Shabbat: Sources and Traditions

(1) And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.

(8) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; (11) for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

(12) Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD thy God commanded thee. (13) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. (15) And thou shalt remember that thou was a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

(1) It is biblically mandated positive commandment to sanctify the Sabbath with speech, as it is written (Exodus 20, 7): "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." i.e. Remember through remembrance of praise and through Kiddush. And it must be remembered when it begins and when it ends. When it begins - with Kiddush, and when it ends - with Havdala.

And one should prepare her table and make beds and arrange all of the matters of the home in order that it will all be found arranged and orderly when everyone comes home from synagogue. Rabbi Yose Bar Yehuda said: two ministering angels escort a person on Erev Shabbat from the synagogue to her home, one good and one evil. When she comes home, she will find a lit candle, the table set, and a made bed. The Good angel says, “May it be God’s will that it will be like this next Shabbat.” and the Evil angel must answer, “amen” because the angel has no choice (but to say amen). And he should make an effort to wear nice things for Shabbat as it is said in Torah: “its honor.” And we explain this to mean that one should not be dressed for Shabbat like one is dressed on the weekday. And if he does not have other clothes, he should allow his clothes at least to hang low in an honorable way. And she should wear nice clothes and have happy Shabbat sex like one would accept a king, or a bride and groom as it is said in the Talmud in Shabbat: “Rabbi Hanina would wrap himself in a nice garment and would face evening on Friday and say, ‘come and lets go out to meet accept the Shabbat queen.’ Rabbi Yanai would say, ‘come bride, come bride.’” And one should eat a lot of meat and drink wine and sweets as much as she can. And anyone who can increase their honor of Shabbat in body, clothes, or eating, or drinking, she should be praised.