Shabbat is a weekly day of rest observed by Jews around the world. It always takes place from just before sundown each Friday through nightfall on Saturday. There are a variety of greetings — in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and other Jewish languages — to say hello and goodbye before, during and after Shabbat.
How to say hello on Shabbat
Shabbat greetings generally wish the recipient a “good” or “peaceful” Shabbat. These greetings are used especially at Shabbat services or Shabbat meals, but they can also be used anywhere and even in the days leading up to Shabbat. Thus, it’s not uncommon to hear one Jew wish another “Shabbat Shalom” on a Thursday — or, in some cases, even a Tuesday! Here are different ways to greet someone on Shabbat:
- Shabbat Shalom — Meaning “Peaceful Shabbat,” this is the most common Hebrew greeting.
- Gut Shabbos (or Gut Shabbes) — Yiddish for “Good Shabbat.”
- Good Shabbos — This is a Yiddish-English hybrid adaptation of Gut Shabbes.
- Buen Shabbat — Ladino for “Good Shabbat.” Other Ladino Shabbat greetings include: Shabbat allegre (happy Shabbat), Buenas entradas de Sabba (“May you have a good entrance into the Sabbath”) and Sabado dulce i bueno (“Sweet and good Shabbat”).
- Boas Entrada de Saba — Judeu-Portuguese for “Good entry into Shabbat.”
- Shabta Shlama — Jewish Neo-Aramaic (Duhoki variety) for “Shabbat Shalom.”
- Shabta b’simta — Jewish Neo-Aramaic (Zakho variety) for “Shabbat of good.”
- Shabbatchun brichta hawya — Jewish Neo-Aramaic (Urmia) for “Happy shabbat.” Also Chosh shabbat hawe ellechun “May your Shabbat be pleasant.”
- Sanbat Salaam — Jewish Amharic for “Shabbat Shalom.”
How to say goodbye on Shabbat
Shabbat farewells are usually said starting when the sun goes down on Saturday and the holiday ends. But they can also be said the following day, on Sunday and into the next week. In general, these expressions wish the recipient a good rest of the week.
Here are some common Shabbat farewells:
- Shabbat Shalom — This Hebrew stand-by works as both greeting and farewell!
- Shavua Tov — Hebrew for “good week.”
- Shabua Tob — How some Sephardi (mainly Syrian) Jewish communities pronounce Shavua Tov.
- Buena Semana — Ladino for “good week.” An alternative version is Seminada Buena.
- Gut Voch — Yiddish for “good week.”
Special thanks to Our Sephardic Family, Egal and Sephardi, Sam Miller, Alan Niku, Ilana Zaken, and Isaac Adjei Ofori-Solomon for their contributions to this article.
Curious to know about other Jewish greetings?
- Learn how to greet someone on Rosh Hashanah.
- Learn how to greet someone on Yom Kippur.
- Learn how to greet someone on Sukkot.
- Learn how to greet someone on Hanukkah.
- Learn how to greet someone on Passover.
