Halachos of Shabbos & Yom Tov

The Torah tells us that we are not to do any work on Shabbat, but does not define what it means by "work." The rabbis determined that all the kinds of work necessary to build the mishkan, the tabernacle used during the forty years in the wilderness, constituted the work that was forbidden on Shabbat. These are the 39 melachot, the 39 classes of labor:

1. Sewing
   
2. Plowing
   
3. Reaping
   
4. Binding Sheaves
   
5. Threshing
   
6. Winnowing
   
7. Selecting
   
8. Grinding
   
9. Sifting
   
10. Kneading
    
11. Baking
    
12. Shearing Wool
    
13. Cleaning
    
14. Combing
    
15. Dyeing
    
16. Spinning
    
17. Stretching the Threads
    
18. Making Loops
    
19. Weaving Threads
    
20. Separating the Threads
    
21. Tying a Knot
    
22. Untying a Knot
    
23. Sewing
    
24. Tearing
    
25. Trapping
    
26. Slaughtering
    
27. Skinning
    
28. Salting
    
29. Tanning
    
30. Scraping
    
31. Cutting
    
32. Writing
    
33. Erasing
    
34. Building
    
35. Breaking Down
    
36. Extinguishing a Fire
    
37. Kindling a Fire
    
38. Striking the Final Hammer Blow
    
39. Carrying