Why does jewish day start at sundown

Does the Jewish day begin at sunset or nightfall? For example does Sabbath begin at sunset or nightfall? Shalom, Thank you for your question. The Jewish day starts at nightfall, and continues throughout the night and following day, until the next night. This is based on the first verses in the story of creation in the book of Genesis , where it says "it was night, and it was day — day one [of creation]". First, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir was never excommunicated for the assertion of his scholarly independence.

Medieval Judaism allowed for a study of the plain sense of Torah that was not confined by the interpretation of a passage attributed to it by halakhic exegesis. No matter how much midrash creative rather than critical interpretation Scripture could bear, the pursuit of peshat its original meaning was a valid and unthreatening enterprise. In fact, toward the end of his life, Rashi confessed to his grandson that if he were to compose his own biblical commentary afresh, he Rashi would be even more attentive to the peshat than he had been.

Where a specific religious observance has been abandoned by the people, no amount of exegetical authoritarianism can revive it. Interestingly, it was precisely in the heartland of medieval Jewish piety in Franco-Germany that the need for peshat first expressed itself.

Second, the talmudic innovation of reckoning a day from the eve before suggests a larger view of life. While we may never know what prompted the Rabbis to reconfigure the day, the existential benefit is indisputable.

By inaugurating the celebration of Shabbat or a festival at sunset, they have framed a stretch of time that can be ritually filled to heighten the religious experience. At the other end of the day, an eventide that does not mark a boundary between sacred and profane time would tend to be anti-climactic, an appendage of time to be endured till sunrise catches us unawares. To celebrate from sunset to sunset is to experience the passage of time each day consciously and bravely.

More deeply still, it is to imbue darkness with light, fear with faith. When envisioned as the start of a new day, night loses its dread. It becomes a time of preparation, renewal and anticipation, a period of incubation before a new birth. Life is punctuated by all too many moments of defeat and despair.

Judaism urges us to face them and force meaning from them through context and perspective. To launch our days at night is to muster the courage not to take refuge in denial. Excellent presentation. Thank you! I absolutely enjoyed this teaching about jewish time and how it works and why it works the way it does.

I am not a jew but the more i study it and learn about it the more i am drawn to it. I feel that judaism is the way God intended us to live and to be and i am trying to learn all i can about it to maybe one day fulfill what my heart mind and spirit have told me since i was a child, and that is to one day convert myself to judaism. This article is well written and very informative, but I believe there is an error regarding Shabbat and Yom Kippur.

I believe that Shabbat is the holiest day of the year, and not Yom Kippur, like is stated in this article. There are a number of proofs for this: 1 the severity of punishment is worse for transgressing Shabbat vs.

Shabbat is more holy than Yom Kippur. Anonymous , June 2, PM. Goldy, you are mistaken. One can not cook on Yom Kippur. It is the Shabbos of all Shabbosos. Whatever you can not do on Shabbos you can not do on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Lamm.. Thanksyou for this wonderful article of enlightenment, knowlege and wisdom Carrie Ya'el..

I am a non-Jew, my daughter has recently converted and is living in Israel now. I want to learn all I can because I respect her belief in Judaism, and this will keep us always close.

Thank You for allowing me to state my views. As the "typical" conservitive jew who went to hebrew school only up to the 6th grade. I knew the traditions but never knew the "whys" behind them.

Most especially the siginificance of the calender and the shabbat. This article, finally, has answered these questions and made me more inquisitive into the workings of my own faith. Thanks and keep up the good work. Your email address is kept private. Our editor needs it in case we have a question about your comment. Get Our Emails. Current Issues. America's Lost Boys and Me. Henry Heimlich and Being Someone's Angel. Ten Rules for Effective Communication.

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Please donate at: aish. Share this article. Thank you. Not the other way around. Thanks rabbi Lamm that was very very helpful for me. This is the best! Display my name? Yes No. Please sign me up for Aish. Most Popular In Holidays. Kaluach - Hebrew Calendar.