturday):

• Longer preliminary section (extra Psalms).
• Full reading of section from Torah.
• Haftarah: Concluding reading from "Prophets" section of Bible.
• Musaf ["Additional"] service, a special Amidah prayer on Sabbath theme.
• Afternoon service also includes short reading from following week's section of the Torah.

Havdalah ceremony, Venice. 1601

Conclusion of Sabbath

• Havadalah [Separation] blessing, recited in Eighteen Blessings of Evening Service, and then again at home as a separate cermony.
• Includes blessings over wine, spices and fire.