The 39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat (or 39 melachot, or lamed tet avot melachot), are activities that Jews are prohibited to engage in on Shabbat. The Talmud, using verses from the Torah, lists the 39 distinct categories and clarifies many questions surrounding application of the prohibitions.

Many rabbinical scholars have pointed out that these labors have something in common -- they prohibit any activity that is creative, or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment.

Origins of the 39 categories from the Torah

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The concluding instructions for the Tabernacle's construction are stated at the end of the Book of Exodus, chapter 31 , and in that same chapter, immediately following the words about the Tabernacle, God reminds Moses about the importance of the Jewish Sabbath:

"God told Moses to speak to the Israelites and say to them: You must still keep my sabbaths. It is a sign between me and you for all generations, to make you realize that I, God, am making you holy. Keep the Sabbath as something sacred to you. Anyone doing work shall be cut off spiritually from his people, and therefore, anyone violating it shall be put to death. Do your work during the six week days, but keep Saturday as a Sabbath of sabbaths, holy to God. Whoever does any work on Saturday shall be put to death. The Israelites shall thus keep the Sabbath, making it a day of rest for all generations, as an eternal covenant. It is a sign between me and the Israelites that during the six weekdays God made heaven and earth, but on Saturday, he ceased working and rested."

The rabbis of the Mishna derive from this juxtaposition of subject-matter, the fact that the commandment to rest on the Sabbath day, as stated in : "Heaven and earth, and all their components, were completed. With the seventh day, God finished all the work that He had done. He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day, and he declared it to be holy, for it was on this day that God ceased from all the work that he had been creating to function." is not pushed aside by the commandments to construct the Tabernacle. Not only that, but the very definition of what constitutes "work" or "activity" that must not be done, on pain of death (when there was a Sanhedrin), is defined by the 39 categories of activity needed for the construction of the Tabernacle.

What are they?

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The 39 melachot are not so much activities as categories of activity. For example, while "winnowing" usually refers exclusively to the separation of chaff from grain, it refers in the Talmudic sense to any separation of intermixed materials which renders edible that which was inedible. Thus, filtering undrinkable water to make it drinkable falls under this category, as does picking small bones from fish. (Gefilte fish is a traditional Ashkenazi solution to this problem.)

Groups

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The 39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat can be divided into four groups.

• The first 11 categories are activities required to bake bread (סידורא דפת).
• The next 13 categories are activities required to make a garment (סידורא דבגד).
• The next 9 categories are activities required to make leather.
• The final 6 categories are activities required to build a house.

The 39 activities

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The 39 activities are based on the Mishna Shabbat 7:2.

Planting

Hebrew: זורע

Just as planting is to cause the plant to grow, so to all activities that promote plant growth is included in this category. This includes watering, fertilizing, planting seeds, or planting grown plants.

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:2, 21:5; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 336; Chayei Adam Shabbos 11

Plowing

Hebrew: חורש Included in this prohibition is any preparation or improvement of land for agricultural use.

The Mishna (Shabbat 7:2) lists plowing after planting, although one must plow a field before planting. The Gemara asks why this order occurs and answers that the author of this Mishna was a Tanna living in Israel, where the ground is hard. Since the ground is so hard in Israel, it needed to be plowed both before planting and after planting. The Mishna lists plowing second, teaching that the second plowing (after planting) is ^* prohibited. (The plowing before the planting is also prohibited, if not by the Torah, certainly Rabbincally). The Rambam lists plowing first, and planting second.

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 7:3, 8:1, 21:2-4; Chayei Adam Shabbos 10

Reaping

Hebrew: קוצר Removing all or part of a plant from its source of growth is reaping.

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:3-5, 21:6-10;Chayei Adam Shabbos 12

Binding sheaves

Hebrew: מעמר

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:5, 21:11; Chayei Adam Shabbos 13

Threshing

Hebrew: דש

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:7-10, 21:12-16;Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 319-321; Chayei Adam Shabbos 14

Winnowing

Hebrew: זורה

See further: Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 219:7; Chayei Adam Shabbos 15

Selecting

Hebrew: בורר

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:11-13, 21:17; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 319; Chayei Adam Shabbos 16

Grinding

Hebrew: טוחן

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:15, 21:18-31; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 321; Chayei Adam Shabbos 17

Sifting

Hebrew: מרקד

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:14, 21:32; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 321, 324; Chayei Adam Shabbos 18

Kneading

Hebrew: לש

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 8:16, 21:33-36; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 321,324; Chayei Adam Shabbos 19

Baking

Hebrew: אופה Baking, cooking, frying, or any method of applying heat to food to prepare for eating is included in this prohibition.

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 22:1-10; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 318; Chayei Adam Shabbos 22

Shearing wool

Hebrew: גוזז צמר

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 9:179, 22:13-14; Chayei Adam Shabbos 21

Washing wool

Hebrew: מלבנו

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 0:10-11 22:15-20; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 301-302; Chayei Adam Shabbos 22

Beating wool

Hebrew: מנפצו

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 9:12; Chayei Adam Shabbos 23

Dyeing wool

Hebrew: צובע

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 9:13-14, 22:23; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 320; Chayei Adam Shabbos 24

Spinning

Hebrew: טווה

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 15; Chayei Adam Shabbos 25

Weaving

Hebrew: מיסך

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 25

Making two loops

Hebrew: עושה שני בתי נירין

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 25

Weaving at least two threads

Hebrew: אורג שני חוטין

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 25

Separating two threads

Hebrew: פוצע שני חוטין

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 25

Tying

Hebrew: קושר

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:1-6; Chayei Adam Shabbos 26

Untying

Hebrew: מתיר

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:1-6; Chayei Adam Shabbos 27

Sewing at least two stitches

Hebrew: תופר שתי תפירות

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:9, 11; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 340; Chayei Adam Shabbos 28

Tearing for the purpose of sewing

Hebrew: קורע על מנת לתפור שתי תפירות

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:10; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 340; Chayei Adam Shabbos 29

Trapping

Hebrew: צד צבי

The Mishna does not just write "trapping"; rather, the Mishna says "trapping deer." This teaches us that to violate the Torah's prohibition of Trapping, two conditions must be met.

1. The animal being trapped must be a wild animal. This means that one may put a pet in a cage.
2. The "trapping" action must actually seriously confine the animal. For example, closing the gate to a large yard on Shabbat cannot be trapping, even if there is a wild animal in the yard.

This creates questions in practical Halakha such as: "May one trap a fly under a cup on Shabbat?" The Meno Netziv says that an animal that is normally trapped (e.g. a fly, a bee, or a lizard) is not covered under the Torah prohibition of trapping. It is however, a Rabbinic prohibition, so one is not allowed to trap the animal. However, if one is afraid of the animal, one may trap it.

Laying traps violates a Rabbinic prohibition.

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:15; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 317; Chayei Adam Shabbos 30

Slaughtering

Hebrew: שוחט

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 11:1-4; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 316; Chayei Adam Shabbos 31

Flaying

Hebrew: מפשט

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 11:5-6, 22:1-10; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 321, 327; Chayei Adam Shabbos 32

Salting meat

Hebrew: מולח

The list of activities in the Mishna includes salting hides and curing as separate categories of activity; the Gemara (Tractate Shabbat 75b) amends this to consider them the same activity and to include "tracing lines", also involved in the production of leather, as the 39th category of activity. ^*

See further: Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 321, 327; Chayei Adam Shabbos 33

Curing hide

Hebrew: מעבד

The list of activities in the Mishna includes salting hides and curing as separate categories of activity; the Gemara (Tractate Shabbat 75b) amends this to consider them the same activity and to include "tracing lines", also involved in the production of leather, as the 39th category of activity. ^*

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 32-33

Scraping hide

Hebrew: מוחק

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 34-35

Cutting hide up

Hebrew: מחתך

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 11:7; Chayei Adam Shabbos 36

Writing two or more letters

Hebrew: כותב שתי אותות

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 11:9-17, 23:12-19; Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 340; Chayei Adam Shabbos 36

Erasing in order to write two or more letters

Hebrew: מוחק על מנת לכתוב שתי אותות

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 11:17; Chayei Adam Shabbos 38

Building

Hebrew: בונה

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:12-14 22:25-33; Chayei Adam Shabbos 39-44

Tearing something down for a constructive purpose

Hebrew: סותר

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:15; Chayei Adam Shabbos 39, 43

Extinguishing a fire

Hebrew: מכבה

In the event of any life threatening fire it is permitted (in fact required) to extinguish the flamesShulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 334.

See further: Shulkhan Arukh Orach Chayim 334; Chayei Adam Shabbos 45

Transferring a fire

Hebrew:מבעיר This includes making, transferring or adding fuel to a fire. This is one of the few prohibition mentioned explicitly in the Torah .

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 12:1; Chayei Adam Shabbos 46

Putting the finishing touch on an object

Hebrew:מכה בפטיש

See further: Mishneh Torah Shabbos 10:16-18, 23:4-9; Chayei Adam Shabbos 44

Removing an object from one domain to another

Hebrew: מוציא מרשות לרשות

This category of work prohibits moving an object from a private domain to a public domain. It is also prohibited to move an object move than 4 cubits in a public domain. The definition of public and private domain is related to its relative amount of enclosures, not on strict ownership.

This is one of the few categories of work that is mentioned in the Torah. The verse

"Let no man leave his place on the seventh day"

is a reference to the prohibition of carrying according to some commentators see Rashi and Ibn Ezra on the Torah Exodus 16:29. Talmud Eruven 17b

Likewise according to some Talmud Shabbos 96b, the account of the man who was executed to gathering wood in was because he violated this prohibition.

Also, Jeremiah explicitly mentions this prohibition .

See further: Chayei Adam Shabbos 47-56. See also: Eruv for carrying.

References

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See also

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• Jewish holiday
• Muktzah

Additional Reading

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External links

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• What are the 39 melachot? (Introduction and categories)
• The Thirty-Nine Categories of Sabbath Work. (Detailed links for one)
• Summary

Jewish law and rituals | Jewish holy days | Shabbat

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