My first full day in Israel was Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. It begins a few minutes before sundown on Friday and ends when the first cluster of three stars can be seen on Saturday night. On this day, the Torah commands Jews to refrain from performing any kind of work. Specific forbidden activities include kindling or extinguishing a fire, building or tearing down a house, and writing or erasing two or more letters. That seems fair enough, but it is also forbidden to make two loops, to weave two threads, or to separate two threads. It is forbidden to tie or untie anything, and to transport an object more than four cubits within the public domain (however long that is). Only if a human life is at risk can someone conduct any of these
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