The 39 Melakhot (, lamed-tet avot melakhah, "39 categories of work") are thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat. Many of these activities are also prohibited on the Jewish holidays listed in the Torah, although there are significant exceptions that permit carrying and preparing food under specific circumstances on holidays (except Yom Kippur). In addition to the 39 melakhot, certain other activities are forbidden on Shabbat due to rabbinic law. There are often disagreements between Orthodox Jews and Conservative Jews or other non-Orthodox Jews as to the practical observance of Shabbat. It is of note that the (strict) observance of Shabbat is often seen as a benchmark for orthodoxy and indeed has legal bearing on the way a Jew is seen by an Orthodox religious court regarding their affiliation to Judaism. The commandment The commandment to keep Shabbat as a day of rest is repeated many times in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. Its importance is also stressed in : Meaning of "work" Though melakha is usually translated as "work" in English, the term does not correspond to the ordinary definition of the term, as explained below. The traditional analysis and explanation of the term, as well as the logic for identifying the activities prohibited to be done on the Sabbath, is recorded in the Talmudic Tractate of Shabbat (70a; 49b). The rabbis there noted the symmetry between Genesis 2:1–3 and Exodus 31:1–11 and derive the rule on this basis (here applying the principle of "gezerah shavah"). The same term melakha ["work"] is used in both places: uses the term melakha in reference to the Creation: Heaven and earth, and all their components, were completed. With the seventh day, God finished all the work [melakha] that He had done. He ceased on the seventh day from all the work [melakha] that he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day, and he declared it to be holy, for it was on this day that God ceased from all the work [melakha] that he had been creating to function. provides detailed instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, again using the term melakha. The word is usually translated as "workmanship", which has a strong element of "creation" or "creativity". This section immediately precedes the section concerning "Sabbath-rest" quoted above. Really the term Melaka is best described as "externally creative activity". The sabbath is