Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

religious law (

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

), Jews are commanded to rest on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

, and refrain from performing certain types of work. Some of the activities are considered to be prohibited by

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

law (the

39 Melachot The 39 Melakhot ( he, ל״ט אבות מלאכה, '' lamed-tet avot melakhah'', "39 categories of work") are thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat. Many of these activities are also ...

), while others became prohibited later on, due to rabbinic decrees. These rabbinic Shabbat prohibitions are collectively known as ''shevut'' (שבות).

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''h ...

, Shabbat 21:1 The rabbinic prohibitions fall into several categories: activities not in the spirit of Shabbat; activities which closely resemble a forbidden activity; activities which could lead one to perform a prohibited activity; or activities whose biblical permissibility is debated, so avoiding the activity allows one to keep Shabbat according to all rabbinic opinions. As with most areas of

Halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...

tend to observe these prohibitions more stringently than non-Orthodox Jews.

Muktzeh

Certain items may not be touched, moved or eaten on Shabbat because they are classified as ''muktzeh'' (off-limits). Reasons for items being considered ''muktzeh'' include their main use being a violation of Shabbat, the act of moving them risking a Shabbat violation, or if they were produced during Shabbat in violation of Shabbat.

Money

Although the use of money on Shabbat is not directly forbidden in the Torah, its use has long been condemned by the sages. Money is the very matter of business, and conducting or even discussing business on Shabbat is a rabbinically prohibited act. Additionally, many business transactions are customarily recorded on paper, and writing is one of the

39 melachot The 39 Melakhot ( he, ל״ט אבות מלאכה, '' lamed-tet avot melakhah'', "39 categories of work") are thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat. Many of these activities are also ...

.''To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life'', Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, Ó 1972, 1991 Basic Books, , pages 92-95

Amirah L'akkum

It is rabbinically forbidden for a Jew to tell a non-Jew to do an activity forbidden on the Sabbath, regardless of whether the instruction was given on the Sabbath or beforehand.Amirah le’Akum: Basic Parameters
/ref> The reason is that otherwise, the sanctity of the Sabbath would be diminished, as any activity desired could be performed via proxy. It is also forbidden to benefit on Sabbath from such an activity, regardless of whether the non-Jew was instructed to do so or not. However, if the non-Jew does an activity for himself, a Jew may benefit from it.

Exceptions

Both "instruct" and "benefit" are defined here strictly. This gives rise to the following leniency: One may ''hint'' a non-Jew to turn ''off'' a light interfering with one's sleep, since eliminating a nuisance (the light) is not considered a benefit. Hinting may be done, for example, by saying: "The light is on, and I am forbidden to turn it off." Another example of a non-benefit is turning on a light ''if'' there already is a minimal amount of light present. This is because an increased ''ease'' of function is not considered a benefit. When the activity desired is itself only rabbinically prohibited, it may be permitted to tell a non-Jew to perform the activity for important reasons, such as a communal benefit (such as a power outage in the synagogue) or a ''

mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

'' (such as circumcision). This principle is known as ''shevut deshevut bimkom mitzvah''. There are also leniencies in the event of a sick person, including even minor discomfort among very young children.

Electricity

The use of electricity on Shabbat is generally considered forbidden among Orthodox Jews. There is extensive debate regarding the source of this prohibition. According to most opinions, the prohibition is rabbinic. (Some uses of electricity may also involve a biblical prohibition, for example cooking on an electric stove.)

References

External links

Chabad.org: Shabbat Rest - The Don'ts of Shabbat
{{Shabbat Laws of Shabbat