Volume 31 Issue 34 04 Nov 2022 10 Heshvan 5783

Celebrate One Shabbat Together

Adina Roth – Head of Jewish Life

An Emanuel DIY Shabbat Project

The Shabbat Project is a wonderful annual Shabbat extravaganza seeking to unify Jewish communities across the world to celebrate one of the greatest gifts of the Jewish people to the planet; the concept of a weekend!!

Shabbat is connected to two fundamental Jewish ideas, the first is ‘zecher le’ma’aseh Bereshit’, Shabbat as a memorial to the act of creation. The narrative describes how God toiled for six days in labour and acts of creativity and then rested and replenished on the seventh day. Similarly, we are invited to ‘copy God’ and incorporate rest and rejuvenation, soulfulness and connection on the seventh day. From a Jewish point of view, life is not meant to be bound by some kind of endless workload where we ceaselessly roll the ball up and down the hill. By aligning our weekly sense of time with the rhythm of Shabbat, we align with the deeper intent of Creation and see ourselves, human-beings, as part of the wider cosmos every week. We have a chance to connect to ourselves, our families and the wider planet. It is no wonder that Israeli poet Achad Ha’am wrote: More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.

The second idea of Shabbat is connected to ideas of freedom and equality for all, ‘zecher le’tziat mitzrayim’, ‘as a memory for our Exodus from Egypt.’ According to this idea, Shabbat is a fundamental assertion that all human-beings, and animals for that matter, should live with the freedom of being able to take a break, should not be bound by the tyranny of time, should not be bound by a human master who controls our time. Through Shabbat, we are meant to undo the shackles of being slaves to a fast-paced life. Shabbat is a weekly meditation that reminds us to be conscious of our relationship to time.

Emanuel is a pluralistic school and celebrates that there are many ways to enjoy Shabbat, and many ways to protect the sanctity of the day. A weekend like the Shabbat Project is a beautiful opportunity to draw on some of the tools of Shabbat that you might not ordinarily do.

Here are some suggestions:

  1. Plan a special candle lighting with your children. We are meant to light candles to bring in the Shabbat, a few minutes before actual sunset. On the Shabbat Project, candle lighting in Sydney takes place at 7.14 pm. Some people light two candles per household and others light two candles for the parents and additional candles for every child. Some people light additional candles for anyone who is sick or who needs some extra strength. Before lighting candles, it is customary to give tzedakah. Talk with your kids about which cause you want to donate to or keep a charity box close to your candles and pop some coins in just before you light. Gather your children and light the candles. Afterwards, spend a few moments reflecting on the week, feeling grateful and hugging your children.
  2. One of the most precious aspects of Shabbat is spending quality time with friends and loved ones. Plan a meal with friends for Friday night or Saturday lunch. Invite people you love spending time with, and perhaps invite someone you imagine might not have a place to go. Have fun with the menu because on Shabbat we are supposed to eat our favourite foods. Think sushi, or chicken or a vegan delight. Think cake! Remember to include Shabbat grape juice or wine for the Kiddush and two challot for the  blessing on the bread. Set the table with a beautiful cloth, welcome the angels with the song Shalom Aleichem and bless your children before reciting the blessing on the wine.  
  3. Choose a shul you don’t normally attend and go for Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night, the beautiful service filled with Psalms and singing that brings in the Shabbat. Or, plan a visit to the beach at sunset and bring this Emanuel Kabbalat Shabbat Service to sing your own Kabbalat Shabbat into being. If you use instruments on Shabbat, consider bringing a guitar or a bongo drum with you, or enjoy the harmonies of everyone’s voices. There is an idea in Jewish mysticism that Shabbat ushers in the feminine consciousness of God, known as the Shechinah and that an extra special peace pervades the world. The Friday night service of Kabbalat Shabbat is designed to welcome this energy into the world and to connect with Her.
  4. Go for a walk. This might be something you do anyway on Shabbat but you can designate it as a Shabbat walk. Maybe with your kids, maybe with a friend. See if you can enjoy the slower pace and use it as a chance to explore deeper levels of conversation.
  5. Conclude Shabbat with the Havdalah Ceremony. At the end of Shabbat, when there are 3 stars in the sky or at sunset on the 12 November 2022, we usher Shabbat out using the beautiful ceremony of Havdalah. For this, we need a special Havdalah candle which is multi-wicked. If you don’t have a multi-wicked Havdalah candle, you can just as easily hold two candles together to produce a bigger flame. We also require sweet-smelling spices such as cinnamon and cloves and  grape juice/wine. Interesting fact: if you don’t have grape juice in the house, you can also make Havdalah on whiskey or beer and some say even on tea or coffee. I am sure Ozzies would agree that coffee is as good as wine!!  To begin Havdalah, we sing  a song to express that God is with us, even as Shabbat and the warm embrace of the Shechinah  leaves and then we recite four blessings; one on the wine, one on the spices which we then inhale, one on the flame  of the candle (and we hold our fingernails towards the flame to see the dance of light and shadow on our hands) and one on the blessing of Havdalah itself which means Distinction (between Shabbat and the week). There are beautiful tunes for Havdalah so feel free to use the attachment and look at the Youtube link to follow the famous Debbie Friedman tune. 
  6. After Havdalah, extinguish the candle and wish your family a Shavua tov, a Gut Voch, a Good Week! Consider calling grandparents or other loved ones to wish them a Shavua Tov.  

Wishing you all a meaningful Shabbat and Shabbat Project (Friday 11 November 2022- Saturday 12 November 2022).

May you all feel rested, replenished and re-ensouled. If you enjoy any of these rituals, (candle lighting, special meals with loved ones, a special Shabbat cake, prayers and song, walks, Havdalah) consider including them in your weekly Shabbat practice.