Shabbat

Shabbat, the Sabbath, is the weekly day of rest. It begins at sundown on Friday evening and ends after nightfall on Saturday. It remembers the seventh day of Creation, on which God rested, and the Torah commands that it be kept holy.

Friday evening

The home is cleaned and the table is set before sundown. The woman of the house (or anyone) lights two candles and says the blessing; the family goes to the synagogue or eats the Shabbat dinner at home, with a blessing over wine (kiddush) and over two loaves of challah. Our candle-lighting finder gives the time for your city.

Saturday

Morning services include the reading of the Torah; the day is spent with family, study and rest. Observant Jews do not do work in the sense of the Torah, which is understood to include cooking, writing, travelling by car, and using electric devices, though the details differ widely between communities. Shabbat ends with havdalah, a ceremony with a candle, wine and spices, after nightfall.

The greeting is "Shabbat shalom", a peaceful Sabbath. For the specifics of your own practice ask a rabbi.

Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the date shown. Dates follow the standard Hebrew calendar; communities outside Israel keep a second day of several festivals. Customs differ between Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and other communities, and this is not a ruling: ask your rabbi.