How do Jewish people celebrate Sabbath?
"God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He rested on it. After he had created everything, he rested from all of the work he had done" (Genesis 2:3).
"In six days I made the heavens and the earth. I made the oceans and everything in them. But I rested on the seventh day. So I blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Exodus 20:11).
"Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The LORD your God reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm and brought you out of there. So he has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day" (Deuteronomy 5:15).
The Sabbath is a special sign between God and Israel (Exodus 31:16-17).The word
Sabbath means "rest," and it begins at sundown on Friday evening and goes until sundown Saturday evening. For Sabbath, special preparations are made. The mom makes a special meal with a very special bread called Challah. She lights candles and prays, welcoming the Sabbath.
The family goes to synagogue either on Friday evening or Saturday morning. The service can last up to 3 hours, and it is often in Hebrew. After the service, there is a celebration called the
Oneg Shabbat (Sabbath Delight) which has a lot of good food, like pastries, cookies, and sometimes sandwiches or other similar foods. People talk and greet one another with,
"Shabbat Shalom" which means "rest and peace." Or you may hear another greeting like,
"Good Shabbos."When Sabbath ends, a new week begins. Sabbath departs until the next Friday evening.
