Who’d a thunk it. Rock and Roll singer/dancer and former American Idol judge, Paula Abdul is participating in The Shabbat Project. For those unfamiliar with it, The Shabbat Project is the brainchild of Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, Chief Rabbi of South Africa. Last year on Shabbos of October 12th, the entire Jewish population of South Africa was invited to keep Shabbos. From VIN:
(The Shabbat Project) was a mass effort for the country’s Jews to embrace their heritage with a traditional Shabbos observance lasting from sundown on October 11th until nightfall on October 12th.
The project’s manifesto urged Jewish South Africans to remove themselves from the distractions and pressures of daily life and to keep one Shabbos according to the strictures set out in the Shulchan Aruch.
In preparation for the event, The Shabbos Project’s website offered numerous resources, including a Shabbos primer for those who are new to Shabbos observance and a Shabbos toolkit which included a Shabbos checklist, audio clips of prayers and zemiros, stories and divrei Torah. The site also offered participants the opportunity to find a shiur, a coach and a Shabbos host.
Surpriningly (at least for me) the event was a smashing success. From VIN:
Approximately 90 percent of South Africa’s synagogues joined in The Shabbos Project…
“There were many participating shuls in Johannesburg and Capetown and even shuls that are full on Friday night were fuller than they normally are, looking more like they do on Yom Kippur than on any Friday night,”
While many of the weekend’s participants were not Orthodox, for 25 hours, they did their best to keep Shabbos according to halacha.
“Amazingly, the shul’s parking lots were empty and many kept a whole Shabbos for the first time…” “They kept asking us technical questions, like how to keep tea warm. It was phenomenal and went way beyond our wildest expectations.”
Although I am surprised that so many people were willing to give up the technology they are so attached to – by keeping Shabbos, the truth is that I am not shocked by it. Shabbos has an appeal to the non religious. In fact it has an appeal even to the non Jewish. The by-product of keeping Shabbos is a tremendous attraction for people who value the concept of family. I can’t tell you the number of times I have described a typical Shabbos day to a non Jew who reacted with genuine envy. Ironically it is the very strictures of Shabbos that on the surface would seem to be a turn off that facilitate it. Being unplugged and not being able to travel in any mode other than by foot, keeps people at home or nearby.
There is a religious requirement for a meal called the Sabbath Seudah. There ar 2 of those, One in the evening at the onset of Shabbos and one the next day at about lunch time. (There is a dispute about whether there is a requreiment for a 3rd Shabbos meal – but that is beyond the scope of the post.)
Here is how it’s done in our house – which I’m sure is duplicated (with some minor variations) in most observant homes. We prepare for Shabbos by cleaning up and getting dressed in our Shabbos clothing. (For men that usually means a suit and tie). Men go to Shul for a short evening service and return to house, where the Shabbos candles have already been lit just prior to sunset.
In most cases the table is set with table linens, our best china, flatware, a wine goblet, and 2 Challahs.We make Kiddush (sanctifying the day) over wine, and then proceed to eat a multi course meal with our family. There is no ability to be distracted by the pull of modern technology or any of the social media. That facilitates family bonding time unlike any other scenario. Week after week.