Myla Katzav

Shabbat starts at sunset of Friday uon the appearance of three stars and ends sunset of Saturday. That is why Friday is the start of the weekend in Israel while Sunday is a regular working day.

In a traditional household which may not be religious, Shabbat is celebrated by a gathering of families with a sumptuous meal: variety of salads, meat/poultry and/or fish cuisines.

In a religious household, it is a totally different scene: the house is cleaned and the mothers of the house start cooking for hours..some even start cooking two days before. Just before Friday sunset, everyone takes a bath and wears their best outfits. It officially starts with a prayer and the lighting of candles done by the woman of the house which is kept until it dies out.  

There are many things or tasks not allowed during Shabbat.  For example, once the candles are lighted, it is no longer allowed to start any fire so most households keep hot plates (these are big rectangular plates that can hold 4 huge pots or casseroles) all through the night until Saturday lunch. Cars or any vehicles are not allowed to be driven that is why in Jerusalem or in some religious communities in Israel and America, the roads are empty and quiet.  Electrical equipment are not allowed to be switched on that is why lights in important areas of the household like the bathroom are kept on the entire time. No work is allowed to be done hence, shops and any other commercial or business institutions are closed. There are still many more laws of Shabbat and I will not list all of it here as it needs further explanation and faith to understand and accept it.

I attended a Shabat dinner at the Rabbi's house in the Philippines and it was a grand ocassion.  The table, covered with white linen, was set with a wide spread of food.  However, before the food was served, there were prayers said and one of it touched me the most.  It was a prayer said for the woman of the house who toiled the whole day to cook all the food and make sure that everyone is ready and the house is cleaned. Then all the guests were requested to wash their hands with a prayer so the Rabbi can start with the blessing of the bread and drinking of wine. With these done, dinner was served. I was already full with the appetizer!  During the course of the meals, there was singing and story-telling by the Rabbi as well as healthy discussions between him and the guests about the lessons of the Torah.  It was an intimate and special ocassion.