Sabbath

{{short description|Day set aside for rest and worship}}
{{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)}}
[[File:GOOD SHABBES -.jpg|thumb|Welcoming the Sabbath with the lighting of [[Shabbat candles]] according to [[Minhag|Jewish custom]].]]
In [[Abrahamic religions]], the '''Sabbath''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|b|ə|θ}}) or '''Shabbat''' (from [[Hebrew]] {{lang|he|שַׁבָּת}} {{transl|he|Šabbāṯ}}) 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, [[Ten Commandments|commanded]] by [[God]] to be kept as a [[Holiday|holy day]] of rest, as God rested from [[Genesis creation narrative|creation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sabbath |title=Sabbath Definition & Meaning |publisher=Dictionary.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-13}}</ref> The practice of observing the Sabbath ([[Shabbat]]) originates in the biblical commandment "[[Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy]]".

The Sabbath is observed in [[Judaism]], [[Sabbatarian]] forms of [[Christianity]] (such as some [[Protestant]] and [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] [[Christian denomination|denominations]]) and [[Islam]].<ref>''[[World Book Encyclopedia]]'', 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.

==Biblical Sabbath==
{{Further|Biblical Sabbath}}
[[File:Sunset 2013.jpg|thumb|For the [[Abrahamic religions]]: [[Judaism]], [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh Adventist Christians]], and [[Samaritanism]] Sabbath begins Friday at sundown and ends at Saturday sundown. Thus the sunset is a common [[symbology]] of the Sabbath.]]
Sabbath (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]] ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|2:2–3|HE}}). Observation and remembrance of Sabbath ({{Lang-he|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 (Biblical)|covenant]] for the [[Israelites]] ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|31:13–17|HE}}), as a sign respecting two events: the day during which God rested after having completed [[Genesis creation narrative|Creation]] in six days ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|20:8–11|HE}}) and the Israelites' [[The Exodus|deliverance from Egypt]] ({{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|5:12–15|HE}}). However, most [[Sabbath in Christianity|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 [[Day#Boundaries|sixth-day sundown]] to seventh-day sundown<ref>{{Bibleverse||Nehemiah|13:19|HE}}, cf. {{Bibleverse||Leviticus|23:32|HE}}</ref> on a [[seven-day week]]. 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}}; [https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12962-sabbath Jewish Encyclopedia: Sabbath]</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, [[Sabbath desecration|Sabbath-breakers]] were officially to be [[List of capital crimes in the Torah#Religious practices|cut off from the assembly or potentially killed]] ({{Bibleverse||Exodus|31:15|HE}}).

==Judaism==
{{main|Shabbat}}
{{See also|Hebrew calendar}}
Jewish ''[[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. [[Activities prohibited on Shabbat|Thirty-nine activities prohibited on ''Shabbat'']] are listed in Tractate ''[[Shabbat (Talmud)]]''. Customarily, ''Shabbat'' is ushered in by lighting [[candle]]s shortly before sunset, at [[halakhic]]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 [[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 [[Reform Judaism#Observance|classical Reform]] movement at its height produced innovations in practice, exemplied by some [[Reform Judaism|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. <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 ''[[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 (spiritual)|retreat]]", 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 [[Eastern Christianity]], the Sabbath is considered still to be on [[Saturday]], the seventh day, in remembrance of the Hebrew Sabbath. In [[Catholic Church|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 [[Judaizers|Judaizing]] Christians, which became particularly branded by strict ''Shabbat'' observance.

===First-day===
{{details|Puritan Sabbath}}
Since [[Puritan]] times, most English-speaking [[Protestant]]s identify the "[[Lord's Day]]" (viz., Sunday) with a "[[Sunday Sabbath|Christian Sabbath]]", a term [[Roman Catholic]]s 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.<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 [[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 church|Reformed]] Sabbatarianism is strict observance of [[Sabbath in Christianity]] that is typically characterized by its avoidance of [[leisure|recreational]] activities. "Puritan Sabbath", expressed in the ''[[Westminster Confession of Faith]]'', is often contrasted with "[[Continental Europe|Continental]] Sabbath": the latter follows the Continental [[Reformed Christian confessions of faith|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 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 [[Sozomen]] and [[Socrates of Constantinople|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 Baptist]]s 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 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" ({{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 [[seventh-day Sabbatarian]]s by making use of the [[International Date Line]] (i.e., permitting local rest-day adjustment, {{Bibleverse||Esther|9:16–19|KJV}}), while others (such as some [[Alaska]]n Sabbatarians) keep Sabbath according to [[Jerusalem]] time (i.e., rejecting manmade temporal customs, {{Bibleverse||Daniel|7:25|KJV}}). Adherents of [[Messianic Judaism]] (a Christian sect or grouping of sects), also generally observe the Sabbath on Saturdays.

Many of the [[Lemba people|Lemba]] in [[southern Africa]], like some other African tribes, are Jewish and claim [[African Jews|common descent]] from the Biblical [[Israelites]], based on observing traditional Jewish customs. Genetic analysis has also demonstrated that a distinct group of the Lemba, have the oral history and genetic ancestry of early Hebrews. The Lemba keep one day a week holy like Sabbath, and maintain many beliefs and practices associated with Judaism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/African-tribe-descended-from-Jews-DNA-tests-show|title = African tribe descended from Jews, DNA tests show}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Mark G. |last2=Parfitt |first2=Tudor |last3=Weiss |first3=Deborah A. |last4=Skorecki |first4=Karl |last5=Wilson |first5=James F. |last6=le Roux |first6=Magdel |last7=Bradman |first7=Neil |last8=Goldstein |first8=David B. |title=Y Chromosomes Traveling South: The Cohen Modal Haplotype and the Origins of the Lemba—the 'Black Jews of Southern Africa' |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |date=2000 |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=674–686 |doi=10.1086/302749 |pmid=10677325 |pmc=1288118}}</ref>

===Seventh-day versus First-day===
{{Main article|Sabbath in Christianity|Sabbath in seventh-day churches}}

In 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."
{{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 [[Hebrew Roots|messianic]] and [[Pentecostal]] 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 [https://biblehub.com/psalms/104-19.htm Psalm 104:19] and [https://biblehub.com/genesis/1-14.htm Genesis 1:14] as a key [[prooftext]]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 in 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 beginning of] the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration [Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles], 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 [[Dingane]]'s Day ([[Afrikaans language|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 people|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===
{{Main article|Millennial Day Theory}}
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
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 [[millennialism|millennium]] described in the [[Book of Revelation]]. This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-century [[dispensationalism|dispensational]] [[premillennialist]]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 [[Jesus]] 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, [[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).
{{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>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/59.9-11?lang=eng The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]</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 [[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.<ref>''[[The Miracle of Forgiveness]]'', pp.&nbsp;96–97</ref>

Members of the Church are encouraged to prepare their meals with "singleness of heart" on the Sabbath<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/59?lang=eng churchofjesuschrist.org D&C 59:13]</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>[https://www.ldsliving.com/18-Unique-LDS-Traditions-from-Around-the-World/s/88061 – Attending church on Friday]</ref><ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/sabbath-day?lang=eng churchofjesuschrist.org – Study by Topic – Sabbath]</ref>

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.<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 [[Quran]] shares the six-part [[Genesis creation narrative|Abrahamic creation narrative]] (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 [[Allah|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 {{transl|ar|[[jumu'ah]]}} ({{lang-ar|جمعة}}). Also known as "Friday prayer", {{transl|ar|jumu'ah}} is a congregational prayer ({{transl|ar|[[salat]]}}) held every Friday (the Day of Assembly), just after midday, in place of the otherwise daily {{transl|ar|[[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). {{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 [[Liturgy|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.<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> [[Shabbat candles]] 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>"The Samaritan Sabbath" by Jacob, Son of Aaron, The High Priest of The Samaritans at Shechem.

Page 441-442.

https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bsac/1908_430.pdf</ref>

==Other religious traditions==
===Seven-day week===
{{Main article|Seven-day week}}
By [[synecdoche]] (naming the whole for a part), in Jewish sources by the time of the [[Septuagint]], the term "Sabbath" ([[Greek language|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]] ({{Bibleverse||Luke|18:9–14|KJV}}) describes the [[Pharisee]] as fasting "twice a week" ([[Greek language|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 [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] and [[Deuteronomy]]; they do not necessarily fall on weekly Sabbath. Three occur in spring: the first and seventh days of [[Pesach]] ([[Christian observance of Passover|Passover]]), and [[Shavuot]] ([[Pentecost]]). Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also called ''Shabbaton'': [[Rosh Hashanah]] ([[Feast of Trumpets (Christian holiday)|Trumpets]]); [[Yom Kippur]], "Sabbath of Sabbaths" ([[Christian observances of Yom Kippur|Atonement]]); and the first and eighth days of [[Sukkoth]] ([[Christian observances of Jewish holidays#Christian Feast of Tabernacles|Tabernacles]]). "High Sabbaths" is also often a synonym of "[[High Holy Days]]", viz., Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

=== Shmita ===
''[[Shmita]]'' ({{lang-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 [[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 [[halakha|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 ({{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. [[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===
{{Main article|Babylonian calendar#Days|Shappatum}}
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
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 II|Cambyses]] indicate these dates were sometimes approximate. The [[lunation]] of 29 or 30 days basically contained three [[seven-day week]]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 [[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 Empire|Akkadian]] word ''Sapattu<sup>m</sup>'' or ''Sabattu<sup>m</sup>'' 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 [[Sumer]]ian ''sa-bat'' ("mid-rest"), attested in [[Akkadian language|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: "[Sa]pattu shalt thou then encounter, mid[month]ly."

The [[pentecontad calendar]], thought to be of [[Amorite]] origin, includes a period known to [[Babylonia]]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 [[Mesopotamia]] and surrounding areas; it was used by the [[Canaan]]ite tribes, thought by some to have been used by the [[Israelite]]s prior to [[King Solomon]], and related to the [[liturgical]] calendar of the [[Essene]]s at [[Qumran]]. Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found in [[Nestorianism]] and among the [[Palestinian people|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|Uposatha}}
The ''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, [[Śrāvaka|disciples]] and [[monk]]s intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.

{{details|Wan Phra}}
[[Thai 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 [[religion|religious]] purposes.

===Cherokee rest days===
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The first day of the [[new moon]], beginning at sunrise, is a [[holiday]] of [[leisure|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===
{{details|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 [[week-day names|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 ("[[Christodoulos Sabbatos|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 language|Greek]] and ''sâbotnichavi'' in [[Bulgarian language|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|Witches' Sabbath}}
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The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the Wheel of the Year in [[Wicca]] and [[neopaganism]]. Eight [[sabbat]]s (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===
{{See also|Ahn Shi Il}}
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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&nbsp;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 [[Baháʼí Faith]] 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 = [[New Delhi, India]] | 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==
{{See also|Secular day of rest|Weekend}}
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 [[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 law]]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. [[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 [[United States|America]] when [[labor union]]s 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.<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 = [[The Atlantic]]|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> [[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|Soviet week}}
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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 [[calendar reform|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 [[Soviet calendar|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 [[intercalation (timekeeping)|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) [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet republic]]s, 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|sabbatical}}
From 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.

== References ==
{{Portal|Judaism|Christianity|Islam}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|Sabbath}}
* {{wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Cite NSRW|short=x|wstitle=Sabbath}}
* {{cite book |author=[[David Nekrutman|Nekrutman, David]]|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}}

[[Category:Sabbath| ]]
[[Category:Religious holidays]]
[[Category:Working time]]