39 Melakhot
laws of sabbaths
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 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.
The (strict) observance of Shabbat is often seen as a benchmark for orthodoxy and indeed has legal bearing on the way a Jew is seen by an Orthodox religious court regarding their affiliation to Judaism.
The commandment
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 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 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.
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