Shabbat learning
What Is Shabbat?
Understand the weekly day of holiness, rest, prayer and shared Jewish life.
Shabbat is the weekly day of holiness and rest, observed from before Friday sunset until after nightfall on Saturday. Its meaning includes both refraining from prohibited work and positive practices such as prayer, Kiddush, festive meals and Torah learning.
Rest is not simply doing whatever feels relaxing. The categories of prohibited activity require learning and practical guidance. Prepare in advance and use reliable local times. A short introduction can explain the purpose of Shabbat, but it cannot decide every question about observance.
A place to begin
- Check local candle-lighting and Shabbat-ending times.
- Choose a reliable beginner guide to practical observance.
- Plan a meal, prayer or printed learning session in advance.
Editorial introduction based on the linked Chabad.org resource; not a personal halachic ruling or a rabbi-reviewed article. Ask a qualified rabbi about practical observance. Prepare printed learning before Shabbat; device use is not permitted simply because a reading is saved.