8/22/2014 How to Greet Others on Shabbat - Shabbat Shalom or Gut Shabbos - Shabbat

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Printed from chabad.org
Shabbat Shalom or Gut Shabbos
By Menachem Posner
If you walk down the street in a Jewish neighborhood anytime
between Friday morning and Saturday afternoon,
1
you will notice
Jews of all stripes wishing each other a peaceful, enjoyable
Shabbat. In fact, as early as Wednesday, you can bid farewell with
wishes for a good Shabbat.
But what to say? As always, different Jews have different ways of
doing things.
The traditional Yiddish greeting of Ashkenazi Jews is Gut
Shabbos, which means Good Sabbath. This greeting is used in
place of both hello and goodbye. However, when used in
parting, it is modified slightly to Ah gutten Shabbos. If you cannot
remember the Yiddish nuances, just say Good Shabbos every time, and youll be in very good company.
This greeting is preferred by chassidic and traditional Jews of European descent.
The Hebrew salutation, used by Sephardim of Eastern descent and those who favor modern Hebrew, is
Shabbat shalom, which means Sabbath [of] peace.
(Just to add to the mix, there is also the Aramaic version of Shabbata tava, Good Sabbath, that appears
occasionally in writing. No need to memorize this for when you meet an Aramaic Jew, because there are
none.)
On Saturday night, we wish each other Shavua tov or Gut voch, both of which mean Good week in
Hebrew and Yiddish respectively.
If you want to greet someone but are not sure what to say, just let them greet you first and then repeat their
greeting back to them. Works every time.
How to Greet Others on Shabbat
8/22/2014 How to Greet Others on Shabbat - Shabbat Shalom or Gut Shabbos - Shabbat
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2313062/jewish/How-to-Greet-Others-on-Shabbat.htm 2/2
FOOTNOTES
1. As evening draws near, we no longer wish each other a good Sabbath, as this time of Sabbath is not as good as the rest. Why so? It
was this time of day that our leaders, Moses, Joseph and King David, passed away.
BY MENACHEM POSNER
Rabbi Menachem Posner serves as staf f editor f or Chabad.org. He lives with his f amily in
Montreal, QC.
Copy right, all rights reserv ed. If y ou enjoy ed this article, we encourage y ou to distribute it f urther, prov ided
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