sabbath breaking

Sabbath Breaking is defined as "not observing the holy Sabbath day", and is usually considered a sin within traditional Christianity and classical Judaism. Note: All Bible quotes are from the King James Bible.

Forms of Sabbath breaking

According to Christianity there are two main forms of sabbath breaking: to work on the Sabbath, or to skip church. In America, at least, it is common to skip church to watch football, a common form of Sabbath breaking. Or simply enjoying the day in a non-religious form is Sabbath breaking. The Academy Award winning Chariots of Fire is a movie about two 1924 Olympic Games athletes. One of the main conflicts in this renowned film revolves around the moral dilemma of participating in the races held on Sunday (the Christian Sabbath), which forces a choice between God and national pride. The conflict is resolved after the Jewish and the Christian athlete agree to swap their races, so they can avoid running on each other's rest days. According to the film's storyline, both win their races.

A capital sin

In the ancient Kingdom of Israel, to break the Sabbath was a capital offense (Exodus 31:15):

Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

A state law

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11111b.htm at least one point in the American state of North Dakota:

The fine for Sabbath-breaking is not less than one dollar or more than ten dollars for each offence.

Other laws have been passed against Sabbath breaking, e.g., by the Puritans. (See also Blue law.)

Additional Biblical quotes

The Fourth Commandment states (Exodus 20:8-11):

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The prohibition against working on the Sabbath is also mentioned in Exodus 20:10.

In Judaism

See Shabbat for more details The Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath) lasts from dusk on Friday evening until nightfall Saturday night. During the Sabbath, there are 39 specific forbidden acts, derived in the Talmud from the construction of the Biblical Tabernacle. Halakha (Jewish law) derives many further forbidden acts from these 39 (toledoth and shevuth), with varying severity, that may not be performed save for preventing severe illness or death. Unwarranted violation of any of these precepts is termed chillul Shabbath (profanation of the Sabbath). Although there is no physical punishment nowadays, people who consistently violate the Sabbath cannot be relied upon in certain matters of Jewish law.