Shabbat - Silk tie
“Six days you shall work, and the seventh day is Shabbat, for the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 5:13).
The start of the Sabbath (Shabbat) begins with the lighting of candles, blessing the wine and bread. The theme of an important day of rest.
“Six days you shall work, and the seventh day is Shabbat, for the Lord your Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment. The word "Shabbat" comes from the root Shin-Bet-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest. Wherever Jews have lived, they have observed Sabbath. For the most part, other nations had no real Sabbath equivalent. The weekly day of rest has no parallel in any other ancient civilization. In ancient times, leisure was for the wealthy and the ruling classes only, never for the serving or laboring classes. In addition, the very idea of rest each week was unimaginable. The ancient Babylonians had a day of rest called Shappatu, but it was observed once a month on a full moon and considered unlucky. We take the five-day workweek so much for granted that we forget what a radical concept a day of rest was in ancient times. The Greeks thought Jews were lazy because they insisted on having a "holiday" every seventh day. To keep the Sabbath, Jews risked their wealth and sometimes their lives to keep the Sabbath holy. Like other Jewish festivals, Shabbat was linked to the temple service through an additional sacrificial offering and the displaying of twelve loaves of bread. Before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE, the Sabbath sacrifices had been expanded together with an evolving body of Sabbath laws. After the destruction of the second temple, the synagogue and the Jewish home, not the temple, became the focal point of every Jewish community, especially each Sabbath. During the Talmudic and Gaonic periods, the Sabbath liturgy grew and expanded, and the Torah instruction centering on the scriptural readings became formalized. By the end of the Gaonic period, the essential structure of the Sabbath prayers were set and like the liturgy of the weekday service, were ready for publication and use by each and every Jew. Soon, an entire tractate of the Talmud evolved that was devoted to the laws and spirit of the Sabbath. Now, prayers and symbolic acts replaced the Holy Temple services, which could no longer be performed. Synagogue services and traditional Jewish home life became a constant reminder to Jews everywhere of what was lost and the traditions which will be reinstated with the coming of the Messiah and the eventual rebuilding of the Temple. Lighting Sabbath candles originates in the mishnah, the codification of our oral laws. When candles eventually replaced the oil lamp, it became custom to have at least two lights, representing the commandments of Remember- zachor (Exodus 20:8) and Keep- shamor (Deuteronomy 5:12). However, in many homes, the custom is to light a candle for each member of the family. The kiddush is said over wine as a reminder that everything in our world has holy and unholy potential. Wine can be misused and cause irresponsible behavior, or it can be elevated to the holy by using it to sanctify G-d's name. Two covered, braided or twisted loaves of challah, a traditional Jewish bread, are used at each of the Sabbath's shalosh seudot, three festive meals, eaten every Sabbath. Meals require two loaves of bread in remembrance of the double portion of manna G-d caused to rain down every Friday during the Israelites journey through the desert. The Jews were able to collect enough bread to last through Shabbat, when no manna fell. It is a popular custom to invite guests for Sabbath meals. Not only does it add to the enjoyment of the day, it is a way to reach out to Jews less familiar with how a traditional Jewish family celebrates and honors the Sabbath. Invitations may be spontaneous or made in advance.