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{{short description|Day set aside for rest and worship}} | |||
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{{About|the general day of rest or worship time in Abrahamic religions|the rest day in Judaism|Shabbat|Sabbath in the Bible|Biblical Sabbath|the Talmudic tractate|Shabbat (Talmud)}} | |||
{{other|Sabbath (disambiguation)}} | |||
] according to ].]] | |||
{{Wiktionary}} | |||
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In ], the '''Sabbath''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|b|ə|θ}}) or '''Shabbat''' (from ] {{lang|he|שַׁבָּת}} {{IPA|he|ʃa'bat|}}) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the ], the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, ] by ] to be kept as a ] of rest, as God rested from ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sabbath |title=Sabbath Definition & Meaning |publisher=Dictionary.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-13}}</ref> Sabbath (]) observance is commanded in the ]: "]". The Sabbath was possibly influenced by Babylonian mid-month rest days and lunar cycles, though its origins remain debated. | |||
'''Sabbath''' or a '''sabbath''' is generally a weekly day of ] and/or time of ] that is observed in any of several faiths. The term derives from the Hebrew '']'' (שבת), "to cease", which was first used in the ] account of the ] of ]. Observation and remembrance of Sabbath is one of the ] (the fourth in the original ], the ], and most ] traditions, the third in ] and ] traditions). Many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia. The term has been used to describe a similar weekly observance in any of several other faiths; the new moon; any of seven annual festivals in ] and some ] traditions; any of eight annual festivals in ] (usually "]"); and a year of rest in religious or secular usage, originally every seventh year. | |||
The Sabbath is observed in ], ] forms of ] (such as some ] and ] ]) and ].<ref>'']'', 2018 ed., s.v. "Jerusalem"</ref> Observances similar to, or descended from, the Sabbath also exist in other religions. The term may be generally used to describe similar weekly observances in other religions. | |||
==Jewish tradition== | |||
Jewish ''Shabbat'' and ] are also observed by a minority of Christians. | |||
==Origins== | |||
===Weekly Sabbath=== | |||
{{details|Shabbat}} | |||
Originally, Sabbath (''shabbat'', ''shabbos'', ''shabbes'', ''shobos'', etc.) is a weekly day of rest, now observed from sundown on ] until the appearance of three stars in the sky on ] night. Most Sabbath-keepers regard this seventh-day Sabbath to have been instituted as a "perpetual covenant the people of Israel" (Exodus 31:13-17), a sign in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed the Creation in six days (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11); Isaiah extends the term to include even corrupted rest-day traditions (1:13). (Some prominent rabbis believe Sabbath was originally kept according to the four phases of the ], every seven or eight days.) Sabbath desecration was officially punishable by death (Exodus 31:15); thirty-nine prohibited categories of work are listed in Tractate '']'' in the ]. Customarily, ''Shabbat'' is ushered in by lighting ]s shortly before sunset, at ]ally calculated times that change from week to week and from place to place. ''Shabbat'' is a widely noted hallmark of Jewish peoples; the ] (literally, Sabbatarians) are a Russian sect, categorized as either Jews or Judaizing Christians, that became particularly branded by strict Sabbath observance. Several times a year throughout Judaism, ''Shabbat'' is designated as ], such as on ''Shabbat Teshuvah'' (Repentance Sabbath), within the week prior to ]. (In a distinct minority, some European ] have moved Sabbath observances to ].)In the Old Testament a warning was given, And he shall speak words against the most High, ... and think to change times and laws | |||
Daniel 7:25 Of course their would be no divine authority to do so. In the New Testament Jesus reminds his audience that the Sabbath was made for mankind Mark 2:27,28 and that he was in fact Lord of the Sabbath. John alludes to this as the Lord's day in Revelation 1:10 where John stated he was in the spirit on the Lord's day. Obviously he is speaking | |||
of the seventh-day Sabbath. Ezekiel 20:12 states that he (Jesus)gave us his sabbaths as a sign that he is the one who sanctifies us. In thatsame chapter Jesus says to hallow his sabbaths and again that it is a sign that we may know that he is the Lord our God. verse 20 If one reads Isaiah 9:6 we can understand why this day is attributed to Jesus in the | |||
Old Testament. Also Colossians 1:15-18 and John 1:1-4, 14 KJV | |||
=== |
===Babylon=== | ||
{{Main|Babylonian calendar}} | |||
{{details|Seven-day week}} | |||
By ] (naming a part for the whole), the term "Sabbath" also came to mean simply "week" in Jewish sources by the time of the ]. ]'s parable of the ] describes the ] as fasting "twice a week" (Greek ''dis tou sabbatou'', literally, "twice of the Sabbath"). | |||
A ] ] ''Sapattu<sup>m</sup>'' or ''Sabattu<sup>m</sup>'' is reconstructed from the lost fifth ] creation account, which is read as: "''bbatu'' shalt thou then encounter, midly". It is regarded as a form of ]ian ''sa-bat'' ("mid-rest"), rendered in ] as ''um nuh libbi'' ("day of mid-repose").<ref name="ere">{{cite book|author=Pinches, T.G.|editor=Hastings, James|others=Selbie, John A., contrib|title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics|volume=20|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|date=2003|pages=889–891|chapter=Sabbath (Babylonian)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVNqXDz4CE8C|isbn=978-0-7661-3698-4|access-date=2009-03-17}} | |||
===Annual Sabbaths=== | |||
It has been argued that the association of the number seven with creation itself derives from the circumstance that the Enuma Elish was recorded on seven tablets. | |||
{{details|High Sabbaths}} | |||
"emphasized by Professor ], who says: 'Each account is arranged in a series of sevens, the Babylonian in seven tablets, the Hebrew in seven days. Each of them places the creation of man in the sixth division of its series." Albert T. Clay, ''The Origin of Biblical Traditions: Hebrew Legends in Babylonia and Israel'', 1923, .</ref> | |||
Seven annual Biblical festivals, called by the name ''shabbaton'' in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English, serve as supplemental testimonies to the plan of ''Shabbat''. These are recorded in the books of ] and ] and do not necessarily occur on ''Shabbat''. They include the first and seventh days of ] (]); ] (]); ] (]); ], the "Sabbath of Sabbaths" (]); and the first and eighth days of ] (]). | |||
Connection to Sabbath observance has been suggested in the designation of the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eight days of a lunar month in an Assyrian religious calendar as a 'holy day', also called 'evil days' (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). The prohibitions on these days, spaced seven days apart (except the nineteenth), include abstaining from chariot riding, and the avoidance of eating meat by the King. On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day".<ref>"Histoire du peuple hébreu". ]. Presses Universitaires de France 2009 (8e édition), p. 66</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Seven Day Circle: The History and Meaning of the Week|first=Eviatar |last=Zerubavel|publisher=University of Chicago Press|date=1985|isbn=0-226-98165-7}}</ref> | |||
{{details|Shabbaton}} | |||
The modern Hebrew term ''shabbaton'' or ''shaboson'' also means a retreat or program for education, and usually celebration, that is held on ''Shabbat'' or over a weekend with special focus on Sabbath. | |||
The '']'' advanced a theory of ]s like ]<ref name=landau/> (and of ])<ref>{{cite book|author=Craveri, Marcello|title=The Life of Jesus|publisher=Grove Press|date=1967|page=134}}</ref> that Shabbat originally arose from the ] in the ]<ref>{{cite book|date=1943|title=The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times|volume=5|page=410|editor=Landman, Isaac|chapter=Holidays|author=Joseph, Max|others=Cohen, Simon, compiler|publisher=The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc|editor-link=Isaac Landman}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|date=1943|title=The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times|volume=9|page=295|editor=Landman, Isaac|chapter=Sabbath|author=Joseph, Max|others=Cohen, Simon, compiler|publisher=The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incv|editor-link= Isaac Landman}}</ref> containing four weeks ending in a Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month.<ref>{{cite book|date=1943|title=The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times|volume=10|page=482|editor=Landman, Isaac|chapter=Week|author=Cohen, Simon|others=Cohen, Simon, compiler|publisher=The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc |editor-link= Isaac Landman}}</ref> The difficulties of this theory include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Sabbath in any language.<ref name="orr" /> | |||
===Seventh-year Sabbatical=== | |||
{{details|Shmita}} | |||
The year of ''Shmita'' (Hebrew שמיטה, literally, "release"), also called the Sabbatical Year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the ] for the ]. During ''Shmita'', the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity—including plowing, planting, pruning, and harvesting—is forbidden by Torah law. Other cultivation techniques—such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming, and mowing—may be performed as preventative measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants. Additionally, any fruits which grow of their own accord are deemed ownerless and may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of ''Shmita'' produce. A second aspect of ''Shmita'' concerns debts and loans: when the year ends, personal debts are considered nullified and forgiven. In similar fashion, the Torah required a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year. | |||
== |
==Biblical Sabbath== | ||
{{Further|Biblical Sabbath}} | |||
In Christianity, both those who observe the ] as Sabbath and those who observe the ] as Sabbath lay claim to the names "Sabbatarian" for themselves and "Lord's Day" for Sabbath, each group believing its position to be taught by the Bible; similarly for others who hold to strong Sabbath principles. | |||
], ], and ], Sabbath begins Friday at sundown and ends at Saturday sundown. Thus the sunset is a common ] of the Sabbath.]] | |||
Sabbath (as the verb שָׁבַת֙ ''shabbat'') is first mentioned in the ], where the seventh day is set aside as a day of rest (in Hebrew, ''shabbat'') and made holy by ] ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|2:2–3|HE}}). Observation and remembrance of Sabbath ({{Langx|he|שַׁבָּת}} ''shabbat'') is one of the ] (the ] in the original ], the ], and most ] traditions, the third in ] and ] traditions). | |||
===First-day Sabbath=== | |||
{{details|Sabbath in Christianity}} | |||
In the majority of Christendom (], some ], and much ]), "Sabbath" is a synonym of "]" (]), which is kept in commemoration of the ], and often celebrated with the ]. It is often the day of ], and usually the day of communal worship. The Lord's Day is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week (or, in some calendars, Sunday is designated the seventh day of the week). Relatively few Christians regard first-day observance as entailing all of the ordinances of ''Shabbat''. The related ] movement generally follows the stronger of Christian Sabbatarian traditions, avoiding shopping, leisure activities, and idleness on the first day, and avoiding work unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes the Lord's Day is observed by those who believe Sabbath corresponds to Saturday but is obsolete. In ], the ] has observed both Sunday Lord's Day and ] in different ways for several centuries, as have other ] traditions. As another minority view, some modern Christians uphold Sabbath but do not limit its observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any chosen day of the week, or advocating Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ. | |||
Most Jews who observe the Sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a perpetual ] for the ] ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|31:13–17|HE}}), as a sign respecting two events: the day during which God rested after having completed ] in six days ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|20:8–11|HE}}) and the Israelites' ] ({{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|5:12–15|HE}}). However, most ] regard the Sabbath as having been instituted by God at the end of Creation week and that the entire world was then, and continues to be, obliged to observe the seventh day as Sabbath. | |||
===Seventh-day Sabbath=== | |||
{{details|Sabbath in seventh-day churches}} | |||
In several Christian denominations, Sabbath is kept in similar manner as in Judaism, but observance ends at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. ]s have found Sabbath an important part of their beliefs and practices since the mid-17th century, also informing the doctrine of the similar but larger ] group in the mid-19th century. They and others believe that keeping ] is a moral obligation arising out of the Ten Commandments that honors God as Creator and Deliverer. They also use "Lord's Day" to mean the seventh day, based on Scriptures in which God calls it "my day" and "of the {{LORD}}". Adventists originally formally identified the problem of defining Sabbath worldwide on a round earth; some ]s make use of the ], while others (such as some ] Adventists) observe Sabbath according to ] time instead of local time. Many of the ] in ], like some other African tribes, are Christians yet claim common descent from the ]ish people, keep one day a week holy like ''Shabbat'', and have many beliefs and practices linked to Judaism. | |||
Observance in the ] was universally from ] to seventh-day sundown<ref>{{Bibleverse||Nehemiah|13:19|HE}}, cf. {{Bibleverse||Leviticus|23:32|HE}}</ref> on a ]. The Sabbath was considered a day of joy,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|58:13|HE}}</ref> and an occasion for consultation with prophets.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Kings|4:23|HE}}; </ref> Sabbath corporate worship was not prescribed for the community at large, and the Sabbath activities at the shrines were originally a convocation of priests for the purpose of offering divine sacrifices, with family worship and rest being centered in homes.<ref>Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. (2001). Israelology: the missing link in systematic theology. Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries. pp. 595–601. {{ISBN|0914863053}}</ref><ref>Goldberg, Louis A. (1980). Leviticus: A Study Guide Commentary. Grand Rapids:Zondervan Publishing House. p. 116. {{ISBN|9780310418139}}</ref> Originally, ] were officially to be ] ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|31:15|HE}}). | |||
===Monthly Sabbath=== | |||
{{details|New moon}} | |||
The new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as Sabbath, but some native ] ]s, such as the New Israelites of Peru, do keep the day of the new moon as Sabbath or rest day, from dusk to dusk. Their new moon services can last all day. | |||
==Judaism== | |||
===Annual Sabbath=== | |||
{{main|Shabbat}} | |||
{{details|Day of the Vow}} | |||
{{See also|Hebrew calendar}} | |||
In ], Christian ]s have celebrated ], now called the ], as annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838. Commemorating a famous Boer victory over the ], the anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams of ] and South African nationalism. | |||
Jewish '']'' (''Shabbath'', ''Shabbes'', ''Shobos'', etc.) is a weekly day of rest, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. ] are listed in Tractate '']''. Customarily, ''Shabbat'' is ushered in by lighting ]s shortly before sunset, at ]ally calculated times that change weekly and geographically. | |||
''Shabbat'' is a widely noted hallmark of the Jewish people. Several weekly ''Shabbat''s per year are designated as ], such as '']'', prior to ] (literally, "the High Sabbath", but not to be confused with other ]); and ''Shabbat Teshuvah'', prior to ] ("Repentance Sabbath"). | |||
While Shabbat is universally considered by Jews to take place between Friday at sundown and Saturday at sundown, the ] movement at its height produced innovations in practice, exemplied by some ] rabbis such as ], who shifted his congregation's Shabbat services to Sundays in imitation of Christians' observance of their sabbath, which takes place on Sunday. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/1982_34_01_00_olitzky.pdf |title=The Sunday-Sabbath Movement in American Reform Judaism: Strategy or Evolution |website=AmericanJewishArchives.org |access-date=9 December 2023 }}</ref> (Reform Judaism has since abandoned the practice of holding Shabbat services on Sundays.) | |||
===Shabbaton=== | |||
{{Main article|Shabbaton}} | |||
Colloquially, in contemporary Israel, the term ''Shabbaton'' or ''Shaboson'' may mean an event or program of education and usually celebration held on '']'', or over an entire ] with main focus on ''Shabbat''. Such events are held by youth groups, singles groups, synagogues, schools, social groups, charitable groups or family reunions, can be either multi-generational and wide-open or limited-group, and can be held where a group usually meets or offsite. "''Shabbaton''", rather than just "]", signifies recognition of the importance of ''Shabbat'' in the event or program.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}. | |||
==Christianity== | |||
{{Main article|Sabbath in Christianity}} | |||
{{See also|Gregorian calendar}} | |||
In ], the Sabbath is considered still to be on ], the seventh day, in remembrance of the Hebrew Sabbath. In ] and most branches of Protestantism, the "]" (Greek Κυριακή) is considered to be on Sunday, the first day (and "eighth day"). Communal worship, including the Holy Mysteries, may take place on any day, but a weekly observance of the resurrection is made consistently on Sunday. ] sometimes refers to the Lord's Day as a "Christian Sabbath", distinct from the Hebrew Sabbath, but related in varying manner. | |||
] (literally, Sabbatarians) are a Russian sect, categorized ] Christians, which became particularly branded by strict ''Shabbat'' observance. | |||
===First-day=== | |||
{{details|Puritan Sabbath}} | |||
Since ] times, most English-speaking ]s identify the "]" (viz., Sunday) with a "]", a term ]s in those areas may also celebrate with the ]. It is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week. In ], all commerce and entertainment activities cease on Sunday, starting at midnight and ending the next day, at midnight, as Tonga's constitution declares the Sabbath sacred forever.<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution of Tonga |url=https://www.parliament.gov.to/parliamentary-business/documents/constitution-of-tonga/file/115-constitution-of-tonga-revised-1988 |website=Parliament of Tonga |access-date=20 August 2018}}</ref> In ], the ] has observed both Sunday Resurrection Day and ] in different ways for several centuries, as have other ] traditions. | |||
] Sabbatarianism or ] Sabbatarianism is strict observance of ] that is typically characterized by its avoidance of ] activities. "Puritan Sabbath", expressed in the '']'', is often contrasted with "] Sabbath": the latter follows the Continental ] such as the '']'', which emphasize rest and ] on ], but do not forbid recreational activities. | |||
===Seventh-day=== | |||
{{Main article|Sabbath in seventh-day churches|List of Sabbath-keeping churches}} | |||
Several Christian denominations observe Sabbath in a similar manner to Judaism, though with observance ending at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. Early church historians ] and ] cite the seventh day as the Christian day of worship except for the Christians in Rome and Alexandria. Many Sabbatarian Judeo-Christian groups were attested during the Middle Ages. The ], a religious group founded during the 12th century, are regarded as one of the first Post-Constantinian Christian groups to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. The ] were founded in 1588 from among the ] and maintained a presence until the group converted to Judaism in the 1870s. ]s have observed Sabbath on Saturday since the mid-17th century (either from sundown or from midnight), and influenced the (now more numerous) ] in America to begin the practice in the mid-19th century. They believe that keeping ] is a moral responsibility equal to that of any of the other ], based on the Fourth Commandment's injunction to ], as well as the example of ]. They also use "Lord's Day" to mean the seventh day, based on Scriptures in which God calls the day "my Sabbath" ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|31:13|KJV}}) and "to the {{LORD}}" ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|16:23|KJV}}) and in which Jesus calls himself "Lord of Sabbath" ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|12:8|KJV}}). The question of defining Sabbath worldwide on a round earth was resolved by some ]s by making use of the ] (i.e., permitting local rest-day adjustment, {{Bibleverse||Esther|9:16–19|KJV}}), while others (such as some ]n Sabbatarians) keep Sabbath according to ] time (i.e., rejecting manmade temporal customs, {{Bibleverse||Daniel|7:25|KJV}}). Adherents of ] (a Christian sect or grouping of sects), also generally observe the Sabbath on Saturdays. | |||
===Seventh-day versus First-day=== | |||
{{Main article|Sabbath in Christianity|Sabbath in seventh-day churches}} | |||
In 321 AD, Roman emperor ] enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance. The law did not mention the Sabbath by name, but referred to a day of rest on "the venerable day of the sun." | |||
{{quote|On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.<ref>Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.</ref>}} | |||
===New moon=== | |||
{{See also|New moon}} | |||
The new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as Sabbath, but some ] and ] churches,{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} keep the day of the new moon as Sabbath or rest day, from evening to evening. New-moon services can last all day. | |||
Some modern sects who are Sabbath keepers have suggested a Sabbath based on the New Moon{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} citing and as a key ]s. Observers recognize the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month of the Hebrew Calendar as Sabbath days which should be observed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldslastchance.com/wlc-challenge.html|title=The WLC Sabbath Challenge|website=Bible Prophecy {{!}} Online Bible Studies {{!}} Videos {{!}} WLC|access-date=2018-09-04}}</ref> They reject the 7 day week as non-biblical.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} The Lunar Sabbath theory is rejected by most Sabbatarian groups and Judaism as false and misleading but the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls translated by Eisenman and Wise show the Essene Jewish calendar revealing the first sabbath of the month of Nisan being on the 4th day 3 days after the new moon and kept every 7 days for the rest of the year. While some of the writings at the Dead Sea sect or Qumran state the 4th day, other writings such as HaYubilim XLIV:1 or The Jubilees 44:1 mention the seventh day of the 3rd moon a sacrifice takes place and Yaakob stays seven days later because travel is not permitted on Shabbat. Philo of Alexandria also mentions in Decalogue XXX (161) But to the seventh day of the week he has assigned the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration , at the periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each lasting seven days; the one which takes place in the spring being for the perfection of what is being sown, and the one which falls in autumn being a feast of thanksgiving for the bringing home of all the fruits which the trees have produced. And seven days have very appropriately been appointed to the seventh month of each equinox, so that each month might receive an especial honour of one sacred day of festival, for the purpose of refreshing and cheering the mind with its holiday. | |||
===Day of the Vow=== | |||
{{Main article|Day of the Vow}} | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
Day of the Vow or ]'s Day (] ''Geloftedag'' or ''Dingaansdag'', December 16) was the name of a religious public holiday in ] commemorating a famous ] victory over the ]. Celebrated as annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838, it was renamed ] in 1994. The anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams of ] and South African nationalism. | |||
===Millennial Sabbath=== | ===Millennial Sabbath=== | ||
{{Main article|Millennial Day Theory}} | |||
{{details|Millennialism}} | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
Since ] in the early third century, Christians have often considered that some thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the ] described in the ]. This view was also popular among 19th and 20th century ] ]s. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek ''sabbatismos''), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in Hebrews 4:9 to have special reference to this definition. | |||
Since ] in the early third century, Christians have often considered that some thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the ] described in the ]. This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-century ] ]s. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek ''Sabbatismos''), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in {{Bibleverse||Hebrews|4:9|KJV}} to have special reference to this definition. | |||
===Spiritual Sabbath=== | |||
{{Religious text primary|section|date=December 2020}} | |||
Some modern Christians uphold Sabbath principles but do not limit observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any one chosen day of the week as following the spirit of Sabbath, or advocating Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ. These look upon Sabbath as a principle to be observed in spirit rather than in letter, regarding the rest offered in ] as the only New Testament admonishment containing the root word of "Sabbath" ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|11:28|KJV}}) and sometimes as a more permanent rest than a day could fulfill ({{Bibleverse||Hebrews|4:9|KJV}}). | |||
===Latter Day Saint Movement=== | |||
In 1831, ] published a revelation commanding his related movement, the ], to go to the house of prayer, offer up their sacraments, rest from their labors, and pay their devotions on the Lord's day (D&C 59:9–12). | |||
{{quote|That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High.|D&C 59:9–10<ref></ref>}} | |||
Latter-day Saints believe this means performing no labor that would keep them from giving their full attention to spiritual matters (Ex. 20:10). LDS prophets have described this as meaning they should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Elder ] wrote in his '']'' that mere idle lounging on the Sabbath does not keep the day holy, and that it calls for constructive thoughts and acts.<ref>'']'', pp. 96–97</ref> | |||
Members of the Church are encouraged to prepare their meals with "singleness of heart" on the Sabbath<ref></ref> (D&C 59:13) and believe the day is only for righteous activities (Is. 58:13.) In most areas of the world, this means worship on Sunday, though there is adaptation for Israel and many majority-Muslim countries.<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
In harmony with this revelation, members of the LDS church attend ] each week. Other Sabbath-day activities may include: praying, meditating, studying the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets, writing letters to family members and friends, reading wholesome material, visiting the sick and distressed, and attending other Church meetings.<ref>True to the Faith, p. 146 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/36863_eng.pdf{{full citation needed|date=February 2017}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021}} | |||
==Islam== | |||
{{Main article|Friday prayer}} | |||
{{See also|Islamic calendar}} | |||
The ] shares the six-part ] (32:4, 50:38) and the Sabbath as the seventh day ({{transl|ar|yaum as-Sabt}}: 2:65, 4:47, 154, 7:163, 16:124), but ] mounting the throne after creation is taken in contradistinction to ]'s concluding and resting from his labors. The Quran states that since Sabbath was only for Jews, Muslims replace Sabbath rest with {{transl|ar|]}} ({{langx|ar|جمعة}}). Also known as "Friday prayer", {{transl|ar|jumu'ah}} is a congregational prayer ({{transl|ar|]}}) held every Friday (the Day of Assembly), just after midday, in place of the otherwise daily {{transl|ar|]}} prayer; | |||
The Quran states: "When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business: That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). The next verse ("When the prayer is ended, then disperse in the land ...") leads many Muslims not to consider Friday a rest day, as in ], which regards the seventh-day Sabbath as unchanged; but many Muslim countries, such as ] and ], do consider Friday a nonwork day, a holiday or a weekend; and other Muslim countries, like ] and the ] count it as half a rest day (after the Friday prayer is over). {{transl|ar|Jumu'ah}} attendance is strictly incumbent upon all free adult males who are {{Cl-span| residents of the locality (and not travelling).|date=February 2022}} | |||
== Samaritanism == | |||
The Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every Friday to Saturday beginning and ending at sundown, for twenty four hours the families gather together to celebrate the rest day, all electricity with the exception of minimal lighting (kept on the entire day) in the house is disconnected, no work is done, neither is cooking or driving allowed. The time is devoted to worship which consists of seven ] (divided into two for Sabbath eve, two in the morning, one in afternoon and one at eve of conclusion), reading the weekly Torah portion (According to the Samaritan yearly Torah cycle), spending quality time with family, taking meals, rest and sleep, and within the community visiting each other is encouraged.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sabbath Observance: How Israelite Samaritans Keep the Sabbath |url=https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/religion/sabbath-observance/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Israelite Samaritan Information Institute |language=en-GB}}</ref> ] are not used in Samaritan custom and would be considered a violation of the biblical commandment of "You shall not kindle fire".<ref>"Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day." Exodus 35:3.</ref><ref> by Jacob, Son of Aaron, The High Priest of The Samaritans at Shechem. pp. 441-442.</ref> | |||
==Other religious traditions== | ==Other religious traditions== | ||
=== |
===Seven-day week=== | ||
{{Main article|Seven-day week}} | |||
{{details|Bahá'í calendar}} | |||
Istiqlál (literally, Independence) is the weekday from Thursday sunset to Friday sunset, is observed as a day of rest, and is regarded as the ] of the week. Friday is also the day of rest in ]; but ] affirms Friday as the Bahá'í day of rest without giving any reason. | |||
By ] (naming the whole for a part), in Jewish sources by the time of the ], the term "Sabbath" (] ''Sabbaton'', Strong's ''4521'') also came to mean an entire "]" or seven-day week, the interval between two weekly Sabbaths. ]'s ] of the ] ({{Bibleverse||Luke|18:9–14|KJV}}) describes the ] as fasting "twice a week" (] ''dis tou sabbatou'', literally, "Twice of the Sabbath"). Philo of Alexandria states in Decalogue XX. (96) The fourth commandment has reference to the sacred seventh day, that it may be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Now some states keep the holy festival only once in the month, counting from the new moon, as a day sacred to God; but the nation of the Jews keep every seventh day regularly, after each interval of six days; (97) and there is an account of events recorded in the history of the creation of the world, constituting a sufficient relation of the cause of this ordinance; for the sacred historian says, that the world was created in six days, and that on the seventh day God desisted from his works, and began to contemplate what he had so beautifully created; (98) therefore, he commanded the beings also who were destined to live in this state, to imitate God in this particular also, as well as in all others, applying themselves to their works for six days, but desisting from them and philosophising on the seventh day, and devoting their leisure to the contemplation of the things of nature, and considering whether in the preceding six days they have done anything which has not been holy, bringing their conduct before the judgment-seat of the soul, and subjecting it to a scrutiny, and making themselves give an account of all the things which they have said or done; the laws sitting by as assessors and joint inquirers, in order to the correcting of such errors as have been committed through carelessness, and to the guarding against any similar offences being hereafter repeated. | |||
===Buddhist worship=== | |||
{{details|Uposatha}} | |||
The ''Uposatha'' has been observed since ]'s time (500 BC), and is still being kept today in ] countries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught that ''Uposatha'' is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, ]s and ]s intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. | |||
=== |
===High Sabbaths=== | ||
{{Main article|High Sabbaths}} | |||
{{details|Jumu'ah}} | |||
''Jumu'ah'' (Arabic: جمعة ), also known as "Friday prayer", is a congregational prayer ('']'') that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon, in place of the otherwise daily '']'' prayer; it commemorates the ] on the sixth day. The ] states: "O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday , hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business : That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). | |||
"High Sabbaths" are observed by Jews and some Christians. Seven annual Biblical festivals, called ''miqra'' ("called assembly") in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English and serving as supplemental testimonies to Sabbath, are specified in the books of ] and ]; they do not necessarily fall on weekly Sabbath. Three occur in spring: the first and seventh days of ] (]), and ] (]). Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also called ''Shabbaton'': ] (]); ], "Sabbath of Sabbaths" (]); and the first and eighth days of ] (]). "High Sabbaths" is also often a synonym of "]", viz., Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. | |||
===Unification Sabbath=== | |||
{{details|Ahn Shi Il}} | |||
The ] has a regular day of worship on Sunday, but also has a ] service every eight days on the day of Ahn Shi Il, considered as Sabbath but cycling among the weekdays. The Family Pledge, formerly recited at 5:00 a.m. on Sundays, was moved to Ahn Shi Il in 1994. The pledge recited at this event includes eight verses containing the phrase "by centering on true love". | |||
=== |
=== Shmita === | ||
'']'' ({{langx|he|שמטה}}, Strong's 8059 as ''sh<sup>e</sup>mittah'', literally "release"), also called sabbatical year, is the seventh (שביעי, Strong's 7637 as ''sh<sup>e</sup>biy'iy'') year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by ] for the ], relatively little observed in Biblical tradition, but still observed in contemporary ]. During ''Shmita'', the land is left to lie ] and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Torah and ]. By tradition, other cultivation techniques (such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming and mowing) may be performed as preventive measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants; additionally, whatever fruits grow of their own accord during that year are deemed '']'' (ownerless), not for the landowner but for the poor, the stranger, and the beasts of the field; these fruits may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of ''Shmita'' produce. When the year ended, all debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted ({{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|15:1–11|KJV}}); in similar fashion, Torah requires a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year. ] 25 promises bountiful harvests to those who observe ''Shmita'', and describes its observance as a test of religious faith. The term ''Shmita'' is translated "release" five times in the ] (from the root שמט, ''shamat'', "''desist'', ''remit''", 8058). | |||
{{details|Wheel of the Year}} | |||
The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the ] in ] and ]ism. Eight sabbats (occasionally "sabbaths", or "sun sabbats") are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. ], which coincides with ], is considered first sabbat of the year. | |||
===Babylonian rest days=== | |||
{{details|Esbat}} | |||
{{Main article|Babylonian calendar#Days|Shappatum}} | |||
An esbat is a ritual observance of the ] in Wicca and neopaganism. Some groups extend the esbat to include the dark moon and the first and last quarters. "Esbat" and "sabbat" are distinct and are probably not ] terms, although an esbat is also called "moon sabbat". | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
Counting from the ], the Babylonians celebrated the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th as "holy-days", also called "evil days" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day". On each of them, offerings were made to a different god and goddess. Tablets from the 6th-century BCE reigns of ] and ] indicate these dates were sometimes approximate. The ] of 29 or 30 days basically contained three ]s, and a final week of nine or ten days inclusive, breaking the continuous seven-day cycle. The Babylonians additionally celebrated the 19th as a special "evil day", the "day of anger", because it was roughly the 49th day of the (preceding) month, completing a "week of weeks", also with sacrifices and prohibitions.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pinches, T.G.|editor=Hastings, James|others=Selbie, John A., contrib|title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=1919|pages=889–891|chapter=Sabbath (Babylonian)|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofr10hast_0/page/888/mode/2up}}</ref> Difficulties with ]'s ] connecting Hebrew '']'' with the Babylonian ] include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as ''Shabbat'' in any language. Reconstruction of a broken tablet seems to define the rarely attested Babylonian ] word ''Sapattu<sup>m</sup>'' or ''Sabattu<sup>m</sup>'' as the ]: this word is cognate or merged with Hebrew ''Shabbat'', but is monthly rather than weekly. It is regarded as a form of ]ian ''sa-bat'' ("mid-rest"), attested in ] as ''um nuh libbi'' ("day of mid-repose"). This conclusion is a contextual restoration of the damaged ] ], which is read as: "pattu shalt thou then encounter, midly." | |||
{{details|Witches' Sabbath}} | |||
European records from the ] to the 17th century or later also place ]s on similar dates to sabbats in modern Wicca, but with some disagreement; medieval reports of sabbat activity are generally not firsthand and may be imaginative, but many persons were accused of, or tried for, taking part in sabbats. | |||
The ], thought to be of ] origin, includes a period known to ]ns as ''Shappatum''. The year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days (made up of seven weeks of seven days, containing seven weekly Sabbaths, and an extra fiftieth day, known as the ''atzeret''), plus an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days, called ''Shappatum'', the period of harvest time at the end of each year. Identified and reconstructed by Hildegaard and Julius Lewy in the 1940s, the calendar's use dates back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE in Western ] and surrounding areas; it was used by the ]ite tribes, thought by some to have been used by the ]s prior to ], and related to the ] calendar of the ]s at ]. Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found in ] and among the ] '']''. Julius Morgenstern believed that the calendar of the ] had ancient origins as a somewhat modified survival of the pentecontad calendar. | |||
===Buddhist rest day=== | |||
{{Main article|Uposatha}} | |||
The ''Uposatha'' has been observed since ]'s time (500 BCE), and is still being kept today in ] countries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught that ''Uposatha'' is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, ] and ]s intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. | |||
{{details|Wan Phra}} | |||
] likewise observe their Sabbaths and ] according to lunar phases, but not on exactly the same days as ''Uposatha''. These Sabbaths cycle through the month with respect to the ], so common Thai calendars incorporate Thai and ] lunar dates, as well as ''Uposatha'' dates, for ] purposes. | |||
===Cherokee rest days=== | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
The first day of the ], beginning at sunrise, is a ] of ] and ] among the ]. Monthly ] is encouraged, for up to four days. Work, cooking, sex and childbirth were also prohibited during the empty moon days, called "un-time" or "non-days"; childbirth during these days was considered unlucky. The Cherokee ], the "great new moon" or "Hunting Moon", is the first new moon in ], after the setting of the ] star cluster and around the time of the ] meteoric shower. | |||
===Sabbath as Saturday=== | ===Sabbath as Saturday=== | ||
{{details|Saturday}} | {{details|Saturday}} | ||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
One ] is the widespread use of "Sabbath" and cognates as synonyms of midnight-to-midnight "Saturday" (in English, literally, ]'s day): this is a simplification of the use of "Sabbath" in other religious contexts, where the two do not coincide. In over thirty languages other than English, the ] for this day in the ] is a cognate of "Sabbath". Those born on this day are called ''sâbotnichav'' in Bulgarian (literally, Sabbatarians),{{cn|date=March 2009}} and it was also believed that someone born on a Saturday could see a ] when it was otherwise invisible. | |||
One ] in English is the widespread use of "Sabbath" as a synonym of midnight-to-midnight "Saturday" (literally, ]'s day in at least a dozen languages): this is a simplification of the use of "Sabbath" in other religious contexts, where the two do not coincide. (Using midnight instead of sundown as delimiter dates back to the ].) In over thirty other languages, the ] for this day in the ] is a cognate of "Sabbath". "]", originally "Sabbadini", often "Sabatini", etc., is a very frequent Italian name form ("]" is the Greek form), indicating a family whose ancestor was born on Saturday, Italian ''sabato''; "Domenico" indicated birth on Sunday. | |||
In ] lore, people born on Saturday were specially designated as ''sabbatianoí'' in ] and ''sâbotnichavi'' in ] (rendered in English as "Sabbatarians"). It was also believed in the ] that someone born on a Saturday could see a ] when it was otherwise invisible. | |||
===Wicca=== | |||
{{See also|Sabbat|Esbat|Witches' Sabbath}} | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the Wheel of the Year in ] and ]. Eight ]s (occasionally "sabbaths", or "Sun sabbats") are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. ], which coincides with ], is considered the first sabbat of the year. | |||
An esbat is a ritual observance of the ] in Wicca and neopaganism. Some groups extend the esbat to include the dark moon and the first and last quarters. "Esbat" and "sabbat" are distinct and are probably not ] terms, although an esbat is also called "moon sabbat". | |||
European records from the ] to the 17th century or later also place Witches' Sabbaths on similar dates to sabbats in modern Wicca, but with some disagreement; medieval reports of sabbat activity are generally not firsthand and may be imaginative, but many persons were accused of, or tried for, taking part in sabbats. | |||
===Unification Church=== | |||
{{See also|Ahn Shi Il}} | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
The ] has a regular day of worship on Sunday, but every eight days Unificationists celebrate the day of Ahn Shi Il, considered as Sabbath but cycling among the weekdays of the Gregorian calendar. The ], formerly recited at 5:00 a.m. on Sundays, was moved to Ahn Shi Il in 1994 and includes eight verses containing the phrase "by centering on true love". | |||
===Baháʼí Faith=== | |||
{{See also|Baháʼí calendar}} | |||
The day of rest in the ] is Friday.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last = Hornby|editor-first=Helen | year = 1983 | title = Lights of Guidance: A Baháʼí Reference File | publisher = Baháʼí Publishing Trust | location = ] | isbn = 978-81-85091-46-4 | url = http://bahai-library.com/hornby_lights_guidance&chapter=2#n372 | page = 109 | quote = III. Baháʼí: E. Miscellaneous Subjects: 372. Friday is Day of Rest in Baháʼí Calendar. | access-date = 2009-03-15}}</ref> | |||
==Secular traditions== | ==Secular traditions== | ||
{{See also|Secular day of rest|Weekend}} | |||
===Rest day in seven-day weeks=== | |||
{{details|Blue law}} | |||
Secular use of "Sabbath" for "rest day", while it usually refers to the same period of time (Sunday) as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated in ] to refer to different purposes for the rest day than those of ]. In '']'' (1961), the ] held that contemporary ] ]s (typically, Sunday rest laws) were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. ], uncharacteristically, does not specify the weekday in its "Day of Rest" statute, providing only that one day off from work is required every week; an unspecified weekly day off is a very widespread business production cycle. The ], in '']'' (1985) and '']'' (1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose. | |||
Secular use of "Sabbath" for "rest day", while it usually refers to the same period of time (Sunday) as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated in ] to refer to different purposes for the rest day than those of ]. In '']'' (1961), the ] held that contemporary ] ]s (typically, Sunday rest laws) were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. ], uncharacteristically, does not specify which day of the week its "Day of Rest" statute applies to, providing only that one day off from work is required every week; an unspecified weekly day off is a very widespread business production cycle. The ], in '']'' (1985) and '']'' (1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose. | |||
===Rest day in other weeks=== | |||
{{details|Chinese week}} | |||
State-mandated rest days are widespread. Laws of the ] (206 BC – 220 AD) required imperial officials to rest on every ''mu'' (every fifth day), within a ten-day week. The rest day was changed to ''huan'' or ''xún'' (every tenth day) in the ] (618-907). | |||
The weekend is that period of the week set aside by custom or law for rest from labor. In many countries the non-working days are Saturday and Sunday, and in that case "the weekend" is often considered to begin when Friday's workday ends. This five-day workweek arose in ] when ]s attempted to accommodate Jewish Sabbath, beginning at a ] ] and also instituted by ] in 1926; it became standard in America by about 1940 and spread among English-speaking and European countries to become the international workweek.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/where-the-five-day-workweek-came-from/378870/ |title = Where the Five-Day Workweek Came from|website = ]|date = 21 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2016/09/five-day-work-week-became-popular/|title = How the Five Day Work Week Became Popular|date = 5 September 2016}}</ref> ] adopted it in 1995 and ] by 2006. Businesses in ] and some other countries might follow either the international workweek or a more traditional plan that is nearly the same but includes half a day of work on Saturday. While ] and ] have the international workweek, in most Muslim countries Friday is the weekend, alone or with Thursday (all or half) or Saturday. Some universities permit a three-day weekend from Friday to Sunday. The weekend in ], ], and parts of ], is Friday (all or half) and Saturday. Only the one-day customary or legal weekends are usually called "Sabbath". | |||
{{details|Soviet calendar}} | |||
From 1929 to 1931, the ] mandated a five-day week, with each day designated by color as a state rest day for a different 20% of the workforce; families usually did not share rest days. Three weeks a year were six or seven days, because interrupted by holidays. From 1931 to 1940, the Soviets mandated a six-day week, with state rest days for all upon the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th, and 30th of each ], as well as upon ]. This also necessitated varying weeks of five to seven days over the year. | |||
=== State-mandated rest days === | |||
{{details|Calendar reform}} | |||
{{See also|Blank day|Chinese week|Décadi|Soviet week}} | |||
Among many calendar reform proposals that eliminate the constant ] in exchange for simplified calculation of calendrical data like ] for given dates, some retain Sabbatical influences. The ] uses ], resulting in weeks of six to nine days. The ] and ] both consist of 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or two ] days not designated as part of any week (Year Day and Leap Day in the International Fixed Calendar; Worldsday and Leapyear Day in the World Calendar). Reform supporters sought to accommodate Sabbatical observance by retaining the modified week and designating the intercalary days as additional Sabbaths or ]; however, religious leaders held that such days disrupt the traditional seven-day weekly cycle. This unresolved issue contributed to the cessation of reform activities in the 1930s (International Fixed Calendar) and again in 1955 (World Calendar), though supporters of both proposals remain. | |||
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} | |||
State-mandated rest days are widespread. Laws of the ] (206 BCE – 220 CE) required imperial officials to rest on every ''mu'' (every fifth day), within a ten-day Chinese week. The rest day was changed to ''huan'' or ''xún'' (every tenth day) in the ] (618–907). | |||
===Work day in seven-day weeks=== | |||
{{details|Subbotnik}} | |||
The subbotnik is a day of volunteer work in ], other (former) ]s, the ], and the ], sporadically observed since 1919. It focuses on community service work; "]'s Subbotnik" was also observed annually around his birthday. | |||
The ] of the ] was used from 1793 to 1805. It used ten-day weeks, contained in twelve months of three weeks each; the five or six extra days needed to approximate the ] were placed at the end of the year and did not belong to any month. The tenth day of each week, ''décadi'', replaced Sunday as the day of rest and festivity in France. | |||
{{details|Working Saturday}} | |||
Russia and ], and formerly the ], also have declared Saturday a workday in lieu of a nearby Friday or Monday, if the contiguous Thursday or Tuesday is a public holiday. ] has declared a working Saturday as an unofficial monthly occurrence. Many other working-Saturday practices are unorganized. | |||
From 1929 to 1931, the ] mandated a ] in which each day designated by color as a state rest day for a different 20% of the workforce; members of the same family did not usually have the same rest day. Three weeks each year were longer (six or seven days instead of five), because those weeks were interrupted by holidays. From 1931 to 1940, the Soviets mandated a six-day week, with state rest days for all upon the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th, and 30th of each ], as well as upon March 1. This also necessitated varying weeks of five to seven days over the year. | |||
===Annual rest days=== | |||
{{details|List of holidays by country}} | |||
Many sovereign nations, territories, regions, and international entities observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, most of which are public holidays from work. | |||
Among many calendar reform proposals that eliminate the constant ] in exchange for simplified calculation of calendrical data like ] for given dates, some retain Sabbatical influences. The ] uses ], resulting in weeks of six to nine days. The ] and ] both use 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or two ] "blank" days not designated as part of any week (Year Day and Leap Day in the International Fixed Calendar; Worldsday and Leapyear Day in the World Calendar). Supporters of reform sought to accommodate Sabbatical observance by retaining the modified week and designating the intercalary days as additional Sabbaths or ]; however, religious leaders held that such days disrupt the traditional seven-day weekly cycle. This unresolved issue contributed to the cessation of calendar reform activities in the 1930s (International Fixed Calendar) and again in 1955 (World Calendar), though supporters of both proposals remain. | |||
===Rest-year sabbatical=== | |||
{{details|Sabbatical}} | |||
From the Biblical Sabbatical Year came the modern concept of sabbatical, a prolonged, often one-year, hiatus in the career of an individual (not usually tied to a seven-year period). Such a period is often taken in order to fulfill some goal such as writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, or academics offer paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called "sabbatical leave"; some companies offer unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks. | |||
===Subbotnik=== | |||
] | |||
The ] is a weekly day of volunteer work on Saturday in ], other (former) ]s, the ], and the ], sporadically observed since 1919. The ''voskresnik'' is a related volunteer workday on Sunday. They focus on community service work; "]'s Subbotnik" was also observed annually around his birthday. | |||
] | |||
===Sabbatical=== | |||
] | |||
{{main|sabbatical}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
From the biblical sabbatical year came the modern concept of a ], a prolonged, often one-year, hiatus in the career of an individual (not usually tied to a seven-year period). Such a period is often taken in order to fulfill some goal such as writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, or academics offer paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called "sabbatical leave"; some companies offer unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks. | |||
] | |||
] | |||
== See also == | |||
] | |||
* {{Portal inline|Christianity}} | |||
] | |||
* {{Portal inline|Islam}} | |||
] | |||
* {{Portal inline|Judaism}} | |||
== References == | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{Wiktionary|Sabbath}} | |||
{{wikiquote}} | |||
* {{Cite NSRW|short=x|wstitle=Sabbath}} | |||
* {{Cite EB1911|short=x|wstitle=Sabbath |volume=23 |pages=959–962}} | |||
* {{cite book |author=]|title=Your Sabbath Invitation: Partnership in God's Ultimate Celebration |date=2022 |publisher=Isaiah Projects |isbn=978-0578262512|url=https://www.yoursabbathinvitation.com/}} | |||
{{Set index article}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 07:32, 31 December 2024
Day set aside for rest and worship This article is about the general day of rest or worship time in Abrahamic religions. For the rest day in Judaism, see Shabbat. For Sabbath in the Bible, see Biblical Sabbath. For the Talmudic tractate, see Shabbat (Talmud).In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath (/ˈsæbəθ/) or Shabbat (from Hebrew שַׁבָּת [ʃa'bat]) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as God rested from creation. Sabbath (Shabbat) observance is commanded in the Ten Commandments: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". The Sabbath was possibly influenced by Babylonian mid-month rest days and lunar cycles, though its origins remain debated.
The Sabbath is observed in Judaism, Sabbatarian forms of Christianity (such as some Protestant and Eastern denominations) and Islam. Observances similar to, or descended from, the Sabbath also exist in other religions. The term may be generally used to describe similar weekly observances in other religions.
Origins
Babylon
Main article: Babylonian calendarA cognate Babylonian Sapattu or Sabattu is reconstructed from the lost fifth Enūma Eliš creation account, which is read as: "bbatu shalt thou then encounter, midly". It is regarded as a form of Sumerian sa-bat ("mid-rest"), rendered in Akkadian as um nuh libbi ("day of mid-repose").
Connection to Sabbath observance has been suggested in the designation of the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eight days of a lunar month in an Assyrian religious calendar as a 'holy day', also called 'evil days' (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). The prohibitions on these days, spaced seven days apart (except the nineteenth), include abstaining from chariot riding, and the avoidance of eating meat by the King. On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day".
The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch (and of Marcello Craveri) that Shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle in the Babylonian calendar containing four weeks ending in a Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month. The difficulties of this theory include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Sabbath in any language.
Biblical Sabbath
Further information: Biblical SabbathSabbath (as the verb שָׁבַת֙ shabbat) is first mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative, where the seventh day is set aside as a day of rest (in Hebrew, shabbat) and made holy by God (Genesis 2:2–3). Observation and remembrance of Sabbath (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת shabbat) is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the original Jewish, the Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions).
Most Jews who observe the Sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a perpetual covenant for the Israelites (Exodus 31:13–17), as a sign respecting two events: the day during which God rested after having completed Creation in six days (Exodus 20:8–11) and the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:12–15). However, most Sabbath-keeping Christians regard the Sabbath as having been instituted by God at the end of Creation week and that the entire world was then, and continues to be, obliged to observe the seventh day as Sabbath.
Observance in the Hebrew Bible was universally from sixth-day sundown to seventh-day sundown on a seven-day week. The Sabbath was considered a day of joy, and an occasion for consultation with prophets. Sabbath corporate worship was not prescribed for the community at large, and the Sabbath activities at the shrines were originally a convocation of priests for the purpose of offering divine sacrifices, with family worship and rest being centered in homes. Originally, Sabbath-breakers were officially to be cut off from the assembly or potentially killed (Exodus 31:15).
Judaism
Main article: Shabbat See also: Hebrew calendarJewish Shabbat (Shabbath, Shabbes, Shobos, etc.) is a weekly day of rest, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. Thirty-nine activities prohibited on Shabbat are listed in Tractate Shabbat (Talmud). Customarily, Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles shortly before sunset, at halakhically calculated times that change weekly and geographically.
Shabbat is a widely noted hallmark of the Jewish people. Several weekly Shabbats per year are designated as Special Sabbaths, such as Shabbat haGadol, prior to Pesach (literally, "the High Sabbath", but not to be confused with other High Sabbaths); and Shabbat Teshuvah, prior to Yom Kippur ("Repentance Sabbath").
While Shabbat is universally considered by Jews to take place between Friday at sundown and Saturday at sundown, the classical Reform movement at its height produced innovations in practice, exemplied by some Reform rabbis such as Samuel Holdheim, who shifted his congregation's Shabbat services to Sundays in imitation of Christians' observance of their sabbath, which takes place on Sunday. (Reform Judaism has since abandoned the practice of holding Shabbat services on Sundays.)
Shabbaton
Main article: ShabbatonColloquially, in contemporary Israel, the term Shabbaton or Shaboson may mean an event or program of education and usually celebration held on Shabbat, or over an entire weekend with main focus on Shabbat. Such events are held by youth groups, singles groups, synagogues, schools, social groups, charitable groups or family reunions, can be either multi-generational and wide-open or limited-group, and can be held where a group usually meets or offsite. "Shabbaton", rather than just "retreat", signifies recognition of the importance of Shabbat in the event or program..
Christianity
Main article: Sabbath in Christianity See also: Gregorian calendarIn Eastern Christianity, the Sabbath is considered still to be on Saturday, the seventh day, in remembrance of the Hebrew Sabbath. In Catholicism and most branches of Protestantism, the "Lord's Day" (Greek Κυριακή) is considered to be on Sunday, the first day (and "eighth day"). Communal worship, including the Holy Mysteries, may take place on any day, but a weekly observance of the resurrection is made consistently on Sunday. Western Christianity sometimes refers to the Lord's Day as a "Christian Sabbath", distinct from the Hebrew Sabbath, but related in varying manner.
Subbotniks (literally, Sabbatarians) are a Russian sect, categorized Judaizing Christians, which became particularly branded by strict Shabbat observance.
First-day
Further information: Puritan SabbathSince Puritan times, most English-speaking Protestants identify the "Lord's Day" (viz., Sunday) with a "Christian Sabbath", a term Roman Catholics in those areas may also celebrate with the Eucharist. It is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week. In Tonga, all commerce and entertainment activities cease on Sunday, starting at midnight and ending the next day, at midnight, as Tonga's constitution declares the Sabbath sacred forever. In Oriental Orthodoxy, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has observed both Sunday Resurrection Day and Saturday Sabbath in different ways for several centuries, as have other Eastern Orthodox traditions.
Puritan Sabbatarianism or Reformed Sabbatarianism is strict observance of Sabbath in Christianity that is typically characterized by its avoidance of recreational activities. "Puritan Sabbath", expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith, is often contrasted with "Continental Sabbath": the latter follows the Continental Reformed confessions such as the Heidelberg Catechism, which emphasize rest and worship on Lord's Day, but do not forbid recreational activities.
Seventh-day
Main articles: Sabbath in seventh-day churches and List of Sabbath-keeping churchesSeveral Christian denominations observe Sabbath in a similar manner to Judaism, though with observance ending at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. Early church historians Sozomen and Socrates cite the seventh day as the Christian day of worship except for the Christians in Rome and Alexandria. Many Sabbatarian Judeo-Christian groups were attested during the Middle Ages. The Waldensians, a religious group founded during the 12th century, are regarded as one of the first Post-Constantinian Christian groups to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. The Szekler Sabbatarians were founded in 1588 from among the Unitarian Church of Transylvania and maintained a presence until the group converted to Judaism in the 1870s. Seventh Day Baptists have observed Sabbath on Saturday since the mid-17th century (either from sundown or from midnight), and influenced the (now more numerous) Seventh-day Adventists in America to begin the practice in the mid-19th century. They believe that keeping seventh-day Sabbath is a moral responsibility equal to that of any of the other Ten Commandments, based on the Fourth Commandment's injunction to Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as well as the example of Jesus. They also use "Lord's Day" to mean the seventh day, based on Scriptures in which God calls the day "my Sabbath" (Exodus 31:13) and "to the LORD" (Exodus 16:23) and in which Jesus calls himself "Lord of Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). The question of defining Sabbath worldwide on a round earth was resolved by some seventh-day Sabbatarians by making use of the International Date Line (i.e., permitting local rest-day adjustment, Esther 9:16–19), while others (such as some Alaskan Sabbatarians) keep Sabbath according to Jerusalem time (i.e., rejecting manmade temporal customs, Daniel 7:25). Adherents of Messianic Judaism (a Christian sect or grouping of sects), also generally observe the Sabbath on Saturdays.
Seventh-day versus First-day
Main articles: Sabbath in Christianity and Sabbath in seventh-day churchesIn 321 AD, Roman emperor Constantine the Great enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance. The law did not mention the Sabbath by name, but referred to a day of rest on "the venerable day of the sun."
On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.
New moon
See also: New moonThe new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as Sabbath, but some messianic and Pentecostal churches, keep the day of the new moon as Sabbath or rest day, from evening to evening. New-moon services can last all day.
Some modern sects who are Sabbath keepers have suggested a Sabbath based on the New Moon citing Psalm 104:19 and Genesis 1:14 as a key prooftexts. Observers recognize the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month of the Hebrew Calendar as Sabbath days which should be observed. They reject the 7 day week as non-biblical. The Lunar Sabbath theory is rejected by most Sabbatarian groups and Judaism as false and misleading but the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls translated by Eisenman and Wise show the Essene Jewish calendar revealing the first sabbath of the month of Nisan being on the 4th day 3 days after the new moon and kept every 7 days for the rest of the year. While some of the writings at the Dead Sea sect or Qumran state the 4th day, other writings such as HaYubilim XLIV:1 or The Jubilees 44:1 mention the seventh day of the 3rd moon a sacrifice takes place and Yaakob stays seven days later because travel is not permitted on Shabbat. Philo of Alexandria also mentions in Decalogue XXX (161) But to the seventh day of the week he has assigned the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration , at the periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each lasting seven days; the one which takes place in the spring being for the perfection of what is being sown, and the one which falls in autumn being a feast of thanksgiving for the bringing home of all the fruits which the trees have produced. And seven days have very appropriately been appointed to the seventh month of each equinox, so that each month might receive an especial honour of one sacred day of festival, for the purpose of refreshing and cheering the mind with its holiday.
Day of the Vow
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Day of the Vow or Dingane's Day (Afrikaans Geloftedag or Dingaansdag, December 16) was the name of a religious public holiday in South Africa commemorating a famous Boer victory over the Zulu. Celebrated as annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838, it was renamed Day of Reconciliation in 1994. The anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams of Afrikaner and South African nationalism.
Millennial Sabbath
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Since Hippolytus of Rome in the early third century, Christians have often considered that some thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the millennium described in the Book of Revelation. This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-century dispensational premillennialists. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek Sabbatismos), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in Hebrews 4:9 to have special reference to this definition.
Spiritual Sabbath
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Some modern Christians uphold Sabbath principles but do not limit observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any one chosen day of the week as following the spirit of Sabbath, or advocating Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ. These look upon Sabbath as a principle to be observed in spirit rather than in letter, regarding the rest offered in Jesus as the only New Testament admonishment containing the root word of "Sabbath" (Matthew 11:28) and sometimes as a more permanent rest than a day could fulfill (Hebrews 4:9).
Latter Day Saint Movement
In 1831, Joseph Smith published a revelation commanding his related movement, the Latter Day Saint movement, to go to the house of prayer, offer up their sacraments, rest from their labors, and pay their devotions on the Lord's day (D&C 59:9–12).
That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High.
— D&C 59:9–10
Latter-day Saints believe this means performing no labor that would keep them from giving their full attention to spiritual matters (Ex. 20:10). LDS prophets have described this as meaning they should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day. Elder Spencer W. Kimball wrote in his The Miracle of Forgiveness that mere idle lounging on the Sabbath does not keep the day holy, and that it calls for constructive thoughts and acts.
Members of the Church are encouraged to prepare their meals with "singleness of heart" on the Sabbath (D&C 59:13) and believe the day is only for righteous activities (Is. 58:13.) In most areas of the world, this means worship on Sunday, though there is adaptation for Israel and many majority-Muslim countries.
In harmony with this revelation, members of the LDS church attend sacrament meeting each week. Other Sabbath-day activities may include: praying, meditating, studying the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets, writing letters to family members and friends, reading wholesome material, visiting the sick and distressed, and attending other Church meetings.
Islam
Main article: Friday prayer See also: Islamic calendarThe Quran shares the six-part Abrahamic creation narrative (32:4, 50:38) and the Sabbath as the seventh day (yaum as-Sabt: 2:65, 4:47, 154, 7:163, 16:124), but God's mounting the throne after creation is taken in contradistinction to Elohim's concluding and resting from his labors. The Quran states that since Sabbath was only for Jews, Muslims replace Sabbath rest with jumu'ah (Arabic: جمعة). Also known as "Friday prayer", jumu'ah is a congregational prayer (salat) held every Friday (the Day of Assembly), just after midday, in place of the otherwise daily dhuhr prayer;
The Quran states: "When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business: That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). The next verse ("When the prayer is ended, then disperse in the land ...") leads many Muslims not to consider Friday a rest day, as in Indonesia, which regards the seventh-day Sabbath as unchanged; but many Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh, do consider Friday a nonwork day, a holiday or a weekend; and other Muslim countries, like Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates count it as half a rest day (after the Friday prayer is over). Jumu'ah attendance is strictly incumbent upon all free adult males who are residents of the locality (and not travelling).
Samaritanism
The Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every Friday to Saturday beginning and ending at sundown, for twenty four hours the families gather together to celebrate the rest day, all electricity with the exception of minimal lighting (kept on the entire day) in the house is disconnected, no work is done, neither is cooking or driving allowed. The time is devoted to worship which consists of seven prayer services (divided into two for Sabbath eve, two in the morning, one in afternoon and one at eve of conclusion), reading the weekly Torah portion (According to the Samaritan yearly Torah cycle), spending quality time with family, taking meals, rest and sleep, and within the community visiting each other is encouraged. Shabbat candles are not used in Samaritan custom and would be considered a violation of the biblical commandment of "You shall not kindle fire".
Other religious traditions
Seven-day week
Main article: Seven-day weekBy synecdoche (naming the whole for a part), in Jewish sources by the time of the Septuagint, the term "Sabbath" (Greek Sabbaton, Strong's 4521) also came to mean an entire "se'nnight" or seven-day week, the interval between two weekly Sabbaths. Jesus's parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9–14) describes the Pharisee as fasting "twice a week" (Greek dis tou sabbatou, literally, "Twice of the Sabbath"). Philo of Alexandria states in Decalogue XX. (96) The fourth commandment has reference to the sacred seventh day, that it may be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Now some states keep the holy festival only once in the month, counting from the new moon, as a day sacred to God; but the nation of the Jews keep every seventh day regularly, after each interval of six days; (97) and there is an account of events recorded in the history of the creation of the world, constituting a sufficient relation of the cause of this ordinance; for the sacred historian says, that the world was created in six days, and that on the seventh day God desisted from his works, and began to contemplate what he had so beautifully created; (98) therefore, he commanded the beings also who were destined to live in this state, to imitate God in this particular also, as well as in all others, applying themselves to their works for six days, but desisting from them and philosophising on the seventh day, and devoting their leisure to the contemplation of the things of nature, and considering whether in the preceding six days they have done anything which has not been holy, bringing their conduct before the judgment-seat of the soul, and subjecting it to a scrutiny, and making themselves give an account of all the things which they have said or done; the laws sitting by as assessors and joint inquirers, in order to the correcting of such errors as have been committed through carelessness, and to the guarding against any similar offences being hereafter repeated.
High Sabbaths
Main article: High Sabbaths"High Sabbaths" are observed by Jews and some Christians. Seven annual Biblical festivals, called miqra ("called assembly") in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English and serving as supplemental testimonies to Sabbath, are specified in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy; they do not necessarily fall on weekly Sabbath. Three occur in spring: the first and seventh days of Pesach (Passover), and Shavuot (Pentecost). Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also called Shabbaton: Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets); Yom Kippur, "Sabbath of Sabbaths" (Atonement); and the first and eighth days of Sukkoth (Tabernacles). "High Sabbaths" is also often a synonym of "High Holy Days", viz., Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Shmita
Shmita (Hebrew: שמטה, Strong's 8059 as shmittah, literally "release"), also called sabbatical year, is the seventh (שביעי, Strong's 7637 as shbiy'iy) year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by Torah for the Land of Israel, relatively little observed in Biblical tradition, but still observed in contemporary Judaism. During Shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Torah and Jewish law. By tradition, other cultivation techniques (such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming and mowing) may be performed as preventive measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants; additionally, whatever fruits grow of their own accord during that year are deemed hefker (ownerless), not for the landowner but for the poor, the stranger, and the beasts of the field; these fruits may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of Shmita produce. When the year ended, all debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted (Deuteronomy 15:1–11); in similar fashion, Torah requires a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year. Leviticus 25 promises bountiful harvests to those who observe Shmita, and describes its observance as a test of religious faith. The term Shmita is translated "release" five times in the Book of Deuteronomy (from the root שמט, shamat, "desist, remit", 8058).
Babylonian rest days
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Counting from the new moon, the Babylonians celebrated the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th as "holy-days", also called "evil days" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day". On each of them, offerings were made to a different god and goddess. Tablets from the 6th-century BCE reigns of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses indicate these dates were sometimes approximate. The lunation of 29 or 30 days basically contained three seven-day weeks, and a final week of nine or ten days inclusive, breaking the continuous seven-day cycle. The Babylonians additionally celebrated the 19th as a special "evil day", the "day of anger", because it was roughly the 49th day of the (preceding) month, completing a "week of weeks", also with sacrifices and prohibitions. Difficulties with Friedrich Delitzsch's origin theory connecting Hebrew Shabbat with the Babylonian lunar cycle include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Shabbat in any language. Reconstruction of a broken tablet seems to define the rarely attested Babylonian Akkadian word Sapattu or Sabattu as the full moon: this word is cognate or merged with Hebrew Shabbat, but is monthly rather than weekly. It is regarded as a form of Sumerian sa-bat ("mid-rest"), attested in Akkadian as um nuh libbi ("day of mid-repose"). This conclusion is a contextual restoration of the damaged Enûma Eliš creation mythos, which is read as: "pattu shalt thou then encounter, midly."
The pentecontad calendar, thought to be of Amorite origin, includes a period known to Babylonians as Shappatum. The year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days (made up of seven weeks of seven days, containing seven weekly Sabbaths, and an extra fiftieth day, known as the atzeret), plus an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days, called Shappatum, the period of harvest time at the end of each year. Identified and reconstructed by Hildegaard and Julius Lewy in the 1940s, the calendar's use dates back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE in Western Mesopotamia and surrounding areas; it was used by the Canaanite tribes, thought by some to have been used by the Israelites prior to King Solomon, and related to the liturgical calendar of the Essenes at Qumran. Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found in Nestorianism and among the Palestinian fellaheen. Julius Morgenstern believed that the calendar of the Jubilees had ancient origins as a somewhat modified survival of the pentecontad calendar.
Buddhist rest day
Main article: UposathaThe Uposatha has been observed since Gautama Buddha's time (500 BCE), and is still being kept today in Theravada Buddhist countries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught that Uposatha is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, disciples and monks intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.
Further information: Wan PhraThai Chinese likewise observe their Sabbaths and traditional Chinese holidays according to lunar phases, but not on exactly the same days as Uposatha. These Sabbaths cycle through the month with respect to the Thai solar calendar, so common Thai calendars incorporate Thai and Chinese calendar lunar dates, as well as Uposatha dates, for religious purposes.
Cherokee rest days
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The first day of the new moon, beginning at sunrise, is a holiday of quiet reflection and prayer among the Cherokee. Monthly fasting is encouraged, for up to four days. Work, cooking, sex and childbirth were also prohibited during the empty moon days, called "un-time" or "non-days"; childbirth during these days was considered unlucky. The Cherokee new year, the "great new moon" or "Hunting Moon", is the first new moon in autumn, after the setting of the Pleiades star cluster and around the time of the Leonids meteoric shower.
Sabbath as Saturday
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One folk tradition in English is the widespread use of "Sabbath" as a synonym of midnight-to-midnight "Saturday" (literally, Saturn's day in at least a dozen languages): this is a simplification of the use of "Sabbath" in other religious contexts, where the two do not coincide. (Using midnight instead of sundown as delimiter dates back to the Roman Empire.) In over thirty other languages, the common name for this day in the seven-day week is a cognate of "Sabbath". "Sabbatini", originally "Sabbadini", often "Sabatini", etc., is a very frequent Italian name form ("Sabbatos" is the Greek form), indicating a family whose ancestor was born on Saturday, Italian sabato; "Domenico" indicated birth on Sunday.
In vampire hunter lore, people born on Saturday were specially designated as sabbatianoí in Greek and sâbotnichavi in Bulgarian (rendered in English as "Sabbatarians"). It was also believed in the Balkans that someone born on a Saturday could see a vampire when it was otherwise invisible.
Wicca
See also: Sabbat, Esbat, and Witches' SabbathThis section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the Wheel of the Year in Wicca and neopaganism. Eight sabbats (occasionally "sabbaths", or "Sun sabbats") are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. Samhain, which coincides with Halloween, is considered the first sabbat of the year.
An esbat is a ritual observance of the full moon in Wicca and neopaganism. Some groups extend the esbat to include the dark moon and the first and last quarters. "Esbat" and "sabbat" are distinct and are probably not cognate terms, although an esbat is also called "moon sabbat".
European records from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later also place Witches' Sabbaths on similar dates to sabbats in modern Wicca, but with some disagreement; medieval reports of sabbat activity are generally not firsthand and may be imaginative, but many persons were accused of, or tried for, taking part in sabbats.
Unification Church
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The Unification Church has a regular day of worship on Sunday, but every eight days Unificationists celebrate the day of Ahn Shi Il, considered as Sabbath but cycling among the weekdays of the Gregorian calendar. The Family Pledge, formerly recited at 5:00 a.m. on Sundays, was moved to Ahn Shi Il in 1994 and includes eight verses containing the phrase "by centering on true love".
Baháʼí Faith
See also: Baháʼí calendarThe day of rest in the Baháʼí Faith is Friday.
Secular traditions
See also: Secular day of rest and WeekendSecular use of "Sabbath" for "rest day", while it usually refers to the same period of time (Sunday) as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated in North America to refer to different purposes for the rest day than those of Christendom. In McGowan v. Maryland (1961), the Supreme Court of the United States held that contemporary Maryland blue laws (typically, Sunday rest laws) were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. Massachusetts, uncharacteristically, does not specify which day of the week its "Day of Rest" statute applies to, providing only that one day off from work is required every week; an unspecified weekly day off is a very widespread business production cycle. The Supreme Court of Canada, in R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd. (1985) and R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd. (1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose.
The weekend is that period of the week set aside by custom or law for rest from labor. In many countries the non-working days are Saturday and Sunday, and in that case "the weekend" is often considered to begin when Friday's workday ends. This five-day workweek arose in America when labor unions attempted to accommodate Jewish Sabbath, beginning at a New England cotton mill and also instituted by Henry Ford in 1926; it became standard in America by about 1940 and spread among English-speaking and European countries to become the international workweek. China adopted it in 1995 and Hong Kong by 2006. Businesses in India and some other countries might follow either the international workweek or a more traditional plan that is nearly the same but includes half a day of work on Saturday. While Indonesia and Lebanon have the international workweek, in most Muslim countries Friday is the weekend, alone or with Thursday (all or half) or Saturday. Some universities permit a three-day weekend from Friday to Sunday. The weekend in Israel, Nepal, and parts of Malaysia, is Friday (all or half) and Saturday. Only the one-day customary or legal weekends are usually called "Sabbath".
State-mandated rest days
See also: Blank day, Chinese week, Décadi, and Soviet weekThis section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
State-mandated rest days are widespread. Laws of the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) required imperial officials to rest on every mu (every fifth day), within a ten-day Chinese week. The rest day was changed to huan or xún (every tenth day) in the Tang dynasty (618–907).
The reform calendar of the French Revolution was used from 1793 to 1805. It used ten-day weeks, contained in twelve months of three weeks each; the five or six extra days needed to approximate the tropical year were placed at the end of the year and did not belong to any month. The tenth day of each week, décadi, replaced Sunday as the day of rest and festivity in France.
From 1929 to 1931, the Soviet Union mandated a five-day week in which each day designated by color as a state rest day for a different 20% of the workforce; members of the same family did not usually have the same rest day. Three weeks each year were longer (six or seven days instead of five), because those weeks were interrupted by holidays. From 1931 to 1940, the Soviets mandated a six-day week, with state rest days for all upon the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th, and 30th of each Gregorian month, as well as upon March 1. This also necessitated varying weeks of five to seven days over the year.
Among many calendar reform proposals that eliminate the constant seven-day week in exchange for simplified calculation of calendrical data like weekday names for given dates, some retain Sabbatical influences. The Hermetic Lunar Week Calendar uses moon phases, resulting in weeks of six to nine days. The International Fixed Calendar and World Calendar both use 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or two intercalary "blank" days not designated as part of any week (Year Day and Leap Day in the International Fixed Calendar; Worldsday and Leapyear Day in the World Calendar). Supporters of reform sought to accommodate Sabbatical observance by retaining the modified week and designating the intercalary days as additional Sabbaths or holidays; however, religious leaders held that such days disrupt the traditional seven-day weekly cycle. This unresolved issue contributed to the cessation of calendar reform activities in the 1930s (International Fixed Calendar) and again in 1955 (World Calendar), though supporters of both proposals remain.
Subbotnik
The subbotnik is a weekly day of volunteer work on Saturday in Russia, other (former) Soviet republics, the Eastern Bloc, and the German Democratic Republic, sporadically observed since 1919. The voskresnik is a related volunteer workday on Sunday. They focus on community service work; "Lenin's Subbotnik" was also observed annually around his birthday.
Sabbatical
Main article: sabbaticalFrom the biblical sabbatical year came the modern concept of a sabbatical, a prolonged, often one-year, hiatus in the career of an individual (not usually tied to a seven-year period). Such a period is often taken in order to fulfill some goal such as writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, or academics offer paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called "sabbatical leave"; some companies offer unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks.
See also
References
- "Sabbath Definition & Meaning". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- World Book Encyclopedia, 2018 ed., s.v. "Jerusalem"
- Pinches, T.G. (2003). "Sabbath (Babylonian)". In Hastings, James (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Vol. 20. Selbie, John A., contrib. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 889–891. ISBN 978-0-7661-3698-4. Retrieved 2009-03-17. It has been argued that the association of the number seven with creation itself derives from the circumstance that the Enuma Elish was recorded on seven tablets. "emphasized by Professor Barton, who says: 'Each account is arranged in a series of sevens, the Babylonian in seven tablets, the Hebrew in seven days. Each of them places the creation of man in the sixth division of its series." Albert T. Clay, The Origin of Biblical Traditions: Hebrew Legends in Babylonia and Israel, 1923, p. 74.
- "Histoire du peuple hébreu". André Lemaire. Presses Universitaires de France 2009 (8e édition), p. 66
- Zerubavel, Eviatar (1985). The Seven Day Circle: The History and Meaning of the Week. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-98165-7.
- Cite error: The named reference
landau
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Craveri, Marcello (1967). The Life of Jesus. Grove Press. p. 134.
- Joseph, Max (1943). "Holidays". In Landman, Isaac (ed.). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Vol. 5. Cohen, Simon, compiler. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 410.
- Joseph, Max (1943). "Sabbath". In Landman, Isaac (ed.). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Vol. 9. Cohen, Simon, compiler. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incv. p. 295.
- Cohen, Simon (1943). "Week". In Landman, Isaac (ed.). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Vol. 10. Cohen, Simon, compiler. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 482.
- Cite error: The named reference
orr
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Nehemiah 13:19, cf. Leviticus 23:32
- Isaiah 58:13
- 2 Kings 4:23; Jewish Encyclopedia: Sabbath
- Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. (2001). Israelology: the missing link in systematic theology. Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries. pp. 595–601. ISBN 0914863053
- Goldberg, Louis A. (1980). Leviticus: A Study Guide Commentary. Grand Rapids:Zondervan Publishing House. p. 116. ISBN 9780310418139
- "The Sunday-Sabbath Movement in American Reform Judaism: Strategy or Evolution" (PDF). AmericanJewishArchives.org. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- "Constitution of Tonga". Parliament of Tonga. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.
- "The WLC Sabbath Challenge". Bible Prophecy | Online Bible Studies | Videos | WLC. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 96–97
- churchofjesuschrist.org D&C 59:13
- – Attending church on Friday
- churchofjesuschrist.org – Study by Topic – Sabbath
- True to the Faith, p. 146 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/36863_eng.pdf
- "Sabbath Observance: How Israelite Samaritans Keep the Sabbath". Israelite Samaritan Information Institute. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
- "Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day." Exodus 35:3.
- "The Samaritan Sabbath" by Jacob, Son of Aaron, The High Priest of The Samaritans at Shechem. pp. 441-442.
- Pinches, T.G. (1919). "Sabbath (Babylonian)". In Hastings, James (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Selbie, John A., contrib. Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 889–891.
- Hornby, Helen, ed. (1983). Lights of Guidance: A Baháʼí Reference File. New Delhi, India: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. p. 109. ISBN 978-81-85091-46-4. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
III. Baháʼí: E. Miscellaneous Subjects: 372. Friday is Day of Rest in Baháʼí Calendar.
- "Where the Five-Day Workweek Came from". The Atlantic. 21 August 2014.
- "How the Five Day Work Week Became Popular". 5 September 2016.
External links
- "Sabbath" . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914.
- "Sabbath" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 959–962.
- Nekrutman, David (2022). Your Sabbath Invitation: Partnership in God's Ultimate Celebration. Isaiah Projects. ISBN 978-0578262512.
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