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144-629: Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities , often with great rigor , and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. Judaism's traditional position is that the unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution. Variations upon Shabbat are widespread in Judaism and, with adaptations, throughout the Abrahamic and many other religions . According to halakha (Jewish religious law), Shabbat

288-556: A miracle , and Aaron throws down Moses' staff , which turns into a tannin (sea monster or snake) (Exodus 7:8-13); however, Pharaoh's magicians are also able to do this, though Moses' serpent devours the others. Pharaoh refuses to let the Israelites go. After this, Yahweh inflicts a series of Plagues on the Egyptians each time Moses repeats his demand and Pharaoh refuses to release the Israelites. Pharaoh's magicians are able to match

432-516: A 7-day week like the Gregorian calendar . Instead the New Moon marks the starting point for counting and the shabbat falls consistently on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th of each month. Biblical text to support using the moon, a light in the heavens, to determine days include Genesis 1:14 , Psalm 104:19 , and Sirach 43:6–8 See references: Rabbinic Jewish tradition and practice does not hold of this, holding

576-479: A Shabbat scooter. It is intended only for individuals whose limited mobility is dependent on a scooter or automobile consistently throughout the week. Seemingly "forbidden" acts may be performed by modifying technology such that no law is actually violated. In Sabbath mode , a " Sabbath elevator " will stop automatically at every floor, allowing people to step on and off without anyone having to press any buttons, which would normally be needed to work. ( Dynamic braking

720-481: A background to the Exodus myth include the documented movements of small groups of Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples into and out of Egypt during the 18th and 19th dynasties, some elements of Egyptian folklore and culture mentioned in the Exodus narrative, and the names Moses, Aaron and Phinehas, which seem to have an Egyptian origin. Scholarly estimates for how many could have been involved in such an exodus range from

864-465: A few hundred to a few thousand people. Joel S. Baden noted the presence of Semitic-speaking slaves in Egypt who sometimes escaped in small numbers as potential inspirations for the Exodus. It is also possible that oppressive Egyptian rule of Canaan during the late second millennium BCE, during the 19th and especially the 20th dynasty, may have disposed some native Canaanites to adopt into their own mythology

1008-455: A fire (category 37). If the appliance is purposed for light or heat (such as an incandescent bulb or electric oven), then the lighting or heating elements may be considered as a type of fire that falls under both lighting a fire (category 37) and cooking (i.e., baking, category 11). Turning lights off would be extinguishing a fire (category 36). Another view is that completing an electrical circuit constitutes building (category 35) and turning off

1152-458: A genuine Exodus tradition from the Northern Kingdom, but in a Judahite recension. Russell and Frank Moore Cross argue that the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom may have believed that the calves at Bethel and Dan were made by Aaron. Russell suggests that the connection to Jeroboam may have been later, possibly coming from a Judahite redactor. Pauline Viviano, however, concludes that neither

1296-483: A group of foreigners from Egypt comprised early Israel. Despite the absence of any archaeological evidence, most scholars nonetheless hold that the Exodus probably has some sort of historical basis, with Kenton Sparks referring to it as "mythologized history". Scholars posit that a small group of Egyptian origin may have joined the early Israelites, and contributed their own Egyptian Exodus story to all of Israel. William G. Dever cautiously identifies this group with

1440-503: A haircut and cleaning and beautifying the home (with flowers, for example). Days in the Jewish calendar start at nightfall, therefore many Jewish holidays begin at such time . According to Jewish law, Shabbat starts a few minutes before sunset. Candles are lit at this time. It is customary in many communities to light the candles 18 minutes before sundown ( tosefet Shabbat , although sometimes 36 minutes), and most printed Jewish calendars adhere to this custom. The Kabbalat Shabbat service

1584-660: A handful of peanuts, in their paper-thin brown skins, and one blows on the mixture of peanuts and skins, dispersing the unwanted skins from the peanuts, this would be an act of winnowing according to both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud has a more inclusive and general definition of Zoreh . By this definition, use of the Venturi tube spray system and spray painting, would come under this prohibition, while butane or propane propelled sprays (common in deodorants and air fresheners, etc.) are permissible to operate as

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1728-455: A high official in the court of the Egyptian pharaoh . Exodus begins with the death of Joseph and the ascension of a new pharaoh "who did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). The pharaoh becomes concerned by the number and strength of the Israelites in Egypt and enslaves them, commanding them to build at two "supply" or "store cities" called Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11). The pharaoh also orders

1872-595: A historical Egyptian as a prototype for Moses has found wide acceptance, and no period in Egyptian history matches the biblical accounts of the Exodus. Some elements of the story are miraculous and defy rational explanation, such as the Plagues of Egypt and the Crossing of the Red Sea . The Bible does not mention the names of any of the pharaohs involved, further obscuring comparison of archaeologically recovered Egyptian history with

2016-480: A human life is in danger (pikuach nefesh), then a Jew is not only allowed, but required, to violate any halakhic law that stands in the way of saving that person (excluding murder, idolatry, and forbidden sexual acts). The concept of life being in danger is interpreted broadly: for example, it is mandated that one violate Shabbat to bring a woman in active labor to a hospital. Lesser rabbinic restrictions are often violated under much less urgent circumstances (a patient who

2160-483: A light in a room to be turned on or off at will while the electricity remains on. A special mechanism blocks out the light when the off position is desired without violating Shabbat. The Shabbos App is a proposed Android app claimed by its creators to enable Orthodox Jews , and all Jewish Sabbath-observers, to use a smartphone to text on the Jewish Sabbath. It has met with resistance from some authorities. If

2304-456: A lunar month in an Assyrian religious calendar as a 'holy day', also called 'evil days' (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). The prohibitions on these days, spaced seven days apart (except the nineteenth), include abstaining from chariot riding, and the avoidance of eating meat by the King. On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make

2448-659: A new covenant (Mark 14:24) in the same way that Moses' sacrifice of bulls had created a covenant (Exodus 24:5). In the Gospel of Matthew , Jesus reverses the direction of the Exodus by escaping from the Massacre of the Innocents committed by Herod the Great before himself returning from Egypt (Matt 2:13-15). Other parallels in Matthew include that he is baptized by water (Matt 3:13-17), and tested in

2592-585: A new exodus. American "founding fathers" Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin recommended for the Great Seal of the United States to depict Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. African Americans suffering under slavery and racial oppression interpreted their situation in terms of the Exodus, making it a catalyst for social change. South American Liberation theology also takes much inspiration from

2736-632: A new one ascends the throne. According to Ezekiel 20:8-9, the enslaved Israelites also practised "abominations" and worshiped the gods of Egypt. This provoked Yahweh to destroy them but he relented to avoid his name being "profaned". Meanwhile, Moses goes to Mount Horeb , where Yahweh appears in a burning bush and commands him to go to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaves and bring them to the Promised Land in Canaan. Yahweh also speaks to Moses's brother Aaron , and

2880-509: A physical reminder of the obligation to observe the laws given at the climax of Exodus: "Look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord" (Numbers). The festivals associated with the Exodus began as agricultural and seasonal feasts but became completely subsumed into the Exodus narrative of Israel's deliverance from oppression at the hands of God. For Jews, the Passover celebrates the freedom of

3024-494: A pile or collecting them into one's pockets, or a basket. Collecting rock salt or any mineral (from a mine or from the Earth) and making a pile of the produce. This can only occur in the place where the gathering should take place. So, a bowl of apples that falls in a house can be gathered as 1) they do not grow in that environment and 2) they were already initially gathered in the orchard. However, subsequent gathering, which improves

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3168-548: A pivotal role in its promulgation. Many theories have been advanced to explain the composition of the first five books of the Bible, but two have been especially influential. The first of these, Persian Imperial authorisation, advanced by Peter Frei in 1985, is that the Persian authorities required the Jews of Jerusalem to present a single body of law as the price of local autonomy. Frei's theory

3312-513: A plant from its source of growth is reaping. Climbing a tree is rabbinically forbidden, for fear this may lead to one tearing off a branch. Riding an animal is also rabbinically forbidden, as one may unthinkingly detach a stick with which to hit the animal. See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbat 8:3–5, 21:6–10; Ḥayei Adam Shabbat 12 Hebrew: מְעַמֵּר ‎ ( Me'amer ) Definition: Initial gathering of earth-borne/organic material in its original place. E.g. After picking strawberries, forming

3456-515: A polemical Egyptian response to the Exodus narrative. Egyptologist Jan Assmann proposed that the story comes from oral sources that "must [...] predate the first possible acquaintance of an Egyptian writer with the Hebrew Bible ." Assmann suggested that the story has no single origin but rather combines numerous historical experiences, notably the Amarna and Hyksos periods, into a folk memory. There

3600-425: A potential historical parallel or origin for the story. Many other scholars reject this view, and instead see the biblical exodus traditions as the invention of the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis. Lester Grabbe , for instance, argues that "[t]here is no compelling reason that the exodus has to be rooted in history", and that the details of the story more closely fit

3744-636: A reality. The definitions presented in this article are only 'headings' for in-depth topics and without study of the relevant laws it would be very difficult, perhaps impossible, to properly keep the Sabbath according to Halacha/Jewish Law. The 39 melakhot are discussed in the Talmud in tractate Shabbat . As listed in the Mishna (Shabbat 7:2), they are as follows: Transferring between domains (see below) and preparing food are permitted on Jewish holidays . These are

3888-565: A step taken by dozens of congregations in the United States in late 19th century. More rabbinically traditional Reform and Reconstructionist Jews believe that these halakhoth in general may be valid, but that it is up to each individual to decide how and when to apply them. A small fraction of Jews in the Progressive Jewish community accept these laws in much the same way as Orthodox Jews. The Talmud, especially in tractate Shabbat, defines rituals and activities to both "remember" and "keep"

4032-478: A story of the enslavement of the Israelites, the Plagues of Egypt , the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, the revelations at Mount Sinai , and the Israelite wanderings in the wilderness up to the borders of Canaan . Its message is that the Israelites were delivered from slavery by Yahweh their god, and therefore belong to him by covenant . The story of the Exodus is told in the first half of Exodus, with

4176-599: A weekly day of worship on Sunday , which is often called the " Lord's Day ". Several Christian denominations, such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church , the Church of God (7th Day) , the Seventh Day Baptists , and others , observe seventh-day Sabbath . This observance is celebrated from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Samaritans also observe Shabbat. Some hold the biblical sabbath was not connected to

4320-474: A wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day". The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch (and of Marcello Craveri ) that Shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle in the Babylonian calendar containing four weeks ending in a Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month. The difficulties of this theory include reconciling

4464-414: Is "creative", or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment . In addition to the 39 melakhot , additional activities were prohibited by the rabbis for various reasons. The term shomer Shabbat is used for a person (or organization) who adheres to Shabbat laws consistently. The (strict) observance of the Sabbath is often seen as a benchmark for orthodoxy and indeed has legal bearing on

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4608-471: Is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat, and ushers in the new week. At the conclusion of Shabbat at nightfall, after the appearance of three stars in the sky, the havdalah blessings are recited over a cup of wine, and with the use of fragrant spices and a candle, usually braided. Some communities delay havdalah later into the night in order to prolong Shabbat. There are different customs regarding how much time one should wait after

4752-405: Is a prayer service welcoming the arrival of Shabbat. Before Friday night dinner, it is customary to sing two songs, one "greeting" two Shabbat angels into the house ( " Shalom Aleichem " -"Peace Be Upon You") and the other praising the woman of the house for all the work she has done over the past week ( " Eshet Ḥayil " -"Women Of Valour"). After blessings over the wine and challah , a festive meal

4896-407: Is also disabled if it is normally used, i.e., shunting energy collected from downward travel, and thus the gravitational potential energy of passengers, into a resistor network.) However, many rabbinical authorities consider the use of such elevators by those who are otherwise capable as a violation of Shabbat, with such workarounds being for the benefit of the frail and handicapped and not being in

5040-409: Is associated with the Israelites living in booths after they left their previous homes in Egypt. It celebrates how God provided for the Israelites while they wandered in the desert without food or shelter. It is celebrated by building a sukkah , a temporary shelter also called a booth or tabernacle, in which the rituals of Sukkot are performed, recalling the impermanence of the Israelites' homes during

5184-399: Is derived from the cracking of the husks that encase the kernels of wheat. These undesirable husks have to be cracked open in order to extract the desirable inner kernels in order to process them further. This is a large topic of study. It refers to any productive extraction and includes juicing fruits and vegetables and wringing (desirable fluids) out of cloths, as the juice or water inside

5328-413: Is externally creative , or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment . The extension of the definition is consistent with the common etymology - melakha for "work" and malach for messenger / agent or "angel": just as the malach is the agent used to bring about the realization and execution of a certain idea, so does melakha take a thought or idea and carry through to turn it into

5472-433: Is formally ended with a Havdalah ritual. Shabbat is a festive day when Jews exercise their freedom from the regular labours of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and to spend time with family. The end of Shabbat is traditionally marked by a ritual called Havdalah, during which blessings are said over wine (or grape juice), aromatic spices, and light, separating Shabbat from

5616-413: Is general agreement that the stories originally had nothing to do with the Jews. Erich S. Gruen suggested that it may have been the Jews themselves that inserted themselves into Manetho's narrative, in which various negative actions from the point of view of the Egyptians, such as desecrating temples, are interpreted positively. Commemoration of the Exodus is central to Judaism, and Jewish culture . In

5760-467: Is generally dated to the 7th century BCE. The contents of the books of Leviticus and Numbers are late additions to the narrative by priestly sources. Scholars broadly agree that the publication of the Torah (or of a proto-Pentateuch) took place in the mid-Persian period (the 5th century BCE), echoing a traditional Jewish view which gives Ezra , the leader of the Jewish community on its return from Babylon,

5904-446: Is held later Saturday afternoon. The evening meal and the early afternoon meal typically begin with a blessing called kiddush ( sanctification ), said over a cup of wine. At the third meal a kiddush is not performed, but the hamotzi blessing is recited and challah (braided bread) is eaten. In many communities, this meal is often eaten in the period after the afternoon prayers ( Minchah ) are recited and shortly before Shabbat

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6048-437: Is ill but not critically so). We did everything to save lives, despite Shabbat. People asked: "Why are you here? There are no Jews here," but we are here because the Torah orders us to save lives .... We are desecrating Shabbat with pride. Various other legal principles closely delineate which activities constitute desecration of Shabbat . Examples of these include the principle of shinui ("change" or "deviation"): A violation

6192-491: Is in an ostracon found in excavations at Mesad Hashavyahu , which has been dated to approximately 630 BCE. The Tanakh and siddur describe Shabbat as having three purposes: Judaism accords Shabbat the status of a joyous holy day. In many ways, Jewish law gives Shabbat the status of being the most important holy day in the Hebrew calendar : Honoring Shabbat ( kavod Shabbat ) on Preparation Day (Friday) includes bathing, having

6336-409: Is included in this category; other activities that promote plant growth are also prohibited. This includes watering, fertilizing, planting seeds, or planting grown plants. See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbat 8:2, 21:5; Shulḥan Arukh Ora ḥ Ḥayim 336; Ḥayei Adam Shabbat 11 Hebrew: קוֹצֵר ‎ ( Kotzer ) Definition: Severing a plant from its source of growth. Removing all or part of

6480-456: Is little of historical fact in it. The other position, often associated with the school of Biblical minimalism , is that the biblical exodus traditions are the invention of the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis. The biblical Exodus narrative is best understood as a founding myth of the Jewish people, providing an ideological foundation for their culture and institutions, not an accurate depiction of

6624-615: Is more akin to purification . See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbat 8:7–10, 21:12–16; Shulḥan Arukh Ora ḥ Ḥayim 319–321; Ḥayei Adam Shabbat 14 Hebrew: זוֹרֶה ‎ ( Zoreh ) Definition: Sorting undesirable from desirable via the force of air (Babylonian Talmud), or dispersal via the force of air like an aerosol can for example(Jerusalem Talmud). In the Babylonian Talmud this refers exclusively to an act of separation, for example, chaff from grain  – i.e. to any separation of intermixed materials. Example: If one has

6768-445: Is not regarded as severe if the prohibited act was performed in a way that would be considered abnormal on a weekday. Examples include writing with one's nondominant hand, according to many rabbinic authorities. This legal principle operates bedi'avad ( ex post facto ) and does not cause a forbidden activity to be permitted barring extenuating circumstances. Generally, adherents of Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism believe that

6912-403: Is observed from a few minutes before the sun sets on Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night, or an hour after sundown. Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles and reciting blessings over wine and bread. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: The first one is held on Friday evening, the second is traditionally a lunch meal on Saturday, and the third

7056-467: Is reconstructed from the lost fifth Enūma Eliš creation account, which is read as: " [Sa]bbatu shalt thou then encounter, mid[month]ly". It is regarded as a form of Sumerian sa-bat ("mid-rest"), rendered in Akkadian as um nuh libbi ("day of mid-repose"). Connection to Sabbath observance has been suggested in the designation of the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eight days of

7200-483: Is served. Singing is traditional at Sabbath meals. In modern times, many composers have written sacred music for use during the Kabbalat Shabbat observance, including Robert Strassburg and Samuel Adler . According to rabbinic literature , God via the Torah commands Jews to observe (refrain from forbidden activity) and remember (with words, thoughts, and actions) Shabbat, and these two actions are symbolized by

7344-403: Is standalone; irrespective of whether seeding takes place in the substrate subsequently. This includes dragging chair legs in soft soil thereby unintentionally making furrows, or pouring water on arable land that is not saturated. Making a hole in the soil would also provide protection for a seed placed there from rain and runoff; even if no seed is ever placed there, the soil is now enhanced for

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7488-571: Is that the Pentateuch does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of Canaan in the late second millennium BCE (around the time of the Late Bronze Age collapse ) from the indigenous Canaanite culture. Most modern scholars believe that some elements in the story of the Exodus might have some historical basis, but that any such basis has little resemblance to

7632-550: Is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Pentateuch (specifically, Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers , and Deuteronomy ). The narrative of the Exodus describes a history of Egyptian bondage of the Israelites followed by their exodus from Egypt through a passage in the Red Sea , in pursuit of the Promised Land under the leadership of Moses . The consensus of modern scholars

7776-530: The Jewish holidays listed in the Torah ("Yom Tov"), but there are significant exceptions that permit carrying and preparing food under specific circumstances on holidays (except Yom Kippur ). In addition to the 39 melakhot, certain other activities are forbidden on Shabbat due to rabbinic law . It is of note that the (strict) observance of Shabbat is often seen as a benchmark for orthodoxy and indeed has legal bearing on

7920-517: The Qur'an , in which Moses is one of the most prominent prophets and messengers . He is the mentioned 136 times, the most of any individual in the Qur'an , with and his life being narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet . A number of historical events and situations have been compared to the Exodus. Many early American settlers interpreted their flight from Europe to a new life in America as

8064-562: The Second Intermediate Period ("Hyksos period") and most are extremely anti-Jewish . The earliest non-biblical account is that of Hecataeus of Abdera ( c.  320 BCE ) as preserved in the first century CE Jewish historian Josephus in Against Apion and in a variant version by the first-century BCE Greek historian Diodorus . Hecataeus tells how the Egyptians blamed a plague on foreigners and expelled them from

8208-509: The Tabernacle ( Exodus 35:4 etc. ) – that they are the kinds of work that were necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle . They are not explicitly listed in the Torah; the Mishnah observes that "the laws of Shabbat ... are like mountains hanging by a hair, for they are little Scripture but many laws". Many rabbinic scholars have pointed out that these labors have in common activity that

8352-592: The Torah in Genesis 2:1-3. It is first commanded after The Exodus from Egypt, in Exodus 16:26 (relating to the cessation of manna ) and in Exodus 16:29 (relating to the distance one may travel by foot on the Sabbath), as also in Exodus 20:8-11 (as one of the Ten Commandments ). Sabbath is commanded and commended many more times in the Torah and Tanakh ; double the normal number of animal sacrifices are to be offered on

8496-454: The Tribe of Joseph , while Richard Elliott Friedman identifies it with the Tribe of Levi . Most scholars who accept a historical core of the exodus date this possible exodus group to the thirteenth century BCE at the time of Ramses II ( 19th dynasty ), with some instead dating it to the twelfth century BCE under Ramses III ( 20th dynasty ). Evidence in favor of historical traditions forming

8640-532: The Tribe of Manasseh there. Moses then addresses the Israelites for a final time on the banks of the Jordan River , reviewing their travels and giving them further laws. Yahweh tells Moses to summon Joshua to lead the conquest of Canaan . Yahweh tells Moses to ascend Mount Nebo , from where he sees the Promised Land, and dies. The climax of the Exodus is the covenant (binding legal agreement) between God and

8784-465: The showbread form the thirty-nine categories of activity listed below. All the categories of work prohibited on the Sabbath are derived from activities which were required in the setting up, and maintenance of, the Tabernacle known as the "Mishkan". The first group of eleven activities are involved in the making of the showbreads that were always present in the Mishkan. Or, according to another opinion,

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8928-400: The 2666th year after creation (Exodus 12:40-41), the construction of the tabernacle to year 2667 (Exodus 40:1-2, 17), stating that the Israelites dwelled in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41), and specifying place names such as Goshen (Gen. 46:28), Pithom , and Ramesses (Exod. 1:11), as well as the count of 600,000 Israelite men (Exodus 12:37). The Book of Numbers further states that

9072-423: The Bible, the Exodus is frequently mentioned as the event that created the Israelite people and forged their bond with God, being described as such by the prophets Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel . The Exodus is invoked daily in Jewish prayers and celebrated each year during the Jewish holidays of Passover , Shavuot , and Sukkot . The fringes worn at the corners of traditional Jewish prayer shawls are described as

9216-483: The Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards permits driving to a synagogue on Shabbat, as an emergency measure, on the grounds that if Jews lost contact with synagogue life, they would become lost to the Jewish people. A halakhically authorized Shabbat mode added to a power-operated mobility scooter may be used on the observance of Shabbat for those with walking limitations, often referred to as

9360-572: The Exodus as a typological prefiguration of resurrection and salvation by Jesus . The Exodus is also recounted in the Qur'an as part of the extensive referencing of the life of Moses , a major prophet in Islam. The narrative has also resonated with various groups in more recent centuries, such as among the early American settlers fleeing religious persecution in Europe, and among African Americans striving for freedom and civil rights . The Exodus tells

9504-447: The Exodus events from comprehensive histories of Israel. Most mainstream scholars do not accept the biblical Exodus account as history for a number of reasons. Most agree that the Exodus stories were written centuries after the apparent setting of the stories. Scholars argue that the Book of Exodus itself attempts to ground the event firmly in history, reconstructing a date for the exodus as

9648-514: The Exodus story served as an "identity card" defining who belonged to this community (i.e., to Israel), thus reinforcing Israel's unity through its new institutions. Writers in Greek and Latin during the Ptolemaic Kingdom (late 4th century BCE–late 1st century BCE) record several Egyptian tales of the expulsion of a group of foreigners connected to the Exodus. These tales often include elements of

9792-528: The Exodus. The story may, therefore, have originated a few centuries earlier, perhaps in the 10th or 9th century BCE, and there are signs that it took different forms in Israel, in the Transjordan region , and in the southern Kingdom of Judah before being unified in the Persian era. The Exodus narrative was most likely further altered and expanded under the influence of the return from the Babylonian captivity in

9936-451: The Israelites can enter the promised land. The Israelites will have to remain in the wilderness for forty years, and Yahweh kills the spies through a plague except for the righteous Joshua and Caleb , who will be allowed to enter the promised land (Numbers 13:36-38). A group of Israelites led by Korah , son of Izhar, rebels against Moses, but Yahweh opens the earth and sends them living to Sheol (Numbers 16:1-33). The Israelites come to

10080-578: The Israelites complain about lack of bread and water, so Yahweh sends a plague of poisonous snakes to afflict them (Numbers 21:4-7). After Moses prays for deliverance, Yahweh has him create a brazen serpent , and the Israelites who look at it are cured (Numbers 21:8-9). The Israelites are soon in conflict with various other kingdoms, and king Balak of Moab asks the seer Balaam to curse the Israelites, but Balaam blesses them instead. Some Israelites begin having sexual relations with Moabite women and worshipping Moabite gods , so Yahweh orders Moses to impale

10224-506: The Israelites from captivity in Egypt, the settling of Canaan by the Israelites, and the "passing over" of the angel of death during the death of the first-born . Passover involves a ritual meal called a Seder during which parts of the exodus narrative are retold. In the Hagaddah of the Seder it is written that every generation is obliged to remind and identify itself in terms of the Exodus. Thus

10368-446: The Israelites mediated by Moses at Sinai: Yahweh will protect the Israelites as his chosen people for all time, and the Israelites will keep Yahweh's laws and worship only him. The covenant is described in stages: at Exodus 24:3–8 the Israelites agree to abide by the "book of the covenant" that Moses has just read to them; shortly afterwards God writes the "words of the covenant" – the Ten Commandments – on stone tablets; and finally, as

10512-452: The Israelites sin against Yahweh by creating the idol of a golden calf . As punishment Yahweh has the Levites kill three thousand of the Israelites (Exodus 32:28), and Yahweh sends a plague on them. The Israelites now accept the covenant, which is reestablished; they build a tabernacle for Yahweh, and receive their laws. Yahweh commands Moses to take a census of the Israelites and establishes

10656-399: The Israelites to commemorate this event in "a perpetual ordinance" (Exodus 12:14). Pharaoh finally casts the Israelites out of Egypt after his firstborn son is killed. Yahweh leads the Israelites in the form of a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night. However, once the Israelites have left, Yahweh "hardens" Pharaoh's heart to change his mind and pursue the Israelites to

10800-412: The Israelites to take a lamb on the 10th day, and on the 14th day to slaughter it and daub its blood on their doorposts and lintels , and to observe the Passover meal that night, the night of the full moon . In the final plague , Yahweh sends an angel to each house to kill the firstborn son and firstborn cattle, but the houses of the Israelites are spared by the blood on their doorposts. Yahweh commands

10944-658: The Rema and the Beit Yosef on this point, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews do not disagree with the Rema's extended inclusion of the Jerusalem Talmud's definition in this case. See further: Shulḥan Arukh Ora ḥ Ḥayim 219:7; Ḥayei Adam Shabbat 15. Hebrew: בּוֹרֵר ‎ ( Borer ) Definition: Removal of undesirable from desirable from a mixture of types. The Exodus The Exodus ( Hebrew : יציאת מצרים, Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm : lit.   ' Departure from Egypt ' )

11088-446: The Sabbath and to sanctify it at home and in the synagogue. In addition to refraining from creative work, the sanctification of the day through blessings over wine , the preparation of special Sabbath meals , and engaging in prayer and Torah study were required as an active part of Shabbat observance to promote intellectual activity and spiritual regeneration on the day of rest from physical creation. According to many scribes, half of

11232-501: The Tabernacle's covering starting right from the trapping of animals. The last group of activities are grouped together for things that were required in the construction, disassembly and running of the Tabernacle itself. The thirty-nine melakhot are not so much activities as categories of activity. For example, "threshing" usually refers exclusively to the loosening of the edible part of grain attached to its chaff . From this heading

11376-500: The Talmudic legal discussion applies this to any separation of intermixed materials where a desirable inner portion is extracted from an undesirable exterior element. So, "threshing" was the heading of the topic that was used to describe this process as it was familiar to all in Talmudic times. Many rabbinical scholars have, as above, pointed out that these regulations of labor have something in common – they prohibit any activity that

11520-434: The ages, that you may know that I יהוה have consecrated you. 14 You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. One who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among kin. 15 Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 The Israelite people shall keep

11664-422: The arguments for prohibiting the use of electricity. Some Orthodox also hire a " Shabbos goy ", a non Jew to perform prohibited tasks (like operating light switches) on Shabbat. Orthodox and many Conservative authorities completely prohibit the use of automobiles on Shabbat as a violation of multiple categories, including lighting a fire, extinguishing a fire, and transferring between domains (category 39). However,

11808-697: The biblical narrative. While ancient Egyptian texts from the New Kingdom mention "Asiatics" living in Egypt as slaves and workers, these people cannot be securely connected to the Israelites, and no contemporary Egyptian text mentions a large-scale exodus of slaves like that described in the Bible. The earliest surviving historical mention of the Israelites, the Egyptian Merneptah Stele ( c.  1207 BCE ), appears to place them in or around Canaan and gives no indication of any exodus. Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein argues from his analysis of

11952-517: The borders of Syria , where Osarseph gives the lepers a law code and changes his name to Moses. The identification of Osarseph with Moses in Manetho's account may be an interpolation or may come from Manetho. Other versions of the story are recorded by the first-century BCE Egyptian grammarian Lysimachus of Alexandria , who set the story in the time of Pharaoh Bakenranef (Bocchoris), the first-century CE Egyptian historian Chaeremon of Alexandria , and

12096-652: The brazen serpent had been made by Moses and was worshiped in the temple in Jerusalem until the time of king Hezekiah of Judah, who destroyed it as part of a religious reform, possibly c.  727 BCE . In the Pentateuch, Moses creates the brazen serpent in Numbers 21:4-9. Meindert Dijkstra writes that while the historicity of the Mosaic origin of the Nehushtan is unlikely, its association with Moses appears genuine rather than

12240-473: The building of the temple at Jerusalem. Pamela Barmash argues that the psalm is a polemic against the Northern Kingdom; as it fails to mention that kingdom's destruction in 722 BCE, she concludes that it must have been written before then. The psalm's version of the Exodus contains some important differences from what is found in the Pentateuch: there is no mention of Moses, and the manna is described as "food of

12384-426: The circuit would be demolishing (category 34). Some schools of thought consider the use of electricity to be forbidden only by rabbinic injunction , rather than a melakhah . A common solution to the problem of electricity involves preset timers ( Shabbat clocks ) for electric appliances, to turn them on and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat itself. Some Conservative authorities reject altogether

12528-568: The country, whereupon Moses, their leader, took them to Canaan. In this version, Moses is portrayed extremely positively. Manetho , also preserved in Josephus's Against Apion , tells how 80,000 lepers and other "impure people", led by a priest named Osarseph , join forces with the former Hyksos, now living in Jerusalem , to take over Egypt. They wreak havoc until the Pharaoh and his son chase them out to

12672-423: The customary two Shabbat candles . Candles are lit usually by the woman of the house (or else by a man who lives alone). Some families light more candles, sometimes in accordance with the number of children. Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as prayer . It is customary to eat three festive meals: Dinner on Shabbat eve (Friday night), lunch on Shabbat day (Saturday), and a third meal (a Seudah shlishit ) in

12816-674: The day should be devoted to Torah study and prayer. The Talmud states that the best food should be prepared for the Sabbath, for "one who delights in the Sabbath is granted their heart's desires" ( BT , Shabbat 118a-b). All Jewish denominations encourage the following activities on Shabbat: Special Shabbatot are the Shabbatot that precede important Jewish holidays : e.g., Shabbat HaGadol (Shabbat preceding Pesach ), Shabbat Zachor (Shabbat preceding Purim ), and Shabbat Shuvah (Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ). Most Christians do not observe Saturday Sabbath, but instead observe

12960-510: The day. Sabbath is also described by the prophets Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel , Hosea , Amos , and Nehemiah . The longstanding Jewish position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution. The origins of Shabbat and a seven-day week are not clear to scholars; the Mosaic tradition claims an origin from the Genesis creation narrative. The first non-Biblical reference to Sabbath

13104-523: The death of a spouse or first-degree relative) outwardly conduct themselves normally for the duration of the day and are forbidden to display public signs of mourning. Although most Shabbat laws are restrictive, the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus is taken by the Talmud and Maimonides to allude to the positive commandments of Shabbat. These include: Havdalah (Hebrew: הַבְדָּלָה, "separation")

13248-448: The dedication of two golden calves in Bethel and Dan by the Israelite king Jeroboam I , who uses the words "Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt" (1 Kings 12:28). Scholars relate Jeroboam's calves to the golden calf made by Aaron of Exodus 32. Both include a nearly identical dedication formula ("These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of

13392-417: The desert "[t]he two most significant NT passages touching on the exodus". John also refers to Jesus as manna (John 6:31-5), water flowing from a rock in the desert (John 7:37-9), and as a pillar of fire (John 8:12). Early Christians frequently interpreted actions taken in the Exodus, and sometimes the Exodus as a whole, typologically to prefigure Jesus or actions of Jesus. In Romans 9:17, Paul interprets

13536-487: The desert wanderings. The Christian ritual of the eucharist and the holiday of Easter draw directly on the imagery of the Passover and the Exodus. In the New Testament , Jesus is frequently associated with motifs of the Exodus. The Gospel of Mark has been suggested to be a midrash on the Exodus, though the scholar Larry J. Perkins thinks this unlikely. Mark suggests that the outpouring of Jesus' blood creates

13680-454: The desert; unlike the Israelites, he is able to resist temptation (Matt. 4.1-3). The Gospel of John repeatedly calls Jesus the Passover lamb (John 1:29, 13:1, 19:36), something also found in 1 Peter (1 Pet 1:18-20), and 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 5:7-8). Michael Graves calls Paul 's discussion of the exodus in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and his comparison of the early church in Corinth to the Israelites in

13824-467: The differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Sabbath in any language. Seventh-day Shabbat did not originate with the Egyptians , to whom it was unknown; and other origin theories based on the day of Saturn , or on the planets generally, have also been abandoned. Sabbath is given special status as a holy day at the very beginning of

13968-474: The dispersal force generated is not from air, rather from the propellant within the can. According to the Babylonian Talmud's definition, neither of the above spraying methods is involved in sorting undesirable from desirable and therefore not part of this heading. Rabbi Moses Isserles (the Rema) holds that, unusually, the Jerusalem Talmud's definition should also be taken into account. As there's no argument between

14112-558: The duties of the Levites. Then the Israelites depart from Mount Sinai. Yahweh commands Moses to send twelve spies ahead to Canaan to scout the land. The spies discover that the Canaanites are formidable, and to dissuade the Israelites from invading, the spies falsely report that Canaan is full of giants (Numbers 13:30-33). The Israelites refuse to go to Canaan, and Yahweh declares that the generation that left Egypt will have to pass away before

14256-399: The exact same eleven activities were required for the procurement and manufacture of dyes required for the making of the tapestries that were used as part of the roofing of the Tabernacle. The next grouping was for the manufacture of the tapestries, starting with the manufacture of wool right from the shearing process. The next group were for the manufacture of the leather hides also used in

14400-447: The exodus story of a small group of Egyptian refugees. Nadav Na'aman argues that oppressive Egyptian rule of Canaan may have inspired the Exodus narrative, forming a " collective memory " of Egyptian oppression that was transferred from Canaan to Egypt itself in the popular consciousness. The 17th dynasty expulsion of the Hyksos , a group of Semitic invaders, is also frequently discussed as

14544-448: The first plagues, in which Yahweh turns the Nile to blood and produces a plague of frogs, but they cannot match any plagues starting with the third, the plague of gnats . After each plague, Pharaoh asks the Israelites to worship Yahweh to remove the plague, then still refuses to free them. Moses is commanded to fix the first month of Aviv at the head of the Hebrew calendar . He instructs

14688-517: The first-century BCE Gallo-Roman historian Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus . The first-century CE Roman historian Tacitus included a version of the story that claims that the Hebrews worshipped a donkey as their god to ridicule Egyptian religion, whereas the Roman biographer Plutarch claimed that the Egyptian god Seth was expelled from Egypt and had two sons named Juda and Hierosolyma. The stories may represent

14832-458: The following words from the Pesaḥim (10:5) are recited: "In every generation a person is duty-bound to regard himself as if he personally has gone forth from Egypt." Because the Israelites fled Egypt in haste without time for bread to rise, the unleavened bread matzoh is eaten on Passover, and homes must be cleansed of any items containing leavening agents, known as Chametz . Shavuot celebrates

14976-442: The fruit is considered 'desirable' for these purposes, while the pulp of the fruit would be the 'undesirable.' As such, squeezing ( S'ḥita ) to extract a desirable inner is generally forbidden unless certain rules are applicable dependant upon the case. The wringing of undesirable water out of cloths may also come under scouring/laundering . This activity should be viewed more accurately as extraction , while sorting (see below)

15120-622: The granting of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai; Jews are called to rededicate themselves to the covenant on this day. Some denominations follow Shavuot with The Three Weeks , during which the "two most heinous sins committed by the Jews in their relationship to God" are mourned: the Golden Calf and the doubting of God's promise by the Twelve Spies . A third Jewish festival, Sukkot , the Festival of Booths,

15264-617: The hardened heart of Pharaoh during the Plagues of Egypt as referring to the hardened hearts of the Jews who rejected Christ. Early Christian authors such as Justin Martyr , Irenaeus , and Augustine all emphasized the supersession of the Old Covenant of Moses by the New Covenant of Christ, which was open to all people rather than limited to the Jews. The story of the Exodus is also recounted in

15408-433: The history of the Israelites. The view that the biblical narrative is essentially correct unless it can explicitly be proved wrong ( Biblical maximalism ) is today held by "few, if any [...] in mainstream scholarship, only on the more fundamentalist fringes." There is no direct evidence for any of the people or events of Exodus in non-biblical ancient texts or in archaeological remains, and this has led most scholars to omit

15552-501: The idolators and sends another plague. The full extent of Yahweh's wrath is averted when Phinehas impales an Israelite and a Midianite woman having intercourse (Numbers 25:7-9). Yahweh commands the Israelites to destroy the Midianites, and Moses and Phinehas take another census. Then they conquer the lands of Og and Sihon in Transjordan , settling the Gadites , Reubenites , and half

15696-521: The individual Jew determines whether to follow Shabbat prohibitions or not. For example, some Jews might find activities, such as writing or cooking for leisure , to be enjoyable enhancements to Shabbat and its holiness, and therefore may encourage such practices. Many Reform Jews believe that what constitutes "work" is different for each person, and that only what the person considers "work" is forbidden. The radical Reform rabbi Samuel Holdheim advocated moving Sabbath to Sunday for many no longer observed it,

15840-419: The itinerary lists in the books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy that the biblical account represents a long-term cultural memory, spanning the 16th to 10th centuries BCE, rather than a specific event: "The beginning is vague and now untraceable." Instead, modern archaeology suggests continuity between Canaanite and Israelite settlement, indicating a primarily Canaanite origin for Israel, with no suggestion that

15984-512: The land of Egypt", Exodus 32:8). This episode in Exodus is "widely regarded as a tendentious narrative against the Bethel calves". Egyptologist Jan Assmann suggests that event, which would have taken place c.  931 BCE , may be partially historical due to its association with the historical pharaoh Sheshonq I (the biblical Shishak ). Stephen Russell dates this tradition to "the eighth century BCE or earlier", and argued that it preserves

16128-539: The late afternoon (Saturday). It is also customary to wear nice clothing (different from during the week) on Shabbat to honor the day. Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not do so during the week. Services are held on Shabbat eve (Friday night), Shabbat morning (Saturday morning), and late Shabbat afternoon (Saturday afternoon). With the exception of Yom Kippur , days of public fasting are postponed or advanced if they coincide with Shabbat. Mourners sitting shivah (week of mourning subsequent to

16272-570: The mighty" rather than as bread in the wilderness. Nadav Na'aman argues for other signs that the Exodus was a tradition in Judah before the destruction of the northern kingdom, including the Song of the Sea and Psalm 114 , as well as the great political importance that the narrative came to assume there. A Judahite cultic object associated with the exodus was the brazen serpent or nehushtan : according to 2 Kings 18:4,

16416-522: The narrative of Israel's rescue from Egypt there is little hint that they will be brought anywhere other than Canaan – yet they find themselves heading first, unexpectedly, and in no obvious geographical order, to an obscure mountain." In addition, there is widespread agreement that the revelation of the law in Deuteronomy was originally separate from the Exodus: the original version of Deuteronomy

16560-416: The northern prophets Amos and Hosea , both active in the 8th century BCE in northern Israel , but their southern contemporary Isaiah shows no knowledge of an exodus. Micah , who was active in the south around the same time, references the exodus once ( Micah 6:4–5 ), but it is debated whether the passage is an addition by a later editor. Jeremiah , active in the 7th century, mentions both Moses and

16704-456: The number of Israelite males aged 20 years and older in the desert during the wandering was 603,550, which works out to a total population of 2.5-3 million including women and children—far more than could be supported by the Sinai Desert . The geography is vague with regions such as Goshen unidentified, and there are internal problems with dating in the Pentateuch. No modern attempt to identify

16848-509: The oasis of Kadesh Barnea , where Miriam dies and the Israelites remain for nineteen years. To provide water, Yahweh commands Moses to get water from a rock by speaking to it, but Moses instead strikes the rock with his staff, for which Yahweh forbids him from entering the Promised Land . Moses sends a messenger to the king of Edom requesting passage through his land to Canaan, but the king refuses. The Israelites then go to Mount Hor , where Aaron dies. The Israelites try to go around Edom, but

16992-403: The object(s) affected is included in this law. For example, stringing diamonds together to form a necklace is a significant improvement of their gathered status. This may well extend to pearls as well. See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbat 8:5, 21:11; Ḥayei Adam Shabbat 13 Hebrew: דָּשׁ ‎ ( Dosh ) Definition: Extraction of a desirable inner from an undesirable outer. This

17136-439: The only exceptions to the rule that activities prohibited on the Sabbath are likewise prohibited on holidays. Note: The thirty-nine prohibited activities are bolded . Hebrew: חוֹרֵשׁ ‎ ( Ḥoresh ) Definition: Promotion of substrate in readiness for plant growth. Included in this prohibition is any preparation or improvement of any material for agricultural use, be it soil, water for hydroponics , etc.. This activity

17280-455: The people gather in Moab to cross into the promised land of Canaan, Moses reveals Yahweh's new covenant "beside the covenant he made with them at Horeb" (Deuteronomy 29:1). The laws are set out in a number of codes: There are two main positions on the historicity of the Exodus in modern scholarship. The majority position is that the biblical Exodus narrative has some historical basis, although there

17424-484: The process of planting. The Mishna (Shabbat 7:2) lists ploughing after planting, although one must plow a field before planting. The Gemara asks why this order occurs and answers that the author of this Mishna was a Tanna living in the Land of Israel , where the ground is hard. Since the ground is so hard in Israel, it needed to be ploughed both before planting and after planting. The Mishna lists ploughing second, teaching that

17568-454: The rabbis of the Mishnah derive a basis, as well as a listing, as to which activities are prohibited on the Sabbath. In the first passage, there is a "ceasing from" "creation" or "creating", thus melakha in the latter paragraph is also taken to refer to creative, and mindful, activity. As regards the listing: similarly, the activities required for the construction of the Tabernacle and preparing

17712-545: The references to Jeroboam's calves in Hosea (Hosea 8:6 and 10:5) nor the frequent prohibitions of idol worship in the seventh-century southern prophet Jeremiah show any knowledge of a tradition of a golden calf having been created in Sinai. Some of the earliest evidence for Judahite traditions of the exodus is found in Psalm 78 , which portrays the Exodus as beginning a history culminating in

17856-450: The remainder recounting the 1st year in the wilderness, and followed by a narrative of 39 more years in the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the last four of the first five books of the Bible (also called the Torah or Pentateuch). In the first book of the Pentateuch, the Book of Genesis , the Israelites had come to live in Egypt in the Land of Goshen during a famine, under the protection of an Israelite, Joseph , who had become

18000-413: The rest of the week. The word Shabbat derives from the Hebrew root ש־ב־ת . Although frequently translated as "rest" (noun or verb), another accurate translation is "ceasing [from work]." The notion of active cessation from labour is also regarded as more consistent with an omnipotent God 's activity on the seventh day of creation according to Genesis . A cognate Babylonian Sapattu or Sabattu

18144-483: The sabbath to be based of the days of creation, and hence a wholly separate cycle from the monthly cycle, which does not occur automatically and must be rededicated each month. See kiddush hachodesh . 39 Melachot The 39 Melakhot ( Hebrew : ל״ט אבות מלאכה , lamed-tet avot melakhah , "39 categories of work") are thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat . These activities are also prohibited on

18288-510: The sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: 17 it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [God] ceased from work and was refreshed. Though melakha is usually translated as "work" in English, the term does not correspond to the ordinary definition of the term, as explained below. The traditional analysis and explanation of

18432-402: The second ploughing (after planting) is [also] prohibited. (The ploughing before the planting is also prohibited, if not biblically, certainly rabbinically). The Rambam lists ploughing first and planting second. See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbat 7:3, 8:1, 21:2–4; Ḥayei Adam Shabbat 10 Hebrew : זוֹרֵעַ ‎ ( Zore'a ) Definition: Promotion of plant growth. Not only planting

18576-579: The separation of chaff from grain , and "selecting" refers exclusively to the separation of debris from grain, they refer in the Talmudic sense to any separation of intermixed materials which renders edible that which was inedible. Thus, filtering undrinkable water to make it drinkable falls under this category, as does picking small bones from fish ( gefilte fish is one solution to this problem). The categories of labors prohibited on Shabbat are exegetically derived – on account of Biblical passages juxtaposing Shabbat observance ( Exodus 35:1–3 ) to making

18720-415: The seventh day, God finished all the work [ melakha ] that He had done. He ceased on the seventh day from all the work [ melakha ] that he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day, and he declared it to be holy, for it was on this day that God ceased from all the work [ melakha ] that he had been creating to function. From the common wording (in the Hebrew original), and the juxtaposition of subject matter,

18864-458: The seventh through the fifth centuries BCE than the traditional dating to the second millennium BCE. Philip R. Davies suggests that the story may have been inspired by the return to Israel of Israelites and Judaeans who were placed in Egypt as garrison troops by the Assyrians in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE, during the exile. The earliest traces of the traditions behind the exodus appear in

19008-499: The shore of the Red Sea . Moses uses his staff to part the Red Sea , and the Israelites cross on dry ground, but the sea closes on the pursuing Egyptians, drowning them all. The Israelites begin to complain, and Yahweh miraculously provides them with water and food, eventually raining manna down for them to eat. The Amalekites attack at Rephidim , but are defeated. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, convinces him to appoint judges for

19152-496: The sixth century BCE. Evidence from the Bible suggests that the Exodus from Egypt formed a "foundational mythology" or "state ideology" for the Northern Kingdom of Israel . The northern psalms 80 and 81 state that God "brought a vine out of Egypt" (Psalm 80:8) and record ritual observances of Israel's deliverance from Egypt as well as a version of part of the Ten Commandments (Psalm 81:10-11). The Books of Kings records

19296-532: The slaughter at birth of all male Hebrew children. One Hebrew child, however, is rescued and abandoned in a floating basket on the Nile . He is found and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter , who names him Moses . Grown to a young man, Moses kills an Egyptian he sees beating a Hebrew slave, and takes refuge in to the land of Midian , where he marries Tzipporah , a daughter of the Midianite priest Jethro . The old pharaoh dies and

19440-438: The spirit of the day. Many observant Jews avoid the prohibition of carrying by use of an eruv . Others make their keys into a tie bar , part of a belt buckle, or a brooch , because a legitimate article of clothing or jewelry may be worn rather than carried. An elastic band with clips on both ends, and with keys placed between them as integral links, may be considered a belt. Shabbat lamps have been developed to allow

19584-673: The stars have surfaced until the sabbath technically ends. Some people hold by 72 minutes later and other hold longer and shorter than that. Jewish law (halakha) prohibits doing any form of melakhah (מְלָאכָה, plural melakhoth ) on Shabbat, unless an urgent human or medical need is life-threatening. Though melakhah is commonly translated as "work" in English , a better definition is "deliberate activity" or "skill and craftmanship". There are 39 categories of melakhah : The 39 melakhoth are not so much activities as "categories of activity". For example, while "winnowing" usually refers exclusively to

19728-591: The story told in the Pentateuch. While the majority of modern scholars date the composition of the Pentateuch to the period of the Achaemenid Empire (5th century BCE), some of the elements of this narrative are older, since allusions to the story are made by 8th-century BCE prophets such as Amos and Hosea . The story of the Exodus is central in Judaism . It is recounted daily in Jewish prayers and celebrated in festivals such as Passover . Early Christians saw

19872-492: The term, as well as the logic for identifying the activities prohibited to be done on the Sabbath, is recorded in tractate Shabbat (70a; 49b). The rabbis there noted the symmetry between Genesis 2:1–3 and Exodus 31:1–11 and derive the rule on this basis based on the Thirteen Rules of Rabbi Ishmael . The same term melakha ["work"] is used in both places: Heaven and earth, and all their components, were completed. With

20016-540: The tribes of Israel. The Israelites reach the Sinai Desert and Yahweh calls Moses to Mount Sinai , where Yahweh reveals himself to his people and establishes the Ten Commandments and Mosaic covenant : the Israelites are to keep his torah (law, instruction), and Yahweh promises them the land of Canaan. Yahweh establishes the Aaronic priesthood and detailed rules for ritual worship, among other laws. However, in Moses's absence

20160-482: The two assemble the Israelites and perform miraculous signs to rouse their belief in Yahweh's promise. Moses and Aaron then go to Pharaoh and ask him to let the Israelites go into the desert for a religious festival, but he refuses and increases their workload, commanding them to make bricks without straw . Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh and ask him to free the Israelites and let them depart. Pharaoh demands Moses to perform

20304-403: The way a Jew is seen by an orthodox religious court regarding their affiliation to Judaism. Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that turning electric devices on or off is prohibited as a melakhah ; however, authorities are not in agreement about exactly which one(s). One view is that tiny sparks are created in a switch when the circuit is closed, and this would constitute lighting

20448-458: The way a Jew is seen by an Orthodox religious court regarding their affiliation to Judaism . The commandment to keep Shabbat as a day of rest is repeated many times in the Hebrew Bible . Its importance is also stressed in Exodus 31:12–17 : 12 And יהוה said to Moses: 13 Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout

20592-496: The work of a later redactor. Mark Walter Bartusch notes that the nehushtan is not mentioned at any prior point in Kings, and suggests that the brazen serpent was brought to Jerusalem from the Northern Kingdom after its destruction in 722 BCE. The revelation of God on Sinai appears to have originally been a tradition unrelated to the Exodus. Joel S. Baden notes that "[t]he seams [between the Exodus and Wilderness traditions] still show: in

20736-506: Was demolished at an interdisciplinary symposium held in 2000, but the relationship between the Persian authorities and Jerusalem remains a crucial question. The second theory, associated with Joel P. Weinberg and called the "Citizen-Temple Community", is that the Exodus story was composed to serve the needs of a post-exilic Jewish community organized around the Temple, which acted in effect as a bank for those who belonged to it. The books containing

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