Shabbat - Prohibited Activities

Prohibited Activities

Jewish law (halakha) prohibits doing any form of melakhah (מְלָאכָה, plural melakhoth) on Shabbat, with some exceptions. Though melakhah is commonly translated as "work" in English, a better definition is "deliberate activity" or "skill and craftmanship". There are 39 categories of prohibited activities (melakhoth) listed in Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 7:2.

The 39 categories of melakhah are plowing earth, sowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, washing wool, beating wool, dyeing wool, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying, untying, sewing stitches, tearing, trapping, slaughtering, flaying, tanning, scraping hide, marking hide, cutting hide to shape, writing two or more letters, erasing two or more letters, building, demolishing, extinguishing a fire, kindling a fire, putting the finishing touch on an object, and transporting an object (between private and public domains, or over 4 cubits within public domain).

The categories are exegetically derived (based on juxtaposition of corresponding Biblical passages) from the kinds of work that were necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle. They are not directly listed in the Torah; the Mishnah observes that "the laws of Shabbat ... are like mountains hanging by a hair, for they are little Scripture but many laws". Many rabbinic scholars have pointed out that these labors have in common activity that is "creative", or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment.

When an urgent human or medical need is life-threatening, violating melakhoth is permitted.

The term shomer Shabbat is used for a person (or organization) who adheres to Shabbat laws consistently. The shomer Shabbat is an archetype mentioned in Jewish songs (e.g., Baruch El Elyon) and the intended audience for various treatises on Jewish law and practice for Shabbat (e.g., Shemirat Shabbat ke-Hilkhata).