CULTURE SABBATH

Holidays

Orthodox Jewry is defined by a deep connection to God by abstaining. The Sabbath is a core part of the Jewish religion, a time in the week set aside for connection and rejuvenation

Shabbos

“SHAH-bis” WHAT IT IS:

A weekly 25-hour observance, from just before sundown each Friday (between 4-6 in the fall, and 6-9 in the summer) through the completion of nightfall on Saturday (5-7 in the winter and 7-10 in the fall) .

Shabbat is more than just a day off from labor. It is a day of physical and spiritual delights that is meant to illuminate certain key concepts in the traditional Jewish perception of the world.

Jews believe that God created the world in 6 days, and rested on the 7th. They emulate God in this way and rest on Sabbath, abstaining from all acts involved in creation.

The sages of the Talmud enumerate 39 forbidden creative acts that Jews do not do on Shabbat. The sages explain that each of these acts is a father, with offspring that are also forbidden due to their intrinsic similarity to the parent act.

On the Sabbath, Jews cannot:

Drive

Turning on or off lights

Operate electrical appliances (including phones)

Cook

Write Cut Bake Sew

WHAT YOU WILL SEE: WHAT TO EXPECT:

Conduct business

Play instruments

Use a computer

Do Laundry

Use hot water (bathe, wash dishes)

On Thursday, you will begin to see many people making large purchases at the Kosher groceries. Schools let out early on Friday, between 12-1, and everyone will be hustling, getting ready to greet the Sabbath. During the summer months, many kids will make little stands and carnivals outside their homes, to keep the kids busy and let their mother prepare.

On Friday night, everything will stop, and it might feel more peaceful. There will be less cars on the street, and all the stores will close.

Everyone puts on their finest clothes, girls will put on pretty dresses, women will usually put on a white scarf/ headcovering and a nice outfit, boys will wear suits and the men will put on a long black frock and a beaver fur hat called a streimel. This will stay like this until Saturday at sundown.

All the stores and businesses will be closed. If you make an order by a store, or plan to pick something up, make sure it is not on Friday night or Saturday.

Don’t be insulted if someone calls you in to their house and asks you to do something for them-ex; turn on a light, fix the AC, rip something, or turn off an alarm. There is a concept that a Jew can ask a non-Jew to do something for them if it is causing them pain, or a danger. And know that they cannot pay you, but will try to repay you in some way.