Do you ever wonder what you should and shouldn’t do in the way of work on Shabbat? What constitutes work? Well there are 39 classes of work that is prohibited to do on this Holy Day. Let’s take a look at them. They are: no sowing, plowing, reaping, gathering into sheaves, thrashing, winnowing, cleansing, grinding, sifting, kneading and baking, shearing, bleaching, beating wool, dying wool, spinning, making a warp, making two thrum-threads, weaving two threads, splitting two threads, tying, untying, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, hunting deer, slaughtering, skinning and salting hides, tanning, scraping off the hair, cutting up the hide, writing two letters, erasing for the purpose of writing two letters, building, pulling down, extinguishing fire, kindling fire, beating with a hammer, and carrying from one premise to another.

From these there are many “subclass rulings” defining the primary categories. But also keep in mind that these rules varied somewhat from Hebrew community to community. Of course there were always practices that were common to all communities based on the law of Moses. The one thing to keep in mind is that it varied according to each of the communities needs. The particulars were then determined by the local Bet Din. Unfortunately, we have done away with the Bet Dins today like so many other Biblical things. Now we all know that not many of us have to worry about breaking the Shabbat by going out and plowing a field. So let’s put some of these things in order of what we can do in this day and age. We all need to do something to “set apart” the Sabbath from all other days of the week.

Some of the things “ we” give up to set that day apart are: don’t make the bed, don’t wash the dishes, don’t cook, don’t take out the trash, don’t make unnecessary phone calls to just talk about routine things, turn off the tv set, turn off the computer, don’t get your mail, and don’t clean your house. These are only a few suggestions, you may have other things you can give up for the sake of the Sabbath. After all, this commandment was not just a suggestion to mankind, it was one of those “thou shalt nots”. We all know those are part of YHVH’S “big ten”. So look at your life and what you are doing personally to honor this set apart time. The only thing that could happen to you is you’ll get more blessings in your life. So let’s all turn off more of the worldly things and turn on to the spiritual on Shabbat.