Sabbath: An Eternal Day of Rest
While Jews throughout the world observe the Sabbath, this weekly observance has special significance in Jerusalem.
Peace blankets the Holy City when the Sabbath arrives—the shops close early, buses stop running, and religious people park their cars for the rest of the weekend. The roads of Jerusalem, which normally buzz with traffic, become empty of all but the occasional car. This is because commerce and driving are two practices from which Jews refrain on the Sabbath.
Since Jerusalem is a predominantly religious Jewish city, laws have been instituted forbidding the buses to run. A handful of restaurants and cafes are open on the Sabbath, but the vast majority of such places are closed.
The Sabbath begins on Friday before sunset—earlier in Jerusalem than elsewhere in the world, out of respect for the Holy City. A siren announces the arrival of the Sabbath in most Jerusalem neighborhoods. At this point religious people—mainly the men in the family—go to synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat, the prayers that welcome the Sabbath (who is compared in one prayer to a queen) to the world. The women of the house light the Sabbath candles. It is then customary for many people in Jerusalem to have guests for the Friday night Sabbath meal.
Walking the streets of religious neighborhoods in Jerusalem after the Sabbath has arrived, you can hear the joyous singing wafting out of synagogues. If you wander into a synagogue and look lost, expect to be invited to a Friday night meal at someone’s house. Countless friendships have started in the synagogue on Friday night.
Once the night’s prayers have ended, the streets are filled with people walking home, or to the homes of their hosts. No matter the distance, no one is going to drive tonight.
Quiet enfolds the Holy City to usher in the Jews’ Day of Rest.
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