A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
The seventh day of the week and the day of rest. According to the Book of *Genesis, on the seventh day of *creation, *God rested and, in consequence, he blessed the seventh day and made it holy. The *Ten Commandments include the command to keep the Sabbath day holy.
From early times, keeping the Sabbath was seen as a symbol of the uniqueness of the *Israelite people and the *rabbis laid great stress on Sabbath observance. They defined thirty-nine occupations as work which must be avoided and suggested that three meals should be eaten in celebration. The Sabbath begins on the Friday evening with the lighting of the *candles and concludes on Saturday evening with the *havdalah ceremony. (See also KIDDUSH, *HAVDALAH).
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