BA SDA GATHER HERE 🤩: SABBATH IS SABBATH!
Good morning, Zambia! You drive your car. You switch on the microwave. You speak into a microphone. You switch lights on and off, operate electronic devices, and still say you are observing the Sabbath. Well, perhaps that is how you understand Sabbath observance.
For Orthodox Jews, Shabbat is Shabbat. From sunset on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, we refrain from the 39 categories of prohibited labour (melachot) and their derivatives, as prescribed by Halachah (Jewish Biblical Law).
Starting a car involves ignition and other prohibited activities. Switching electrical appliances on or off is generally prohibited. Cooking, writing, conducting business and operating electronic devices are likewise restricted. We do not redefine Shabbat to accommodate our conveniences. We arrange our lives around Shabbat. Shabbat is Shabbat. Its sanctity is not negotiable.
There is, however, one overriding principle in Jewish law, ie, Pikuach Nefesh (the preservation of human life). When human life is endangered, Shabbat restrictions must be set aside to save life. This applies to medical personnel, ambulance services, emergency responders, defence and security personnel, and national leaders whose immediate intervention may be necessary to prevent loss of life.
In some Orthodox Jewish communities, individuals with such emergency responsibilities carry special pagers or other approved emergency communication devices even during synagogue services. When a genuine life threatening emergency arises, they must respond immediately. These exceptions are never arbitrary. They exist specifically for the protection and preservation of human life, including situations involving a credible danger to life.
Interestingly, the earliest Jewish followers of Christianity also observed the Sabbath, although practices among early Christian communities subsequently diverged. Centuries later, the Roman Emperor Constantine enacted legislation establishing Sunday as a day of rest in much of the Roman Empire.
Sunday observance had already developed among some Christians before his reign, but his legislation gave it imperial recognition. This raises an important question for those who profess to follow the Scriptures. When human religious traditions and the commandments of the Torah differ, which should take precedence?
Have a good day!
Yehudah Ben David
(Saviour Chishimba)
ORTHODOX JEWISH SCHOLAR