InAbrahamic religions, theSabbath (/ˈsæbəθ/) orShabbat (Biblical Hebrew:שַׁבָּת[ʃa'bat]) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to theBook of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day commanded byYahweh to be kept as aholy day of rest as God rested in theGenesis creation narrative.[1]Shabbat observance is commanded in theTen Commandments: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". The Sabbath might have been influenced by Babylonian mid-month rest days and lunar cycles, though its origins remain debated.
A day of rest is observed inIslam (Friday),Judaism (Saturday), andChristianity (Sunday).[2] 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.
A number of scholars propose acognateAkkadian wordšapattu oršabattu, which refers to the day of thefull moon. A lexicographic list found in thelibrary of Ashurbanipal glossesšabattu as "[the gods'] day of the heart's rest" (ūm nûḫ libbi), although this probably refers to the appeasement of the gods' anger.[3] Other scholars doubt that there is a connection between the biblical Sabbath and the Akkadianšapattu/šabattu, as the two words may not have a common etymology andšapattu refers almost exclusively to the fifteenth day of the month or the phenomenon of lunar alignment, not to the seventh day of a week.[4] However, different studies found evidence that the biblical sabbath indeed sometime had a monthly, rather than weekly, meaning.[3]
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".[5][6] This theory has also been challenged on the grounds that the 'evil days' did not always fall every seven days and did not entail a general cessation of work.[7]
The earliest extrabiblical attestation of Sabbath might occur in a 7th-century BCEostracon discovered at the ancient fortress ofMesad Hashavyahu, which could refer to a servant doing certain kinds of work "before Sabbath" (lpny šbt). There is some dispute on whetheršbt does indeed refer to Sabbath or just to the activity of quitting from the work, however.[8]
The verbal and nominal forms of shabbat are first mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative, where the seventh day is set aside as a day of rest and made holy by God in Genesis 2:2–3.
וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑הוַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹשָׁבַת֙ מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹתOn the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God]ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.[9]
Observation and remembrance of Shabbat is one of the Ten Commandments:the fourth commandment inJudaism andSamaritanism, theEastern Orthodox Church, and most ofProtestantism, and the third in theCatholic Church andLutheranism.
Most Jews who observe Shabbat regard it as having been instituted as abiblical covenant between God and theIsraelites inExodus 31:13–17 as a sign of two events: the day God rested after having completed Creation (Exodus 20:8–11) and because ofthe Exodus (Deuteronomy 5:12–15). MostSabbath-keeping Christians regard the Sabbath as having been instituted by God at the end of Creation and that the entire world was then, and continues to be, obliged to observe the seventh day as Sabbath.
Observance in theHebrew Bible was universally fromsixth-day sundown to seventh-day sundown according toNehemiah 13:19 andLeviticus 23:32 in a seven-dayweek. The Sabbath was considered a day of joy inIsaiah 58:13 and an occasion for consultation with prophets in2 Kings 4:23.[10] Sabbath corporate worship was not prescribed for the community at large, and the Sabbath activities at holy sites were originally a convocation of priests to offer divine sacrifices, with family worship and rest at home. Originally,Sabbath desecration was cause forcutting off from the assembly or a capital crime according toExodus 31:15.
Shabbat in Judaism is a weekly day of rest observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. There are39 Melakhot, activities prohibited on Shabbat, listed inTractate Shabbat of the Talmud. Customarily, Shabbat is ushered in by lightingcandles shortly before sunset, athalakhically calculated times that change weekly and geographically.
Shabbat is a widely noted hallmark of Jews. Several Shabbats every year are designated asSpecial Shabbatot, such asShabbat haGadol beforePassover and ShabbatTeshuvah beforeYom Kippur.
While Jews observe Shabbat between Friday at sundown and Saturday at sundown, theclassical Reform movement innovated, exemplied by some Reform rabbis such asSamuel Holdheim, who shifted his congregation's Shabbat services to Sundays in imitation of Christians' observance of their sabbath, which takes place on Sunday.[11] (Reform Judaism has since abandoned the practice of holding Shabbat services on Sundays.)
InIsrael, the termShabbaton may mean an event or program of education and usually celebration held on Shabbat, or over an entireweekend with the primary focus on Shabbat. Such events are often organized by youth groups, singles groups, synagogues, schools, social groups, charitable organizations, or family reunions. They can be either multi-generational and open to all or limited to a specific group. They can be held at a location where a group usually meets or off-site. The term "Shabbaton" rather than "retreat" signifies recognition of the importance of Shabbat in the event or program.[citation needed]
InEastern Christianity, the Sabbath is considered still to be onSaturday, the seventh day, in remembrance of the Hebrew Sabbath.
In the Latin Church and most branches of Protestantism, Sunday, traditionally the first day of the week, is called theLord's Day (Koine Greek:Κυριακή), for according to theGospel,Jesus was executed on Friday andresurrected on Sunday. This symbolized the start of a New Creation, and a new and perfect Adam, or a renewal of God's relationship with humanity. Communal worship, including the Holy Mysteries, may take place on any day, but a weekly observance of the Resurrection is consistently made 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 or "Sabbatarians" are a Russian sect categorized asJudaizers that gained particular notoriety for their strict observance of Shabbat.
SincePuritan times, most English-speaking Protestants identify the Lord's Day as the Christian Sabbath, a term Catholics in those areas may also celebrate with theEucharist. It is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week. InTonga, 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.[12] InOriental Orthodox Churches, theOrthodox Tewahedo branches observe both Sunday and aSaturday Sabbath in different ways for several centuries, as have other traditions.
Puritan Sabbatarianism orReformed Sabbatarianism is strict observance ofSabbath in Christianity that is typically characterized by its avoidance ofrecreational activities. "Puritan Sabbath", expressed in theWestminster Confession of Faith, is often contrasted with "Continental Sabbath": the latter follows the ContinentalReformed confessions of faith such as theHeidelberg Catechism, which emphasize rest andworship onLord's Day, but do not forbid recreational activities.
Several Christian denominations observe Sabbath in a similar manner to Judaism, though with observance ending at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. Early church historiansSozomen andSocrates 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. TheWaldensians, 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. TheSzekler Sabbatarians were founded in 1588 from among theUnitarian 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 keepingseventh-day Sabbath is a moral responsibility equal to that of any of the otherTen Commandments, based on the Fourth Commandment's injunction toRemember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as well as the example ofJesus. 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 someseventh-day Sabbatarians by making use of theInternational Date Line (i.e., permitting local rest-day adjustment,Esther 9:16–19), while others (such as someAlaskan Sabbatarians) keep Sabbath according toJerusalem time (i.e., rejecting manmade temporal customs,Daniel 7:25). Adherents ofMessianic Judaism (a Christian sect or grouping of sects), also generally observe the Sabbath on Saturdays.
In 321 AD, Roman emperorConstantine 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.[13]
The new moon, which occurs every 29 or 30 days, is a separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism,Rosh Chodesh. It is not treated as a Shabbat, but someHebrew Roots andPentecostal churches[citation needed] keep the day of the new moon as a rest day from evening to evening. New moon services can last all day in these churches.
Some modern Sabbatarians have suggested a Sabbath based on the new moon,[citation needed] citingPsalm 104:19 andGenesis 1:14 as keyprooftexts. Observers recognize the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month of theHebrew calendar as Sabbath days.[14] They reject the seven-day week as non-biblical.[citation needed] Judaism dismisses the Lunar Sabbath theory as do most Sabbatarian groups as false and misleading, but the recently discoveredDead Sea Scrolls translated by Eisenman and Wise show a calendar revealing the first shabbat of the month ofNisan on the 4th day, three days after the new moon, and kept every seven days for the rest of the year. While some of the writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls orQumran state the 4th day, other writings, such asJubilees 44:1, mention that on the seventh day of the 3rd month, a sacrifice takes place, and Yaakob stays seven days later because travel is not permitted on Shabbat.Philo of Alexandria also mentions in theDecalogue 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.[citation needed]
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Day of the Vow orDingane's Day (AfrikaansGeloftedag orDingaansdag, December 16) was the name of a religious public holiday inSouth Africa commemorating a famousBoer victory over theZulu. Celebrated as annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838, it was renamedDay of Reconciliation in 1994. The anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams ofAfrikaner and South African nationalism.
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SinceHippolytus 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 themillennium described in theBook of Revelation. This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-centurydispensationalpremillennialists. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (GreekSabbatismos), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken inHebrews 4:9 to have special reference to this definition.
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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 inJesus 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).
In 1831,Joseph Smith published a revelation commanding his related movement, theLatter 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[15]
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] ElderSpencer W. Kimball wrote in hisThe 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.[16]
Members of the Church are encouraged to prepare their meals with "singleness of heart" on the Sabbath[17] (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 manyMuslim-majority countries.[18][19]
In harmony with this revelation, members of the LDS church attendsacrament 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.[20][better source needed]
TheQuran shares the six-partAbrahamic 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), butGod's mounting the throne after creation is taken in contradistinction toElohim's concluding and resting from his labors. The Quran states that since Sabbath was only for Jews, Muslims replace Sabbath rest withjumu'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 dailydhuhr 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 inIndonesia, which regards the seventh-day Sabbath as unchanged; but many Muslim countries, such asSaudi Arabia andBangladesh, do consider Friday a nonwork day, a holiday or a weekend; and other Muslim countries, likePakistan and theUnited 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 areresidents of the locality (and not travelling).[clarify]
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 sevenprayer 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.[21]Shabbat candles are not used in Samaritan custom and would be considered a violation of the biblical commandment of "You shall not kindle fire".[22][23]
Bysynecdoche (naming the whole for a part), in Jewish sources by the time of theSeptuagint, the term "Sabbath" (GreekSabbaton, Strong's4521) also came to mean an entire "se'nnight" or seven-day week, the interval between two weekly Sabbaths.Jesus'sparable of thePharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9–14) describes thePharisee as fasting "twice a week" (Greekdis 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" are observed by Jews and some Christians. Seven annual Biblical festivals, calledmiqra ("called assembly") in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English and serving as supplemental testimonies to Sabbath, are specified in the books ofExodus andDeuteronomy; they do not necessarily fall on weekly Sabbath. Three occur in spring: the first and seventh days ofPesach (Passover), andShavuot (Pentecost). Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also calledShabbaton:Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets);Yom Kippur, "Sabbath of Sabbaths" (Atonement); and the first and eighth days ofSukkoth (Tabernacles). "High Sabbaths" is also often a synonym of "High Holy Days", viz., Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Shmita (Hebrew:שמטה, Strong's 8059 asshemittah, literally "release"), also called sabbatical year, is the seventh (שביעי, Strong's 7637 asshebiy'iy) year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated byTorah for theLand of Israel, relatively little observed in Biblical tradition, but still observed in contemporaryJudaism. DuringShmita, the land is left to liefallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Torah andJewish 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 deemedhefker (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 ofShmita 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 observeShmita, and describes its observance as a test of religious faith. The termShmita is translated "release" five times in theBook of Deuteronomy (from the root שמט,shamat, "desist,remit", 8058).
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Counting from the new moon, theBabylonians 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 ordinary people 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 ofCyrus the Great andCambyses indicate these dates were sometimes approximate. Thelunation of 29 or 30 days essentially consisted of three seven-day weeks followed by a final period nine or ten days, 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.[24]
Difficulties withFriedrich Delitzsch'sorigin theory connecting Shabbat with theBabylonian calendar include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week asShabbat in any language. Reconstruction of a broken tablet seems to define the rarely attestedBabylonian wordSapattum orSabattum as thefull moon. This word is cognate to or the origin of the Hebrew "Shabbat", but it is observed monthly rather than weekly. It is regarded as a form ofSumeriansa-bat ("mid-rest"), attested as anum nuḫ libbi ("day of mid-repose"). This conclusion is a contextual restoration of the damagedEnūma Elišcreation myth, which is read as: "[Sa]pattu shalt thou then encounter, mid[month]ly."
Thepentecontad calendar, believed to have originated from theAmorites, includes a period known to the Babylonians asShappatum. The year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days: seven weeks of seven days, containing seven weekly Sabbaths, and an extra fiftieth day known as theatzeret "assembly", plus an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days, calledShappatum, the period ofharvest 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 westernMesopotamia and surrounding areas; it was used by theCanaanite tribes, thought by some to have been used by the Israelites beforeSolomon and related to theliturgical calendar of theEssenes atQumran. Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found inNestorianism and amongPalestinianfellaheen. Julius Morgenstern believed that the calendar of theJubilees had ancient origins as a somewhat modified survival of the pentecontad calendar.
TheUposatha has been observed sinceGautama Buddha's time (500 BCE), and is still being kept today inTheravada Buddhist countries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught thatUposatha is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day,disciples andmonks intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.
Thai Chinese likewise observe their Sabbaths andtraditional Chinese holidays according to lunar phases, but not on exactly the same days asUposatha. These Sabbaths cycle through the month with respect to theThai solar calendar, so common Thai calendars incorporate Thai andChinese calendar lunar dates, as well asUposatha dates, forreligious purposes.
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The first day of thenew moon, beginning at sunrise, is aholiday ofquiet reflection andprayer among theCherokee. Monthlyfasting 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 Cherokeenew year, the "great new moon" or "Hunting Moon", is the first new moon inautumn, after the setting of thePleiades star cluster and around the time of theLeonids meteoric shower.
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Onefolk 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 theRoman Empire.) In over thirty other languages, thecommon name for this day in theseven-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, Italiansabato; "Domenico" indicated birth on Sunday.
Invampire hunter lore, people born on Saturday were specially designated assabbatianoí inGreek andsâbotnichavi inBulgarian (rendered in English as "Sabbatarians"). It was also believed in theBalkans that someone born on a Saturday could see avampire when it was otherwise invisible.
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The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the Wheel of the Year inWicca andneopaganism. Eightsabbats (occasionally "sabbaths", or "Sun sabbats") are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year.Samhain, which coincides withHalloween, is considered the first sabbat of the year.
An esbat is a ritual observance of thefull 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 notcognate terms, although an esbat is also called "moon sabbat".
European records from theMiddle 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.
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TheUnification 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. TheFamily 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".
The day of rest in theBaháʼí Faith is Friday.[25]
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 inNorth America to refer to different purposes for the rest day than those ofChristendom. InMcGowan v. Maryland (1961), theSupreme Court of the United States held that contemporaryMarylandblue 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. TheSupreme Court of Canada, inR. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd. (1985) andR. 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 inAmerica whenlabor unions attempted to accommodate Jewish Sabbath, beginning at aNew Englandcotton mill and also instituted byHenry Ford in 1926; it became standard in America by about 1940 and spread among English-speaking and European countries to become the international workweek.[26][27]China adopted it in 1995 andHong Kong by 2006. Businesses inIndia 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. WhileIndonesia andLebanon 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 inIsrael,Nepal, and parts ofMalaysia, is Friday (all or half) and Saturday. Only the one-day customary or legal weekends are usually called "Sabbath".
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State-mandated rest days are widespread. Laws of theHan dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) required imperial officials to rest on everymu (every fifth day), within a ten-day Chinese week. The rest day was changed tohuan orxún (every tenth day) in theTang dynasty (618–907).
Thereform calendar of theFrench 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 thetropical 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, theSoviet Union mandated afive-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 eachGregorian 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 constantseven-day week in exchange for simplified calculation of calendrical data likeweekday names for given dates, some retain Sabbatical influences. TheHermetic Lunar Week Calendar usesmoon phases, resulting in weeks of six to nine days. TheInternational Fixed Calendar andWorld Calendar both use 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or twointercalary "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 orholidays; 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.
Thesubbotnik is a weekly day of volunteer work on Saturday inRussia, other (former)Soviet republics, theEastern Bloc, and theGerman Democratic Republic, sporadically observed since 1919. Thevoskresnik is a related volunteer workday on Sunday. They focus on community service work; "Lenin's Subbotnik" was also observed annually around his birthday.
From the biblical sabbatical year came the modern concept of asabbatical, 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.
... the biblical Sabbath has no Babylonian equivalent.11 Efforts have been made to draw parallels between the Babylonianšapattu/šabattu and the Hebrewšbt, or "Sabbath," yet establishing a common etymology between these terms remains elusive.12 The Akkadian wordšapattu refers almost exclusively to the fifteenth day of the month or the phenomenon of lunar alignment, i.e., both conjunction and opposition of the moon to the sun.13 It seems that the Sabbath, along with its customs and observances, is uniquely Judean in origin and developed independently of Babylonian cultic and calendrical practices.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Sabbath".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.III. Baháʼí: E. Miscellaneous Subjects: 372. Friday is Day of Rest in Baháʼí Calendar.
