The significance of Shabbat:
As per the Jewish tradition, Shabbat is the weekly day of rest. Shabbat is a Hebrew word in English; it literally means ''he rested.'' But the significance of Shabbat is relatively more profound than just resting and taking a break. It is the day when God rested for the first time after creating the earth and heaven. Though he was not taking any breaks, he just completed all his work, and nothing was remaining to accomplish. So, the time was only to cherish the hard work's result.
In the same way, when we discuss Shabbat, it does not mean taking a break when work is pending. It means there is no work to be done for the week, and one can relish the feeling of completeness by celebrating Shabbat. After completing all the week's work, you put all your goals and ambitions into the closet and celebrate life with your friends and family on this holy day. It says resting is also essential after finishing all work so that you feel charged up again in the next week to take on new challenges.
How Jews celebrate Shabbat:
As per Halakha, the customary law of Jews, Shabbat takes place right before sunset on Friday evening and ends on Saturday night, after the three stars appear in the sky. As this is the holy day for rest, there are certain activities (precisely craftsmanship) that you cannot perform on this day. A total of 39 skills are listed in Halakha, known together 's 'Melakh'h,' which'a 'Shomer Shab'at' should not perform.'A 'Shomer Shab'at' is a person who abides by the melakhah unconditionally. However, though some conservatives follow these rules strictly, everyone celebrates this day in their own way. On this day, the Jews wear lovely traditional dresses and also wear white dresses to express purity. On Friday night, they welcome Shabbat as'a 'qu'en' 'r 'br'de' by decorating their homes with flowers, lighting silver Shabbat candlesticks, singing memorable songs, chanting prayers, and making unique dishes. On this holy day, elders bless the younger, and everyone greets each other, 'aying 'Shabbat 'halom,' which'means 'peace on S'abbat.'
Importance of lighting silver Shabbat candlesticks:
Kindling Shabbat candles is a rabbinic tradition dating back to around 500 C.E. when the Talmud was organized. As per the tradition, the woman of the house lights up the candle first, but generally, anybody can light the candles. According to the Jewish culture, they light a minimum of 2 candles, which leads to two passages mentioned in the Torah to maintain the oath of Shabbat. Abiding the traditional observance, a person should not light up candles after the beginning of Shabbat, and the beginning of Shabbat starts with blessings. So, the candles are lit before chanting the blessings. At this time, people wave their hands three times and cover their eyes while they recite the blessings to see the lighting of candles after the blessing is over.
