Sabbatical or a sabbatical (from Latin sabbaticus, from Greek
sabbatikos, from Hebrew shabbat, i.e., Sabbath, literally a
"ceasing") is a rest from work, or a break, often lasting from
two months to a year. The concept of sabbatical has a source in
shmita, described several places in the Bible (Leviticus 25, for
example, where there is a commandment to desist from working the
fields in the seventh year). In the strict sense, therefore, a
sabbatical lasts a year. The main Bible passage for sabbatical
concepts is Genesis 2:2-3, in which God rested (literally,
"ceased" from his labour) after creating the universe, and it is
applied to people (Jew and Gentile, slave and free) and even to
beasts of burden in one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11,
reaffirmed in Deuteronomy 5:12-15). In recent times,
"sabbatical" has come to mean any extended absence in the career
of an individual in order to achieve something. In the modern
sense, one takes sabbatical typically to fulfill some goal,
e.g., writing a book or tr