Instituting Shabbat
When Jon and I sat down at the end of the summer to sketch out the academic year ahead in broad strokes, I told him I wanted to prioritize Friday evening Shabbat dinners.
We’ve done Shabbat - saying the prayers, at least - most weeks over the last few years, but I want to make it part of our default. More, actually: I want to keep Friday evening sacred as family time. Part of that means committing to being at home for Shabbat and scheduling activities on other nights. But the other part, even if we just throw a frozen pizza in the oven and say the hagafen over a beer (despite the blessing literally meaning “who created the fruit of the vine”), means recognizing it as an experience outside of our normal routine.
This year, we’re going to build out our Shabbat practice a little to emphasize its distinction from other dinners. We’re going to start by singing Peace like a River to calm our minds and open our hearts. We’ll then continue with the blessings over the candles, the children, the wine, and the challah. And, to conclude, we’ll sing a version of Oseh Shalom - a prayer for peace - we’ve learned at our synagogue.
We don’t keep Shabbat in full as Orthodox Jews do, which would include not working or doing social or extracurricular activities from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, but I do want the kids to grow up having this clear carve-out from our week and understanding the opportunity as a blessing in and of itself. As we recite in one of the Havdallah* prayers,
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמַּבְדִיל בֵּין קֹֽדֶשׁ לְחוֹל, בֵּין אוֹר לְחֹֽשֶׁךְ, בֵּין יִשְׂרָאֵל לָעַמִּים, בֵּין יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי לְשֵֽׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַמַּעֲשֶׂה. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, הַמַּבְדִיל בֵּין קֹֽדֶשׁ לְחוֹל.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe: who distinguishes between the holy and ordinary, between light and dark, between Israel and the other nations, between the seventh day and the six working days. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who distinguishes the holy and ordinary.
*Havdallah is the Saturday evening ceremony that concludes Shabbat and welcomes the new week.
