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There are, of course, any number of situations between these two extremes. They should be
handled with love, concern, wisdom and with the overall purpose of the Sabbath in mind.

Handling Emergencies

What do you do when an emergency arises on the Sabbath? Yeshua said: "Which of you
shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath
day?" (Luke 14:5). Many misunderstand this statement. Some may wonder if their job is an ox in
the ditch situation when they are required to work on the Sabbath day -- as will frequently happen
when the Sabbath falls during the week.

The principle of the ox in the ditch applies to genuine emergencies like personal injuries,
burning houses, power failures, accidents and other occurrences (natural disasters -- tornadoes,
hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) which would entail injury or loss of life or of personal property. It is
not an ox in the ditch situation when your job requires you to work on the Sabbath. Neither does
the principle apply to those who "push their own ox into the ditch" by acquiring or keeping a job
where they can't negotiate to have the Sabbath day off, or by "putting off" work which should have
been done during the other days of the week. Nor does it include harvesting or plowing on the Sab-
bath -- even if there has been bad weather or machinery breakdowns during the other week days.

YEHOVAH says, "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in ear-
ing [better translated, "plowing"] time and in harvest thou shalt rest" (Exodus 34:21).

Procuring Food on the Sabbath

In Matthew 12:1-5 Yeshua clearly showed that it is not wrong to procure food on the Sab-
bath if one is without food and is hungry. If, for some reason, you are caught away from home on
the Sabbath, it is not wrong to eat a meal in a restaurant or cafeteria.

Some people living in today's gigantic metropolises do not have cooking facilities. There
would be nothing wrong for such people to buy a meal on the Sabbath. Perhaps one should also
consider moving to an apartment which does have cooking facilities.

Dishes on the Sabbath

Some women have wondered if it is all right to wash dishes on the Sabbath. YEHOVAH
does not specifically state how many dishes we may wash on the Sabbath. Washing dishes is an
everyday physical act that could detract from the Sabbath.

Some women simply rinse, neatly stack and cover soiled dishes and utensils, waiting until
after the Sabbath to give them a final washing. Others use paper plates, and thus avoid some of the
problem. Still, if necessary, it is not wrong to wash dishes or utensils on the Sabbath. Time spent
at this task should be kept to a minimum. YEHOVAH does not want us to clutter up His Sabbath by
spending a lot of time washing dishes or doing other household chores.

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