Hebrew Word of the Week

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	Hebrew Word of the Week


	Based on the Weekly Torah Portion


	The Hebrew word of the week is shevat (“to rest”), taken from the weekly Torah portion called BeHar. Derivatives of this word appear in the second verse of the portion (i.e., Leviticus 25:2):




		When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD.


	Related Words


	Shevat is a root word (Strong# 7673; TWOT #2323) that means “to cease, rest, or desist.” The verb appears in the Tanakh over 60 times. Other words that use this root include:



	Note that in Rabbinic Judaism, shavat is a technical term, understood as the opposite of the word melakhah (work). In the tractate of Shabbat (Mishna 7:2) there are 39 prohibited activities one is forbidden to do on Shabbat, all of which are based on the actions necessary for the set up the mishkan (tabernacle) and its contents. These 39 categories are called the Avot Melakhah, the “fathers of work,” since they are considered the foundation for all secondary types of work which are similar and derived from them.


	Words of the Parashah

Some other words of Parashah BeHar that merit further study include:

Scripture Passages:

For the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. (Lev 25:23)

You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. (Lev 26:2)