Shabbat (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, Modern Shabbat Tiberian Šabbāṯ, Ashkenazi pronunciation: Shabbos, Yiddish: שבת, IPA: [ʃabəs], in English: the Sabbath, "rest" or "cessation") is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. On Shabbat Jews recall the Biblical Creation account in Genesis, describing God creating the Heavens and the Earth in six days and resting on the seventh. Shabbat is considered a festive day, when a Jew is freed from the regular labors of everyday life, can contemplate the spiritual aspects of life, and can spend time with family.
The Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sundown Friday and lasts until Saturday evening. Each day starts in the evening instead of midnight. Bereshit (Genesis 1:5) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (8) And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. (13) And the evening and the morning were the third day. (19) And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. (23) And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (31) And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Contrary to belief it does matter what day you observe as the Lord’s Sabbath. In order to be very specific God numbered the days and declared the 7th day, the last day of the week as His Sabbath. Mattiyahu 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Honoring the Sabbath on the 7th day is a commandment from God given from the beginning of the creation, while honoring any other day is a commandment and tradition of man. Keep the Shabbat and the Shabbat will keep you.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has blessed from Creation (Gen. 2:1-3).
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has made holy from Creation (Gen. 2:1-3).
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to sing praise and worship to Him.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to exalt His Name.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to seek His face.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to rededicate our lives to Him.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us as a living picture of trusting Him for salvation.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to disengage from all the clutter of worldly things.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to cease from our secular work.
- The Sabbath is a full day that God has given to us to physically rest and spiritually be refreshed.
Mark 2:27-28: “And (Yeshua) He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also teacher / master of the Sabbath.’”
HaShem intended the Shabbat to be a day to invest in our spiritual wealth and well-being. This is a weekly gift of 24 hours to be free, totally free, to do nothing else but seek a higher spiritual plane and develop closer relationships with family, friends, and those in our community of faith. Above all, each one is encouraged to apply their heart, mind and soul in freedom to be themselves before God and explore that relationship without any greater effort than the study of God’s Word.