Explore the holiday you can celebrate every week with the following resources.

Creating Jewish Encounters on Shabbat

Part of a Shabbat experience should include "sacred conversation." Often, a brief D'var Torah (word of Torah) is the vehicle for elevating a Shabbat meal. Instead of a D'var Torah, why not try to have an encounter with a Jewish voice from the past and create a conversation between you, your friends and the one for whom only words remain. The following document brings sources and provoking questions which probe ancient voices, your relationship to them and your relationship with each other.

Here are a few suggestions for Friday night Jewish Encounters:

Creating Jewish Encounters on Shabbat (PDF file 16Kb)
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Shabbat Notes - A Companion to the Day of Rest

Shabbat Notes is a booklet compiled to communicate a sense of what Shabbat is all about by providing an overview of some of the ritual associated with Shabbat observance along with insightful perspectives on the nature of the Sabbath within Jewish tradition.

Havdalah

• Havdalah: The Ritual - Learn how to perform this ceremony that formally ends the Sabbath day.

Making a Day Special

The ancient rabbis Hillel and Shammai famously disagreed on almost everything. Here they disagree on their approach to Shabbat and everyday food: but are they really talking about food? As you read their opinions in the text study, Making a Day Special, try to identify what they agree on and sort out their differences. As you look at the Heschel, try to decide whether he agrees with Hillel, Shammai, or neither of them.

Making a Day Special (PDF file 99Kb)
[Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher.]Lecha Dodi

Shabbat is about relationships. A 16th century Safed mystic, Rabbi Shelomo Alkabetz, wrote the hymn Lecha Dodi (come, my friend, to meet the bride) about a very romantic spiritual relationship. As you look at the text study Lecha Dodi think about the transformational power of personifying Shabbat as a bride. In what ways does thinking of Shabbat this way shape our behavior?

Lecha Dodi and Romantic Shabbat Relationships (PDF file 80Kbk)
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Good, Evil, God's Role and A Psalm for Shabbat: Psalm 92

It's not so obvious why Psalm 92 was designated the song for the Sabbath day. The tradition has explained the connection in different ways, which the text study Good, Evil, God's Role and A Psalm for Shabbat explores. As you read the Psalm, look for thematic connections: think about the psalmist's take on God, good and evil. Can you identify with it? Rashi in the middle ages and the Malbim in the 19th century come at this from two different angles. Are they even reading the same psalm? Whose reading is more satisfying to you, and why?

Psalm 92 (PDF file 98Kb)
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