A day of rest

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.

A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,

If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,

as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”

It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.

It is taught in another baraita concerning the same topic: With regard to the first day of Passover and Sukkot, the verse states: “You shall do no kind of laborious work” (Leviticus 23:35), followed by “seven days, you shall bring an offering made by fire to the Lord,” which teaches that the performance of labor is prohibited during the intermediate Festival days; this is the statement of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean. Rabbi Akiva says: This is not necessary, since it is stated earlier in that chapter: “These are the appointed Festivals of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season” (Leviticus 23:4). With regard to what is the verse speaking? If it is referring to the first day of the Festival, it has already explicitly stated “a solemn rest” (Leviticus 23:39) with regard to that day; if it is referring to the seventh, it has already stated “a solemn rest” (Leviticus 23:39) with regard to that day as well. Therefore, the verse can be speaking only of the intermediate Festival days, teaching you that the performance of labor is prohibited on them. It is taught in another baraita: The verse states: “Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord your God; on it, you shall do no work” (Deuteronomy 16:8). If so, just as the seventh day of the Festival is precluded from the performance of labor, so are the six intermediate Festival days precluded, since the word “and” in the phrase “and on the seventh day” connects it to the previous days. If so, perhaps: Just as the seventh day is precluded from the performance of all labor, so too the six intermediate days are precluded from the performance of all labor, even those whose performance prevents irretrievable loss. The verse therefore states: “And on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly,” literally, pause. This indicates that the seventh day alone is precluded from the performance of all labor, but the other six days are not precluded from the performance of all labor but only from certain forms of work. Since the Bible does not specify which types of work are prohibited, the verse has therefore entrusted the matter to the Sages exclusively, to tell you on which day work is prohibited and on which day it is permitted, and similarly which labor is prohibited and which labor is permitted.

What is the reason? He derives it by means of a verbal analogy between the word Shabbat stated with regard to the Sabbatical Year in the verse: “But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land” (Leviticus 25:4), and the word Shabbat stated with regard to the weekly Shabbat, which commemorates the Shabbat of Creation. Just as there, on Shabbat itself it is prohibited to perform labor, but before and after Shabbat it is permitted, so too here, in the case of the Sabbatical Year, during the Sabbatical Year itself it is prohibited to perform labor, but before and after the Sabbatical Year it is permitted.

A laborer’s entrance into the city from the field at the end of a day’s work is at his own expense, i.e., he must work until the very end of the day before returning home, and he is not paid for his travel time. In contrast, his departure to work is at his employer’s expense, i.e., he may travel after sunrise, which is time that he is paid for. The source for this is as it is stated: “The sun rises; they slink away and couch in their dens; man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening” (Psalms 104:22–23). This verse indicates that people set out to work only from sunrise, but they work until the very end of the day.

He maketh the night to pass into the day and He maketh the day to pass into the night. He hath subdued the sun and moon to service. Each runneth unto an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord; His is the Sovereignty; and those unto whom ye pray instead of Him own not so much as the white spot on a date-stone

Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful

Hast thou not seen how Allah causeth the night to pass into the day and causeth the day to pass into the night, and hath subdued the sun and the moon (to do their work), each running unto an appointed term; and that Allah is Informed of what ye do

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night. They worked till midday and they said, 'We are not in need of your reward.' So the man employed another batch and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed (for the first batch). They worked until the time of the ʿAsr prayer and said, 'Whatever we have done is for you.' He employed another batch. They worked for the rest of the day till sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches

Narrated Ibn ʿUmar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Your life in comparison to the lifetime of the past nations is like the period between the time of ʿAsr prayer and sunset. Your example and the example of the Jews and Christians is that of person who employed laborers and said to them, "Who will work for me till the middle of the day for one Qirat (a special weight)?' The Jews did. He then said, "Who will work for me from the middle of the day till the ʿAsr prayer for one Qirat each?" The Christians worked accordingly. Then you (Muslims) are working from the ʿAsr prayer till the Maghrib prayer for two Qirats each. They (the Jews and the Christians) said, 'We did more labor but took less wages.' He (Allah) said, 'Have I wronged you in your rights?' They replied, 'No.' Then He said, 'This is My Blessing which I give to whom I wish

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till midday and then said, 'We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.' The man said to them, 'Don't quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.' But they refused and went away. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch.' So, they worked till the time of ʿAsr prayer. Then they said, "Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us for yourself.' The man said to them, 'Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,' but they refused. Thereafter he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till the sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of those people (Muslims) and the example of this light (guidance) which they have accepted willingly

Therefore, whenever there is doubt as to whether you should do something or not, let the scriptures guide your conduct. In the light of the scriptures, you should labor your whole life.

Those who understand the cosmic day and night know that one day of creation is a thousand cycles, and that the night is of equal length. At the dawn of that day, all objects in manifestation stream forth from the Unmanifest, and when evening falls, they are dissolved back into it again. The same multitude of beings, which have lived on earth so often, all are dissolved as the night of the universe approaches, to issue forth anew when morning breaks. Thus, it is ordained.

As the one Sun illuminates the entire earth, so the Lord illuminates the entire universe.

O Pushan! O Sun, sole traveller of the heavens, controller of all, son of Prajapati, withdraw Thy rays and gather up Thy burning effulgence. Now through Thy Grace I behold Thy blessed and glorious form. The Purusha (Effulgent Being) who dwells within Thee, I am He. May my life-breath go to the all-pervading and immortal Prana, and let this body be burned to ashes. Om! O mind, remember thy deeds! O mind, remember, remember thy deeds! Remember! O Agni (Bright Being)! Lead us to blessedness by the good path. O Lord! Thou knowest all our deeds, remove all evil and delusion from us. To Thee we offer our prostrations and supplications again and again.

The all-seeing fire which exists hidden in the two sticks, as the foetus is well-guarded in the womb by the mother, (that fire) is to be worshipped day after day by wakeful seekers (after wisdom), as well as by sacrificers. This verily is That.

O Nachiketas, this is thy fire that leads to heaven, which thou hast chosen as thy second boon. People will call this fire after thy name. Ask the third boon, Nachiketas.

The sun blazes by day, the moon radiates at night, the aristocrat shines in armor, and the brahmin shines in absorption. But all day and all night, the Buddha blazes with glory.

Get up, don’t be heedless, live by principle, with good conduct. For one of good conduct sleeps at ease, in this world and the next. Live by principle, with good conduct, don’t conduct yourself badly. For one of good conduct sleeps at ease, in this world and the next.

Better to live a single day seeing the supreme teaching than to live a hundred years blind to the supreme teaching.

Then having rightly undertaken the sabbath complete in all its eight factors on the fourteenth, fifteenth, <j>and eighth of the fortnight, as well as on the fortnightly special displays, at daybreak after the sabbath a clever person, rejoicing with confident heart, would distribute food and drink to the mendicant Saṅgha as is fitting. One should rightfully support one’s parents, and undertake a legitimate business. A diligent layperson observing these duties ascends to the gods named ‘self-radiant’.”

“There are, Visākhā, these three sabbaths. What three? The sabbath of the cowherds, the sabbath of the Jains, and the sabbath of the noble ones. And what is the sabbath of the cowherds? It’s just like a cowherd who, in the late afternoon, takes the cows back to their owners. They reflect: ‘Today the cows grazed in this spot and that, and they drank in this spot and that. Tomorrow the cows will graze in this spot and that, and drink in this spot and that.’ In the same way, someone keeping the sabbath reflects: ‘Today I ate this and that, and had a meal of this and that. Tomorrow I’ll eat this and that, and have a meal of this and that.’ And so they spend their day with a mind full of covetousness. That’s the sabbath of the cowherds. When the cowherd’s sabbath is observed like this it’s not very fruitful or beneficial or brilliant or bountiful.

“Today is the fifteenth day sabbath,” said Sātāgira, the native spirit of mount Sātā, “a holy night is at hand. Come now, let us see Gotama, the Teacher of peerless name.” “Isn’t his mind well-disposed,” said Hemavata, the native spirit of the Himalayas, “impartial toward all creatures? And aren’t his thoughts under control when it comes to likes and dislikes?”

All the lunar days, and the days of the week are beautiful, when one contemplates the Shabad. If one serves the True Guru, he obtains the fruits of his rewards. The omens and days all come and go. But the Word of the Guru's Shabad is eternal and unchanging. Through it, one merges in the True Lord. The days are auspicious, when one is imbued with Truth. Without the Name, all the false ones wander deluded. ||7||

The Twelfth Day: Know, and practice, compassion and charity. Bring your out-going mind back home. Observe the fast of remaining free of desire. Chant the unchanted Chant of the Naam with your mouth. Know that the One Lord is contained in the three worlds. Purity and self-discipline are all contained in knowing the Truth. ||16||

The Words of the Holy are the path of peace. They are obtained by good karma. The cycle of birth and death is ended, O Nanak, singing the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises. ||7|| When the leaves wither and fall, they cannot be attached to the branch again. Without the Naam, the Name of the Lord, O Nanak, there is misery and suffering. The mortal wanders in reincarnation day and night. ||8||

The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When things (in the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant growth, we see each of them return to its root. This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end. The report of that fulfilment is the regular, unchanging rule. To know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent; not to know it leads to wild movements and evil issues. The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things). From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like. In that likeness to heaven he possesses the Tao. Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay.

Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth cannot make such (spasmodic) actings last long, how much less can man! Therefore when one is making the Tao his business, those who are also pursuing it, agree with him in it, and those who are making the manifestation of its course their object agree with him in that; while even those who are failing in both these things agree with him where they fail. Hence, those with whom he agrees as to the Tao have the happiness of attaining to it; those with whom he agrees as to its manifestation have the happiness of attaining to it; and those with whom he agrees in their failure have also the happiness of attaining (to the Tao). (But) when there is not faith sufficient (on his part), a want of faith (in him) ensues (on the part of the others).

He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing). He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do. He who gets as his own all under heaven does so by giving himself no trouble (with that end). If one take trouble (with that end), he is not equal to getting as his own all under heaven.