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EveryCow

Saturday

The Jewish Sabbath, on which the Torah gives rest to the ox as well as to the household, and Shani's day in Hindu custom.

The oldest written rest day for cattle is the Sabbath. The Torah tells households to rest on the seventh day so that their ox and their donkey may rest too, and Saturday is still the Jewish day of rest. In Hindu custom Saturday is the day of Shani, the planet Saturn, and some families keep the day with small acts of giving, which in villages can include feeding a cow.

Rest for the ox

The commandment to keep the Sabbath appears twice in the Torah, and both times it names the working animals: the ox and the donkey are to rest along with the family and its servants. In farming communities through the centuries this meant that draught cattle were not yoked from Friday evening to Saturday night, and Jewish law discusses in detail what may and may not be done for animals on the day: they must still be fed, watered and milked to spare them distress, but not set to work. The idea of a weekly rest for working animals passed into Christian Sunday laws as well.

Shani and giving

For many Hindus, Saturday is the day of Shani, and customs on the day lean towards restraint and charity: offering mustard oil at a temple, giving black sesame or black cloth, and feeding animals. In parts of north India a common habit is to feed a cow, or a black cow where one can be found, with a roti or with grain. These are folk practices tied to astrology, kept as tradition, and they differ from region to region and family to family.

Traditions

  • Shabbat: The Jewish day of rest, from Friday evening to Saturday night.
  • Rest of the ox: The Sabbath commandment, which names the working animals.
  • Shanivar: Saturday, the day of Shani, kept with acts of giving.

The breeds

Holstein FriesianThe dairy cow of most Israeli herds, milked even on the Sabbath.HarianaThe white cow of the north Indian village lanes.SahiwalA dairy breed kept by many households in Punjab and Haryana.

Sources and further reading

About this page

Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Customs differ by community and family, and are described here as tradition, not instruction. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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