שַׁבָּת

3^rd Most Important Tenet Of Ta•na"khꞋ  

 Shab•ãtꞋ;שבתון,Shabat,Shabbat,Shabbos,Shabaton cessation, desistance or refraining from workday kheiꞋphëtz-mᵊlãkh•ãhꞋ (pl. שַׁבָּתוֹת, cognate of שְׁבִיתָה & שַׁבָּתוֹן; all deriving from שָׁבַת ).

"If you retrieve your legs from doing your own kheiꞋphëtz on Sha•bãtꞋ, on My Holy Day…"

Shab•ãtꞋ Collage

‫”אִם תָּשִׁיב מִשַּׁבָּת רַגְלֶךָ, עֲשׂוֹת חֲפָצֶךָ בְּיוֹם קָדְשִׁי; וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עֹנֶג, לִקְדוֹשׁ י‑‑ה מְכֻבָּד, וְכִבַּדְתּוׂ מֵעֲשׂוֹת דְּרָכֶיךָ, מִמְּצוֹא חֶפְצְךָ וְדַבֵּר דָּבָר: אָז תִּתְעַנַּג עַל-י‑‑ה וְהִרְכַּבְתִּיךָ עַל-במותי  אָרֶץ וְהַאֲכַלְתִּיךָ נַחֲלַת יַעֲקֹב אָבִיךָ כִּי פִּי י‑‑ה דִּבֵּר‫“

(Yᵊsha•yãhꞋū ha-Nã•viꞋ 58.13-14)

Tᵊphil•ōtꞋ

1. ≈18 minutes before sunset of 6^th-day: Ha•dᵊlãq•atꞋ Neir•ōtꞋ

   The weekly Shab•ãtꞋ begins with the women of the household reciting this bᵊrãkh•ãhꞋ on behalf of the assembled family.

2. The בִּרכּוׂת הַיְלָדִים then may, according to family preference, either immediately follow Ha•dᵊlãq•atꞋ Neir•ōtꞋ (then pray Mi•nᵊkh•ãhꞋ), or be deferred until after praying Mi•nᵊkh•ãhꞋ.

3. The ËrꞋëv Sha•bãtꞋ Meal (Standing)

   1. If not recited earlier, the בִּרכּוׂת הַיְלָדִים is recited (usually by the father) for each child.

   2. The Eish•ëtꞋ KhaꞋyil is chanted by the man to his wife.

   3. Qi•dūshꞋ for ërꞋëv (after which be seated & drink; followed by the ha-MōtzꞋi and eat)

   4. When finished eating, leaving any remaining bread on the table, recite Bi•rᵊk•atꞋ ha-Mã•zōnꞋ.

4. Next morning:

   1. Pray Sha•khar•itꞋ and Mu•sãphꞋ

   2. Qi•dūshꞋ for Sha•khar•itꞋ (recited seated, then drink; followed by ha-MōtzꞋi, the meal and Bi•rᵊk•atꞋ ha-Mã•zōnꞋ)

5. When 3 Stars/​Planets Become Visible (≈42 Minutes After Sunset):

   1. Recite Ha•vᵊdãl•ãhꞋ, concluding Sha•bãtꞋ

שַׁבָּתוֹן

שַׁבָּתוֹן — the noun שַׁבָּת plus the abstractive-ideal, superlative וֹן- suffix (i.e. a super-שַׁבָּת) — is found only 11 times in the Bible; equating Sha•bãtꞋ, the Mo•ad•imꞋ and the Khaj•imꞋ. Thus, contrary to earliest, Christian-era, rabbinic reforms, the Biblical standard for the Mo•ad•imꞋ is certainly not less than the standard for שַׁבָּת.

Quite the opposite, a שַׁבָּתוֹן is

1. an absolute cessation-day (lit. "a cessation cessation-day"—" qō•dësh", devoted לַֽיהֹוָ֖ה {Existant} , the doublet implying utterly or absolute) —plus

2. a מִקְרָא־קֹ֔דֶשׁ! 

While some argue that Shab•ãt•ōnꞋ is more lax than a regular Shab•ãtꞋ, that it is connected to Shab•ãtꞋ, forming a doublet, suggests the opposite—that it's to be understood as an utter, super or meta-, Shab•ãtꞋ.

Shab•ãt•ōnꞋ: Weekly 7^th Day Shab•ãtꞋ

• שַׁבָּתוֹן שַׁבָּת QōꞋdësh — a Holy Sha•bãt•ōnꞋ Sha•bãtꞋ for י‑‑ה (Shᵊm•ōtꞋ 16.23)

• שַׁבָּת שַׁבָּתוֹן QōꞋdësh — a Holy Sha•bãtꞋ Sha•bãt•ōnꞋ for י‑‑ה (Shᵊm•ōtꞋ 31.15)

• QōꞋdësh of שַׁבָּת שַׁבָּתוֹן for י‑‑ה (Shᵊm•ōtꞋ 35.2)

• שַׁבָּת שַׁבָּתוֹן a MiꞋqᵊrã QōꞋdësh (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 23.3)

Shab•ãt•ōnꞋ: Special Shab•ãtꞋs 

• Yom Tᵊru•ãhꞋ — שַׁבָּתוֹן… a MiꞋqᵊrã QōꞋdësh (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 23.24)

• Yom ha-Ki•pur•imꞋ — שַׁבָּת שַׁבָּתוֹן for you (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 16.31)

• Yom ha-Ki•pur•imꞋ — שַׁבָּתוֹן for you (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 23.32)

• 1^st & 8^th Days of Suk•otꞋ — שַׁבָּתוֹן (x2, wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 23.39)

• Shᵊmit•ãhꞋ — שַׁבָּת שַׁבָּתוֹן (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 25.4)

• Shᵊmit•ãhꞋ — Year of שַׁבָּתוֹן (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 25.5)

Even many Orthodox Jews don't realize that keeping Shab•ãtꞋ is the third-highest priority mi•tzᵊw•ãhꞋ; behind only "You shall love your רֵעַ as yourself" (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 19.18) and pi•quꞋakh nëphꞋësh—even above Yom ha-Ki•pur•imꞋ.

But is Today's 1^st and 7^th Day the Biblical 1^st and 7^th Day?

Non-Jewish miso-Judaic scholars, those who dismiss Hebrew and Judaic sources as non-authoritative and rely solely on idolatrous sources – as if they are somehow more reliable , trace marking the seventh day to Babylonian idolater-astrologers ca. B.C.E. 700. These early astronomers saw only 7 moving planets with their naked eyes, which they thought were gods. Therefore, they assigned one day to each for a total of 7.The Hellenist Greeks and Romans followed suit, naming the days after the respective god (see yom).

There is no record of any people losing complete track, unable to count seven days. If there had been such a break in counting, we can safely expect that the resulting controversy, over the most important thing in the world (properly honoring and pleasing their gods) would have stirred up such a controversy or civil war that there would be record of it. No such controversy has ever erupted among any people. They have all been able to count off seven days without interruption or losing national count.

Thus, the count goes back to the earliest record and the question reduces to what is the earliest record – for Yi•sᵊr•ã•eilꞋ.

However, the seventh day Sha•bãtꞋ dates back before Mosh•ëhꞋ, ca. B.C.E. 1500, to bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 2.2-3. Thus, Biblical tradition, written preceded by ages of Oral tradition, traces this uninterrupted 7-day count back, past Av•rã•hãmꞋ (ca. B.C.E. 2187), to the dawn of recorded history. The seventh day that Yi•sᵊr•ã•eilꞋ observes today is the same seventh day described in bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 2.2-3.

Keeping Sha•bãtꞋ

RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa taught that one can only learn how to keep Tor•ãhꞋ by learning to keep Tor•ãhꞋ as the Pᵊrush•imꞋ teach:

"Then [RibꞋi] Yᵊho•shuꞋa spoke to the Qᵊhil•otꞋ and to his tal•mid•imꞋ saying, ''The So•phᵊr•imꞋ and those of the Rabbinic-Pᵊrush•imꞋ [who advocate that Ha•lãkh•ãhꞋ must be exclusively oral] sit upon the bench [i.e., the Beit-Din] of MoshꞋëh. So now, keep sho•meirꞋ and do concerning everything—as much as they shall tell you! Just don't imitate their Ma•as•ëhꞋ because they say but they don't do." (The Nᵊtzãrim Reconstruction of Hebrew Matitᵊyãhu (NHM, in English) 23.1-3).

In the intervening centuries since, however, the modern successors of the Pᵊrush•imꞋ, Orthodox Jews, have introduced an innovation—which, despite the good intention, is prohibited by Tor•ãhꞋ (Dᵊvãr•imꞋ 13.1, inter alia)—to impose a Hav•dãl•ãhꞋ between Judaism and Christianity, falsely redefining the phrase Bᵊn•eiꞋ-NoꞋakh and falsely teaching that non-Jews are prohibited from keeping Shab•ãtꞋ like Jews.

Today, one must filter out intervening rabbinic innovations (which are strayings). Tor•ãhꞋ explicitly declares that there is only one Tor•ãhꞋ, applying the same to Yᵊhud•imꞋ and geir•imꞋ (bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 15.16, 29), one khuq•ãhꞋ (bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 9.14; 15.14-15) and one mi•shᵊpãtꞋ (wa-Yi•qᵊr•ãꞋ 24.22; bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 15.16). Therefore, one can only follow the teaching of RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa by learning what Orthodox Jews teach that Orthodox Jews must keep concerning Shab•ãtꞋ, filtering out any intervening rabbinic strayings.

Accordingly, the fundamentals can only be learned from an Orthodox rabbi who will teach you how Orthodox Jews keep Shab•ãtꞋ (which, if you are a non-Jew, they won't teach you, since they believe non-Jews must keep it differently) or from our Khav•rutꞋã distance course (link in the Foreign Ministry of our website). Some of the basics include:

• Shab•ãtꞋ begins on the eve (sundown of the previous evening), called עֶרֶב שַׁבָּת (ËrꞋëv Shab•ãtꞋ; eve of Shab•ãtꞋ).

• Shab•ãtꞋ ends the evening concluding the day, called מוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת (Motzã•ei Shab•ãtꞋ; the going-out of Shab•ãtꞋ) refers to Hav•dãl•ãhꞋ, about 46 minutes after sundown.

• The standard greeting on Shab•ãtꞋ is שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם (Shab•ãtꞋ Shã•lomꞋ), for which the response is שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם וּבְרָכָה (Shab•ãtꞋ Shã•lomꞋ u-vᵊrãkhãh).

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