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To ensure the Shabbat meals are properly appreciated, one should not plan an elaborate meal for Friday. Even an ordinary meal should be avoided late in the day. However, one may have a little bit of cake or fruit then, as long as it won't spoil the appetite.
To honor Shabbat, workers in factories, offices, and businesses should stop working about two-and-a-half hours before Shabbat. Exceptions to this are workers whose jobs are necessary for the community’s Shabbat preparations, such as bus drivers and supermarket employees. They may work up to half-an-hour before Shabbat, as long as they will have enough time to get home and organized for Shabbat. Additionally, anyone may continue to work until close to the start of Shabbat, if it is necessary to avoid suffering a serious financial loss. Work which is ad hoc and does not require professional expertise, such as watering the lawn or sewing a button, may be done until close to the start of Shabbat.
