catnfiddle wrote >>
hugh59 wrote >>
I just made Mae cheer. I found a source that states that, in Judaism, sex on the Sabbath is a mitzvah!
Actually, sex with your spouse (betrothal counts) is always a mitzvah. On the Sabbath the blessings DOUBLE!
Yess, double Mitzvah!!
Here are some of my thoughts on the ceoncept of Sabbath:
I'm Jewish and I keep Shabbat (Hebrew word for Sabbath). I don't write, use electronics, drive or ride in a car, etc. from sundown on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. Since most of my friends in the last 10 years have not been Jewish, I've gotten pretty adept at explaining the Jewish concept of Shabbat to them. But I think whenever there's any confusion, the line "I don't roll on Shabbos" from The Big Lebowski does an excellent job of summing it up, haha.
The idea of Shabbat may seem archaic to some, but for me, it's great to know that I have a day in my week where I can relax, spend time with my family, go to services, and nap.
Refraining from "work" on Shabbat is kind of an abstract concept, because everyone has a different definition of "work". In the Torah, it says to abstain from "work" on Shabbat, but what is "work" really? The Talmud (oral law) answers this, explaining that there are 39 overarching categories of prohibited tasks (called Melachot), all of which were used in building the Tabernacle (traveling house of worship for the Israelites in the desert). Subsequent Rabbinic texts have continued to expand upon these categories to include new technologies.
For a comprehensive list of the 39 Melachot, visit this website: http://www.ou.org/chagim/shabbat/thirtynine.htm
Most Jews today do not keep Shabbat, let alone observing ALL of the Melachot. Most of the Shabbat observers are Orthodox, Hasidic, etc. There are a handful of Conservative Jews who still refrain from many aspects of working on Shabbat.
Of course, I am not offended by those who do not keep a Sabbath. Each person needs to figure out his/her own level of personal observance. I think more people should try, though; they might feel more relaxed and content.
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