With Special Thanks to Ozone for advise on Music !
Here is a nice graphic I found on the web in honor of the subject matter today.
It is a painting by Ellen Hack.
[album 65561 Ellen Hack.jpg]
For those of you curious about it… here is the list of the 39 things forbidden by the Torah on Shabbat. To quote from Blu Greenberg’s book “How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household” :
“The ancient Rabbis, in setting down the oral tradition of generations before them, have defined the day for us. Work is understood to be all those activities that were associated with building the sanctuary in the desert, and include the following catagories:”
Plowing
Sowing
Reaping
Stacking Sheaves
Threshing
Winnowing
Selecting out (as for
Example, the chaff)
Sifting
Grinding
Kneading
Baking (cooking)
Sheep shearing
Bleaching (washing)
Combing raw materials
Dyeing
Spinning
Threading a loom
Weaving
Removing a finished article
Separating threads
Tying knots
Untying knots
Sewing
Tearing
Trapping an animal
Slaughtering
Flaying Skins
Tanning
Scraping
Marking out
Cutting
Writing
Erasing
Building
Demolishing
Kindling a fire
Extinguishing a fire
Giving the final hammer stroke,
That is completing some object
Or making it usable.
Carrying in a public place
Now, most of those things are not a problem to avoid, except that pesky “kindling a fire” problem. For the Rabbis have defined the use of electricity, or more specifically “flipping the switch” as kindling a fire. This means “doing an action” that causes the electricity to go on is what we are to avoid. Living in a world FILLED with electric gadgets, it is a real challenge to get with the program on this one. Observant Jews set their lights on timers for Shabbat so they don’t have to turn lights on and off. Woe to you if you forget to set your timer in the winter…..! Everybody will be going to bed early that night! When the Shabbat candles burn out, that’s it for you! Nighty night.
The laws and complexities of what can and cannot be done are myriad, and it’s probably best to just go to synagogue, pray for hours, have a cold lunch (except for the chollent which was started the day before and has been cooking all night in the crock pot. Then go home and take 2 or 3 naps. Keeps you out of trouble.
Hope that all makes sense. If you want to know more about it, I do recommend her book to you. Although to be sure, you may learn MORE than you ever wanted to know about Judasim! It’s a pretty comprehensive book. And is written from a traditional viewpoint. There are many levels of Jewish observance as I have mentioned before. Some Jews don’t hold by certain strict interpretations of some of the laws, and others do. Frankly, we’re all over the place in this department. Because the religion is made up of human beings, and we do tend to have our faults… but they are OUR faults made by OUR people. And when push comes to shove we help each other no matter what our level of observance.
You see, Judaism is a religion of deeds. It’s not just what you believe, it’s what you DO that matters. If I believe it is right to help poor people, but I give no charity, what good is that? I might have right thinking, but if there is no right action, it is a kind of waste of space.
Okay, I am starting to ramble. Enough already!