Shabbat, also called the Sabbath, is the Jewish day of rest and celebration that begins on Friday before sunset and ends on the following evening after nightfall. It is a festive day when Jews exercise their freedom from the regular labors of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and to spend time with family. The word "Shabbat" comes from the Hebrew root Shin-Bet-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest.

During Shabbat, Jews are prohibited from performing certain activities, such as lighting a fire, cooking, and using electricity. The end of Shabbat is traditionally marked by a ritual called Havdalah, during which blessings are said over wine (or grape juice), aromatic spices, and light, separating Shabbat from the rest of the week.

At the major worship service on Saturday morning, a portion of the Torah is read aloud as part of a year-long cycle, supplemented by a passage from one of the prophetic books (called a haftarah) . The strict observance of the Sabbath is often seen as a benchmark for orthodoxy and indeed has legal bearing on the way a Jew is seen by an orthodox religious court regarding their affiliation to Judaism.