Shabbat (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt; Yiddish שאבעס, shabbos; "rest" or "cessation") is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact time, therefore, differs from week to week and from place to place, depending on the time of sunset at each location.
Shabbat recalls the Biblical Creation account in Genesis, describing God creating the Heavens and the Earth in six days, and resting on and sanctifying the seventh (Genesis 1:1-2:3).
Shabbat is considered a festive day, when a person is freed from the regular labors of everyday life, can contemplate the spiritual aspects of life, and can spend time with family. Traditionally, on that day three festive meals are eaten — on Shabbat-eve, at lunch, and as an end-of-Shabbat evening-meal. The day is also noted for those activities which are prohibited on Shabbat prescribed by Rabbinic Judaism, but not all Jews follow these categories, and Karaite Judaism has its own traditions.
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Reform Judaism, NY
My visitor turned out to be the Challah Lady, a volunteer offering Jewish patients in hospitals a challah on Friday afternoons, along with a few friendly words and a Shabbat Shalom. My wife thanked her profusely without mentioning that it would be ...
