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Shabbat, Shapiro argues that what is essential is what they share: “The walker, the museumgoer, and the painter are authentic Reform Jews because the decisions they reach are made with sincerity, commitment, and a desire to draw on the resources of Judaism in order to enrich contemporary life."

The reader is encouraged to make similar decisions, deciding on his or her own definitions of work and rest. To help the reader do so, the guide suggests six questions, similar but not identical to the five principles delineated by Plaut. Shapiro ’s six questions are:'’

1. Will this activity lend Shabbat a quality of kedusha/holiness?

2. Is this activity done for its own sake or is it merely a means to an end?

3. Does this activity imbue Shabbat with a sense of liberation?

4. Does this activity help cultivate a sense of wonder at God ’s creation?

5. Does this activity advance the spirit of Shabbat embodied in the home and synagogue celebrations of the seventh day?

6. Does this activity bring me closer to the Jewish people?

Fundamental to this approach is the assumption that definitions of work and rest change. Like Bettan , who argued that the traditional halakhic definitions of work were based on the social and economic context in which they were written, so too here: “Reform Jews depart from the traditional definitions of work and rest because we believe they do not represent the final word on Jewish practice.”'®

Mark Washofsky’s guide, Jewish Living, came out four years after the Gates of Shabbat , and consolidates the mitzvot of Shabbat observance into four: remembering Shabbat through liturgy; observing Shabbat by refraining from work; and honoring and