In Jewish religious law (halakha), Jews are commanded to rest on Shabbat, and refrain from performing certain types of work. Some of the activities are considered to be prohibited by biblical law (the 39 Melachot), while others became prohibited later on, due to rabbinic decrees. These rabbinic Shabbat prohibitions are collectively known as shevut (שבות).[1]
The rabbinic prohibitions fall into several categories: activities not in the spirit of Shabbat; activities which closely resemble a forbidden activity; activities which could lead one to perform a prohibited activity; or activities whose biblical permissibility is debated, so avoiding the activity allows one to keep Shabbat according to all rabbinic opinions.
As with most areas of Halacha, Orthodox Jews tend to observe these prohibitions more stringently than non-Orthodox Jews.