melakhah
/mɛl.ə.xɑ/
melakhah noun: any of the types of work forbidden on Shabbat.
Noun
melakhah (countable and uncountable, plural melakhot)
- Any of the types of work forbidden on Shabbat.
- Thus, carrying an overcoat over one's shoulder is a melakhah, but wearing one is not.1981, Isidor Grunfeld, The Sabbath: A Guide to Its Understanding and Observance, page 59
- Most categories of m'lakhah (activities prohibited on Shabbat and Yom Kippur) are also prohibited on the three pilgrimage festivals and Rosh ha-Shanah.2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 725
- Labor in general.
- The Bible and even the rabbis had a highly positive view of melakhah and some even viewed it as a mitzvah. The prophet Isaiah declares that God teaches the farmers how to farm.2000, David Golinkin, “Torah Study vs. Earning A Living”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 3, page 44
Forms of melakhah
| plural | melakhot |
|---|---|
| alternative form | m'lakhah |
| alternative form | melacha |
| alternative form | melachah |
| alternative form | melakha |
Origin of melakhah
Borrowed from Hebrew מְלָאכָה (mal'achá, “work; labor; activities forbidden on Sabbath”).
Questions about melakhah
- What does melakhah mean?
- Melakhah means any of the types of work forbidden on Shabbat.
- What part of speech is melakhah?
- Melakhah is a noun.
- How do you pronounce melakhah?
- Melakhah is pronounced /mɛl.ə.xɑ/.
- What is the plural of melakhah?
- The plural of melakhah is melakhot.
Words near melakhah in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: melakhah (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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