The Sabbath In Jewish Culture

Judaism is an ancient religion which originated in the Middle East and has spread throughout the world. Today the followers of Judaism have many tradition s and rituals in which are celebrated all year round in thanks and in praise to God. Shabbat is one of the most important rituals and is celebrated by nearly every variant of the Jewish Religion.

What is the Great Tradition, and what two key elements make up this tradition within the different groups; is there any resemblance or inequality as to one’s religious preference. So, what is the Great Tradition, “it refers to the sectors of culture that are codified or systematized by a literate elite” (Scupin, 2012. Pg. 158). Therefore, stating that Judaism is a religion that is controlled through others powerful sphere’s, while applying the ultimate decisions as to how they will enforce obedience; through their administrator’s religious ways. “In Judaism, the Great Tradition includes a body of sacred texts, prayers, liturgy, rituals, and a cycle of holy day observances determined by a lunar calendar” (Scupin, 2012, pg. 158). In addition,

The Sabbath is the day, which my Lord and Saviour Yahshua Ben Yahweh, the Eternal King of the universe rested from His creative power; where in He created “the heavens and the earth and everything in them.”

In the Jewish religion, there have been many occurrences of pluralism and many movements throughout the timeline of its history, from the very beginning of Creation to this very moment. Pluralism has been an important dimension of Judaism. There have been past, present and there will be future movements of this religion because it is ever evolving and growing for and to most. In each period of Judaic history, there have been several moments of pluralism at its finest and examples of different movements. Each period, Biblical Period (Creation, Themes of the Torah, Prophets and Writings), Christianity and Judaism, medieval mysticism and philosophy to the modern movements (Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform and Holocaust and Redemption Jews) gives prime examples of pluralism.

Judaism is practiced by almost half of the country and is one of the oldest and biggest monistic religions. The laws they follow come from the Torah which comes straight from the Hebrew bible. This paper will consist of Jewish traditions regarding food preferences and avoidances, death/dying, communication, and grieving.

This is one the Ten Commandments there is a reason behind it. To keep the Sabbath day is good for a few reasons ones being that it always a Christian to reflect on the week, it allows them to just find peace and rest in God, as well as being able to renew their spirit for the next week ahead. Without this Godly meditation where one just loses himself in God and finds a comfort and peace it would make it a very stressful and hard to maintain a relationship. In life people get so worked up they forget to take a break which can lead to a person breaking. Addison’s advice given for this is “… Frequent retirement from the world…” This is one of the easiest ways to put it. Just sit back and take a break from all the chaos and the wildness happening in earth and for that day just focus on God and get back in touch with what God's got. For even God the Creator had to take a break to reflect on all the things He made and in remembrance. This strengthens a relationship in the most powerful of ways being to fall back in love with

I practiced the Sabbath for my extra credit assignment. I practiced the Sabbath November 20, 2016. On this day I went to church with my family, went out to eat with my parents and brothers. I then spent some family time with them. As I drove back to campus I worshipped and prayed to God for two hours. When I got back to campus I decided to relax and watch Netflix to get ready for the following day full of classes and homework. I feel refreshed and relaxed. I had dealt with anxiety and stress. I learned that God has made the Sabbath day for a reason. I have noticed when I do not take a break and just relax and spend time with God. Also, the Sabbath is important because when I would work a full seven days no break on homework and other readings

They take this day seriously because it is a day they give to God and to themselves. In the book The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel, he talks about the importance and the significance of the Sabbath. Heschel talks about the value of the time, and relates that to the Sabbath. He compares space and time together to show the connotation of the two. Heschel emphasizes how space goes hand and hand with the Sabbath. In the book The Sabbath, Heschel characterizes space as secondary compared to time. Space is used up everywhere. Space is the accumulation of stuff. Space is things that you do, for example, go to your job, clean the house, take care of the business, etc. Space is what we focus on six days a week, which obviously takes up a lot of time. However, time is important too. Heschel states if you only view space as the important thing in life that is not good. Time is good as well. On the seventh day, we have the Sabbath, which completely changes our focus in theory. Space is the worldly stuff, time is the godly stuff. Reflecting on the godly stuff is what happens on the Sabbath. With too much space, then you become greedy and forget about the holy stuff. This is shown when he says “Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.” (3) Also, another quote is “The result of our blindness to all reality that fails… Had no reality.”

16 “If a man entices a virgin who isn’t pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

2:8-10 KJV). Our Sabbath is in Him and He invites all to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 KJV).

The way in which people practice Delight is through God. Through everything that God created and his immense love for his creations, human being can experience an example of delight. Sometimes it is hard to believe or imagine God’s delight. Because God has been distant from the earth, is not close, is not involved with human beings. Also, it is to be maintained in its own rules and in terms of its own energy. However, the scripture says that God can be affected by having relationships with humans or other living creatures on the planet.

There are many different cultures that surround us everyday; each one with its own unique customs and lifestyles. The Jewish culture contains some of the oldest traditions and customs that date back thousands of years. This culture has survived everything from exile to almost being diminished during the Holocaust. The Jewish culture has a unique culture, that has much to share with the world around them.

“Work hard, play hard” is a common cliché that many people in modern society know, but hardly ever adhere to. In a career oriented society, this saying is much like a balance with the scale leaning significantly towards the hard work portion. For me personally, I see tired, overworked people everywhere. When I’m walking to class at my university, I can see the exhaustion on many of the faces of the staff and the students alike. However, what many people don’t know is that there is a remedy to this overtiredness. In scripture, the Sabbath is one day of the week that a person should do absolutely no work. The bible explains that, when creating the world, God worked for six days, and rested on the seventh. God instructs his people to follow in his footsteps, and take a day to rest from the work done throughout the week. It is mentioned throughout the bible several times, so God is very serious about keeping it holy. If God himself is so serious about the Sabbath, then I believe his people should make a vow to keep it holy. After all, there are many reasons that keeping the Sabbath is so important in the first place. If there is no day of rest from work, then there is no chance of success outside of work. Let’s face it, many people, myself included, need to realize purpose does not come from work alone. Purpose is a combination of qualities such as personality, relationships, hobbies, and interests. A person is so much more than just their career.

Judaism, which is made up of a few separate groups, was very common at the originating of Christianity. The common ground (shared beliefs) for these sects was the belief in One God and that this One God had made a covenant with the people of Israel. The foundation of this covenant was called “The Torah.” The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two main groups the Bible focuses on around the time of Jesus, along with the Zealots, the Hellenists, the Lawyers, and the Essenes, who we only read about in sources outside of the New Testament.

Following six days of labor, God finished His work and rested on the seventh day. He blessed and sanctified the seventh day (Genesis 2: 2-3); however, centuries passed before humanity was to observe that day as a religious holy day. There is not the slightest hint that any man knew about the Sabbath, or was commanded to keep it from the creation until the Children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian bondage. (Nehemiah 9: 13-14) When Moses was called upon Mt. Sinai, God delivered to him the law which included Sabbath observance. (Exodus 20: 8)