Shabbat

This is a longer blog than usual for me. I wanted to share what it is like here on Shabbat. Also, the video is of our trip home on the bus on Friday afternoon. It is not as crowded as so many are off all day on Fridays.

Shabbat is observed in Israel by the religious and the secular-- both Jews and Christians—in a greater way than the churches in America. Between 20 to 40 percent of Americans attend church or synagogue each week (http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html). In Israel, even the government observes Shabbat. The buses stop running at about 5 p.m. on Friday evening and do not resume until Saturday evening. Work stops. 84 percent of Israeli Jews observe Shabbat to some degree. The Sabbath is special here. To the Jew in Israel, it is the most important ritual observance in Judaism and is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” Exodus 20:8.It is also the most important special day, even more important than Yom Kippur (Judaism 101:   http://www.jewfaq.org/shabbat.htm ).  The word "Shabbat" comes from the root Shin-Beit-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest.

For the ultra-religious, there is a long set of rules that seem extreme; things like not driving your car, not  turning on a light switch, unscrewing the light bulb in the refrigerator so it would not come on, for to them, turning on electricity is kindling a fire. So, whatever light they may need is turned on before Shabbat begins. There are many more rules. They take the instructions given to Moses literally. The religious Jews looked at all the work detail the Israelites did to prepare the Tabernacle and created the list of don’ts from it.

The typical Shabbat begins with leaving the place of work about 2 or 3 p.m. on Friday. (Robbie and I leave CFI, (Christian Friends of Israel, at 2 P.M with the other volunteers.) The house is cleaned and a festive meal is prepared. Shabbat, like all Jewish days, begins at sunset, because in the story of creation in Genesis Ch. 1, you will notice that it says, "And there was evening, and there was morning." From this, we infer that a day begins with evening, that is, sunset. Shabbat candles are lit and a blessing is recited no later than eighteen minutes before sunset. This ritual, performed by the woman of the house, officially marks the beginning of Shabbat. Two candles are lit, representing the two commandments: zakhor (remember) and shamor (observed). The family then attends a brief evening service after which they enjoy a leisurely dinner together. Before dinner, the man of the house recites Kiddush, a prayer over wine sanctifying Shabbat. The usual prayer for eating bread is recited over two loaves of challah. After dinner, the birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals) is recited. By the time all of this is completed, it may be 9PM or later. The family has an hour or two to talk or study Torah, and then go to sleep.

The next morning Shabbat services begin around 9AM and continue until about noon. Robbie and I have noticed that on Saturday mornings, many Jewish families fill the sidewalks singing and laughing as they go up to worship. After services, the family says kiddush again and has another leisurely, festive meal. A stew is a favorite because it can be slow cooked before Shabbat begins thereby avoiding doing work as stated in Ex. 35:3, “You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."  The family studies Torah for a while, talks, takes an afternoon walk, plays some checkers, or engages in other leisure activities. NO TELEVISION! Shabbat ends at nightfall, when three stars are visible, approximately 40 minutes after sunset. At the conclusion of Shabbat, the family performs a concluding ritual called Havdalah (separation, division). Blessings are recited over wine, spices and candles. Then a blessing is recited regarding the division between the sacred and the secular, between Shabbat and the working days. Separating a day as “Holy unto the Lord” blesses the rest of the work week.

    

Most Christian families in the land do not go to that extreme. Some attend congregations on Saturday and some on Sunday. Most will have the Friday evening meal with friends and partake of communion together; then, rest on Saturday. While we do not hold to the ultra legalism because we know the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27), you will find that communion is very important and is taken in the home with friends and family on Friday evening.

So you see, every Friday, most of Israel has communion—the bread and the wine. The Jews would never call it that, but as a believer, we join in observance during Shabbat and remember that Jesus set us free from sin’s bondage. To the Jew, it is remembering the freedom from Egypt. A slave is forced to work. Freedom gives us rights to rest. How precious it is to share freedom God gave us with His “chosen” people.

 “Keeping the Sabbath holy” means a lot of different things and each religion has their own interpretation. Many of us Christians are guilty of it being a “catch-up” day before Monday. However, I believe it would be pleasing to our Heavenly Father, the giver of The Word, to honor this special time with Him.  When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, He wanted us to understand it is right to do good on His Holy day. We are also to rest and remember all He has done for us!! Have an awesome time of celebration this Sunday.

*References:  Judaism 101.com.

Scripture references: Ex. 20: 8, 11; Ex. 16:23-30;  Ex 31: 14-17; Dt. 5: 12-15, and many more. There are 134 scriptures regarding the Sabbath!