🕯️ Candles and blessings
Shortly before sunset, two candles are lit and a blessing is said. Their light brings peace to the home. Many parents then bless their children, asking the Almighty to protect them.
Judaism: Worship and Practice » Shabbat in the Home and the Synagogue
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Judaism (4RS1/2E), 3.2
- What Shabbat is, when it begins and ends, and why Jews keep it
- How Shabbat is marked at home, from the candles to Havdalah
- What happens in the synagogue on Friday evening and Saturday morning
- How Orthodox and Progressive Jews differ about work and rest, and why Shabbat matters today
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Unlock This CourseWhat is Shabbat?
Shabbat is the Jewish day of rest. It lasts from just before sunset on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, because in the Jewish calendar each day runs from one evening to the next. Shabbat comes every week, so it is the most regular festival in Jewish life.
The Torah gives two reasons for keeping it, and both are in the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:8-11 Jews are told to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, because the Almighty made the world in six days and rested on the seventh (see also Genesis 2:2-3). In Deuteronomy 5:12-15 the reason is freedom: the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, and the Almighty brought them out. Shabbat is therefore a day to remember creation and to remember freedom. On Shabbat nobody is anybody's servant.
Key terms:
- Shabbat (recap from Creation, Humanity and Tikkun Olam): the Jewish day of rest, from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall.
- Kiddush: the blessing said over wine to make the day holy.
- Challah: a plaited loaf of bread eaten on Shabbat.
- Havdalah: the short ceremony that ends Shabbat. The word means "separation".
- Kabbalat Shabbat: "welcoming Shabbat", the Friday evening service in the synagogue.
- Melachah: the kinds of creative work that Orthodox Jews do not do on Shabbat.
Shabbat in the home
For most Jews, Shabbat begins at home. Families get ready beforehand: they clean, cook and set the table, so that Shabbat can be a day of rest with no chores. Then the day is marked step by step.
🍷 Kiddush
The Kiddush is said over a cup of wine. It praises the Almighty for the gift of Shabbat and for making the day holy.
🍞 Two challah loaves
The meal begins with two plaited challah loaves, covered with a cloth. They recall the double portion of manna that the Israelites collected on Fridays in the desert (Exodus 16), so that nobody had to gather food on Shabbat.
🎵 Meal and songs
The family meal is the high point of the evening. There are special songs, good food and time to talk. Many families read or discuss the weekly Torah portion.
Shabbat day is for rest, prayer, study and being together. Families walk, visit friends, read and play games. Phones, shopping and the usual weekday rush are put aside by many. The home becomes a place of calm.
Havdalah
On Saturday night, when three stars can be seen, the family says Havdalah to say goodbye to Shabbat. They use three things: a cup of wine, a box of sweet-smelling spices and a plaited candle with several wicks. The spices are smelled so that the sweetness of Shabbat stays with them as the new week begins. The candle is put out in the wine. The words speak of the difference between holy time and ordinary time, and between Shabbat and the working week.
Shabbat in the synagogue
Jews also mark Shabbat together in the synagogue, with the minyan and the rabbi and cantor.
- Friday evening: the Kabbalat Shabbat service welcomes Shabbat. A well-known hymn, Lecha Dodi, greets Shabbat as a bride, and the congregation often turns to the door to welcome her. Shabbat is treated as a very special guest.
- Saturday morning: this is the main service of the week and the longest. The Sefer Torah is taken from the ark and carried round the synagogue in procession. People touch it, or touch it with a prayer book or tallit fringes, and kiss that. It is then placed on the bimah and the weekly portion is read aloud. The reading is followed by a passage from the Prophets, the haftarah.
- The sermon: the rabbi often teaches on the weekly portion and what it means for life today.
- Kiddush afterwards: many communities share wine, challah and food in the synagogue hall, so the community eats and talks together.
Jews who cannot go to a synagogue each week still keep Shabbat at home, but gathering together is one of the main joys of the day.
Different Jewish views on keeping Shabbat
All Jews agree that Shabbat is special, but they differ on what counts as "work".
📖 Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Jews follow Halakhah closely. Shabbat is a day free from melachah: the kinds of creative work, listed by the rabbis from the work used to build the Tabernacle, that the Torah forbids on Shabbat. Among other things this means no cooking, no lighting or putting out fire and no writing. Most Orthodox Jews do not drive or use electrical devices. They prepare food beforehand and may use timers to switch lights on and off. They believe that this keeps Shabbat truly set apart.
✨ Progressive (Reform and Liberal)
Progressive Jews believe each person should decide how to keep Shabbat. They hold on to its spirit: rest, family, worship and a break from weekday work. Some drive to the synagogue or use electricity, because they feel this helps them take part. Others keep many of the traditional rules. They see Shabbat as a gift for the mind and soul, and not as a list of rules.
Less religious Jews may only light candles or have a family meal on Friday night, and still feel that this is a Jewish way to end the week. Remember that all groups agree that saving a life comes before the Shabbat rules (see Sanctity of Life, Pikuach Nefesh and Abortion in Judaism).
Why is Shabbat important today?
- It is a weekly reminder of creation and freedom, and so of the covenant.
- It gives families fixed time together, with no screens or work to interrupt it.
- It brings the community together in the synagogue and at shared meals.
- It gives rest in a busy world, and helps people to look after body and mind.
- It passes on the Jewish faith, because children learn the songs, blessings and meals by joining in.
The thinker Ahad Ha'am is often quoted as saying that more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews. Many Jews feel this is true.
Common mistakes
Do not say Shabbat lasts only Saturday: it begins on Friday evening. Do not say it is only a day off: for Jews it is a holy day about creation and freedom. Do not say all Jews keep it in the same way: Orthodox and Progressive views differ, and many Jews keep only some customs. When asked to explain why Shabbat is important, give reasons and not just a list of what happens.
Exam-style question
(a) Outline two ways in which Jews celebrate Shabbat in the home. [4 marks]
(b) Explain why Shabbat is important for Jews. [6 marks]
(c) "All Jews should keep Shabbat in the same way." Discuss this statement, considering the arguments for and against. In your answer you should include reference to teachings, other points of view and your own opinion. [10 marks]
Model answer
(a) One way is by lighting two candles shortly before sunset on Friday (1), which welcomes Shabbat and brings peace to the home (1). Another is by saying Kiddush over wine at the family meal (1), which thanks the Almighty and makes the day holy (1).
(b) Shabbat is important because it is commanded in the Ten Commandments, so keeping it is a way of obeying the Almighty (1). It reminds Jews of creation, when the Almighty rested on the seventh day (1). It also reminds them of freedom from slavery in Egypt, so it is a day when nobody has to work for another (1). It brings the family together for the meal, the songs and Havdalah, which keeps faith alive in the home (1). In the synagogue it unites the community for worship and the reading of the Torah (1). It also gives a break from work and so time to rest, pray and study (1).
(c) Plan. For: the Ten Commandments command Shabbat for all Jews, and the same reasons (creation and freedom) apply to everyone; keeping the same customs unites Jews all over the world and in every community; Orthodox Jews believe the rules of melachah are the Almighty's law and so cannot change. Against: Progressive Jews believe each person should decide what rest means, and some drive or use electricity to take part in worship; many less religious Jews keep only the Friday meal and candles; the rules of Halakhah do not make sense for everyone in the same way in modern life, and pikuach nefesh already shows that the rules sometimes give way. Possible conclusion: all Jews should value Shabbat, as a day of rest, family and worship, but how exactly they keep it will vary, so keeping it the same way is less important than keeping its spirit.
Exam tip
In the 10-mark question, name a teaching (such as the Ten Commandments), show a different view from another Jewish group, and end with your own reasoned opinion.