Sabbath

The Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, is an important holiday of the Jews.

Just as God had declared the seventh day to rest and recover, man should do the same.

According to the Jewish calendar, the days begin and end in the evening. Therefore the Sabbath also begins on a Friday evening and lasts until Saturday evening. ¹

It is celebrated both within the family and in the synagogue.

Preparations, such as grocery shopping and preparing dishes begin on Friday evening. Candles are lit at home, prayers are held and prescribed rituals are observed.

In the evening, the Sabbath is consecrated by the pre-prayer in the synagogue. The following Saturday is sacred, where nobody goes to work. ²

The short story talks about a different type of sabbath, the Witches Sabbath.

“A milk cart rattled down the street and, like a witch returning late from the Sabbath, a stray cat whisked into an area.” ¹

The Witches Sabbath or the devil's dance was described by theorists as a regular, secret, nocturnal, meeting of so-called witches and wizards of a region with the devil at a remote place.

The term Witches Sabbath combines the concept of witchcraft with the Jewish word Shabbat.

In the middle ages, Jews and their customs were accused of being satanic including the worship of demons, ritual murders, black magic, and well poisonings. Pogroms and persecutions against them were often justified or brought about. ²