"The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ''These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.''" (Lev 23:1-3)

The Lord loves feasts. He loves joy and celebration. The Sabbath is the first and foremost of the Feasts of the LORD instituted right at creation. It is the longest among the Ten Commandments.

The kingdom of God is likened unto a feast. One of the people who heard Yeshua speak during a Sabbath dinner said, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." (Lk 14:15) The greatest banquet of all will be held in the kingdom of God in Jerusalem. It will be the ultimate of all feasts. "On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines." (Isa 25:6)

In Leviticus 23 three Hebrew words are used to describe the Feasts of the Lord. The first word is "moed", which means "appointment, set time, cycle, or assembly." Gal 4:2,4 and Ac 17:31 The antimessiah, the lawless one, will try to change the Feasts of the Lord. "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws." Dan 7:25 The Feasts are the Lord's set times and must never be changed.

The second word used about the Feasts is "miqra", which means "convocation and rehearsal." The third word is "chag", which means, "feast, to move in a circle, celebration, rejoicing." In summary the Feasts of the Lord are

1. Appointed, set times on God's calendar

2. Convocations or gatherings to rehearse God's acts of salvation

3. Joyful celebrations

The Sabbath was instituted already at the creation of the world long before the Jewish people existed. Later on the celebration of Shabbat was included among the Ten Commandments as a foundational element of godly living.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." (Gen 2:1-3)

Yeshua confirmed this by saying that the Sabbath was made for man, in other words not just for the Jewish people. "Then he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'" (Mk 2:27) The Jewish people speak about the Sabbath as a beautiful queen. Just as God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and gave him a wife, the Sabbath is God's gift to mankind. Yeshua went on to say that he is the lord of the Sabbath, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mk 2:28) This day like all the Feasts speak about him.

The Sabbath begins with a festive candlelight dinner on Friday evening to set apart the coming 24 hours for fellowship with the Eternal One. It is a weekly appointment that He has made to meet with His people. Paul wrote in Colossians that we should not let anyone judge us regarding "a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." (Col 2:16) This means that there is freedom for us to celebrate the Sabbath without being bound by any manmade rules. Within the guidelines of Scripture, each family is free to develop their own traditions.

Having said that we certainly can learn much from the Jewish people, who have celebrated the Sabbath for about four thousand years. Many years ago we heard a famous Christian author say in a radio interview, "MacDonalds has done just as much to break up the family in America as Playboy Magazine!" What he meant was that fast food has destroyed family fellowship around the dinner table. In a Jewish home the dinner table is a place of worship.

Below we give you some practical ideas how you can celebrate the Sabbath. Take it slowly, one step at the time. Prepare with much prayer, discuss it with your spouse and develop your own traditions as the Holy Spirit leads you and you feel comfortable. And most of all make it a joyful FEAST! You will discover that your family, and especially your children, will absolutely LOVE it.

In Acts 3:19 and 20 we have a beautiful description of the ultimate Sabbath. "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you — even Yeshua." This will be the ultimate Sabbath, the seventh day of rest and refreshing for the whole earth when Yeshua returns and the Feast will be celebrated in Jerusalem for a thousand years. "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 8:11)

Let's already now celebrate the Sabbath rest that we have in Yeshua! The Sabbath is a weekly, appointed time to gather and rehearse God's salvation with a joyful celebration in His presence. It is a foretaste of heaven.

Prepare

Friday, the sixth day of the week, is called in Scripture "Day of Preparation" (Jn 19:31), because on this day you need to prepare for the Sabbath as for a feast, by cleaning the house, preparing the dinner etc. In Israel the Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday evening. In countries far away from the equator this can be difficult, like during the winter in Scandinavia when the sun can set around 2 PM and in the summer around 11 PM. Make a sound judgment to begin the Sabbath somewhere around 6 PM or when it is practically possible for you and set apart the following 24 hours.

Shower and change to nice clothes before the meal. Put a clean, white cloth on the dinner table and use the nicest china. Buy flowers for your wife for the table. The Jewish people do not have any special Mothers' Day. Every Sabbath is Mothers' Day! The Sabbath is a weekly renewal of the covenant between man and wife as well as between man and God.

The following can be applied, modified and expanded as you desire.

The Father says: "Let us welcome the Sabbath!" He continues to read the fourth commandment from Exodus 20:8-11,

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Lighting the Candles

The Mother: Blessed are You Lord our God, King of the Universe who has sanctified us by His commandments and has commanded us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Song: Shabbat shalom

Blessing the Wife, Sons and Daughters

Sitting at the table the father reads Proverbs 31:10-31 and then tells all the good things that the wife has done during the week.

The father blesses the sons saying, "May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh", lays his hands on them and prays for them.

The mother blesses the daughters saying, "May you become like Rebecca and Rachel", lays her hands on them and prays for them.

Read a Psalm for example one of Psalm 95-99.

Kiddush of the Wine

The father lifts a cup of wine and says, "Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam, boreh pri hagaphen! Blessed are You, Lord our God who created the fruit of the vine! Thank You for the blood of Yeshua!"

All drink from the wine.

Washing of the Hands

Before we partake of the bread we wash our hands. Pour water with a cup three times over your right hand and then your left hand. Lift your hands and say, "Blessed are You Lord our God who commanded us to lift holy hands!"

Kiddush of Bread

The father lifts up the bread and says, "Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melch ha olam, hamotse lechem min ha aretz." Blessed are You Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth! Thank you for giving us Messiah, the Bread of Life!"

The father puts some salt on the bread, breaks it and distributes to everyone, saying, "Shabbat shalom + the name of the person!"

The meal can begin.

Continue the evening with fellowship, singing and rejoicing before the Lord. Do Bible quiz with the children.

The Sabbath

Spend the following day studying the weekly Torah portion, resting, praying and fellowshipping with family and friends, taking walks together etc. Man was created to enjoy God and fellowship with Him! This is a day set apart for Him.

After prayer in the morning you make the kiddush prayer over a cup of wine again before the first meal to remind yourself that the day is set apart for the Eternal.

Havdalah

Deuteronomy 5:12 says, "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you." To keep it holy means to set it apart. The Sabbath is like "a sanctuary in time." Just as there is a beginning of the Sabbath there needs to be an ending. The ending of the Sabbath is called in Hebrew Havdalah.

We end the Sabbath after the stars have come out in the evening by lighting a candle and gather around it. If possible take a small container of fragrant spices. Send it around to everyone to smell the fragrance as a reminder of the beauty of the Sabbath.

We then say the blessing over an overflowing cup of grape juice or wine and read the following Scriptures as faith proclamations for the new week:

"'Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.' With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." (Isa 12:2-3) "From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people." (Ps 3:8) "The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (Ps 46:11) "O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." (Ps 84:12) "Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call." (Ps 20:9) "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD." (Ps 116:1-2,13)

Take time to praise the Lord. Thank him for victory in the blood of Yeshua. Drink from the cup and then pour out some of the grape juice/wine on a plate. Extinguish the candle in the wine and then wish each other a blessed new week "Shavua Tov!" The Sabbath is over this time.