melachot

Melachot, from the Hebrew word for labor, refer to the 39 categories of labor prohibited on Shabbat in traditional Jewish law. They describe acts of work or creative endeavor that, if performed on the Sabbath, would constitute prohibited labor. The framework serves to structure Sabbath observance and to distinguish rest from weekday activities.

Origins and scope: The 39 melachot are derived from kinds of work used in constructing and maintaining the Tabernacle (the Mishkan) in the desert. The Mishnah (Shabbat) lists the categories, and the Talmud discusses their application to daily life. Later codifiers, such as Maimonides (Rambam) and the Shulchan Aruch, organized and clarified the list and introduced the concept of toldot— derivative actions that resemble a prohibited labor and may be allowed or prohibited depending on circumstances.

Representative examples include sowing, plowing, reaping, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, dyeing, spinning, weaving, sewing, tearing, untying and tying, writing, erasing, building, demolishing, kindling fire, extinguishing fire, and finishing a product. In practice, modern Jewish communities apply these categories with varying stringencies and use legal mechanisms to address daily life on Shabbat. The concept remains central to rabbinic discussions of Sabbath rest and Jewish law.