The only holiday mentioned in the Ten Commandments is Shabbat: "Remember (observe) the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work, you, your son or your daughter, your male or female servant, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. For in six days the Eternal One made the heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and God rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Eternal One blessed the seventh day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8-11). As mentioned earlier, the Ten commandments appear twice in the Torah. The word in brackets is included in the repetition.

Rest in the sense of the traditional Sabbath concept is quite different from "rest" being defined as not working, or not making an effort (just as "peace" -shalom- in the prophetic tradition is more than merely the absence of war; it expresses harmony, wholeness). On the Sabbath, ,a ceases completely to be an animal whose main occupation is to fight for survival and to sustain is biological life. On the Sabbath, man is fully man, with no task other than to be human (Erich Fromm). Choose (at least) one.

(a) Help to prepare a traditional Shabbat dinner. Recite the blessing for the candles, wine and hallah. Have your parents say a blessing for their children. Learn and sing at least one traditional Shabbat song. (Ask your Cantor for some suggestions). Write the menu and what song you sang.

(b) Decide not to watch TV. Have the entire family spend one Friday night discussing events of the past week in a loving and sharing environment. Make sure you also discuss what Shabbat was like for your parents when they were growing up. Write about the topics you discussed.

(c) Together with another bar/bat mitzvah family, celebrate a Havdalah service together. You will find the service in the Siddur, the prayer book. Items needed can be found in the synagogue: (1) Havdalah candle, (2) Kiddish cup, (3) spice box. Ask your Rabbi for help. Take a picture of the smiling participants after the service.