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B. However, there are still many things you may do that get you working, although they technically are not halachah-defined work—moving chairs around or organizing your closets. In other words, you could do a whole lot of work without violating the laws of work! Thus, Shabbat and the Biblical Holidays have both Negative and Positive Mitzvahs attached to them: not to work, and to actively rest and engage in restful activities.
One of the things Jews have always done on Shabbat/holidays is study the Torah... Learn something new! Pick up that Jewish book and read it through...
How do I “rest” on Shabbat/the holidays?
1. Eat and sleepA sumptuous dinner or lunch is a Shabbat standard and a holiday hallmark—and the more you bring it on, the greater the Mitzvah. A feast fit for kings is a sign of respect for Shabbat and/or the holiday (except Yom Kippur, obviously), markedly demonstrating the leisurely nature of the day. Taking extra-long naps and super-extended beauty sleeps also discharge one of the duty to “rest.”
2. Catch up on your reading
One of the things Jews have always done on Shabbat/holidays is study the Torah, or read Jewish books. (They are practically the same thing.) Learn something new! Pick up that Jewish book and read it through—that’s what all the free time is for.
3. Work on yourself
One of the things you’ll find yourself doing upon observing Shabbat or the holiday properly is praying a lot. Tefillah, as prayer is called in Judaism, leaves you a different person when you close that Siddur, if done properly. Tefillah works you through. But since you’re working all week, you can’t afford to pour too much energy into your daily Tefillot. Come Shabbat/holiday, however, and you’ve got all the time in the world—use it to linger over that siddur as long as you can.
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