Project Shabbat
I’m 16 years old. It’s Friday evening. I’m at a Jewish summer camp in upstate New York. I’m sitting in a barn-like “Beit Am” building with other Jewish kids from around the country. There’s a girl from Hawaii, a boy with long blonde hair from Florida, another boy from Texas, and some cool kids from California. There’s a bunch of really tan kids from Puerto Rico who are jabbering away in Spanish. Who knew there were Jews outside of New York City? Let alone from Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico? We are singing Lecha Dodi, with our arms around each other’s shoulders, and I am experiencing the joy of welcoming Shabbat through song, with all these amazing people.
Fast forward to today. My age has reversed. I am now 61. I now welcome Shabbat with my BHA friends and community. I feel relaxed and peaceful in their presence. We sing beautiful songs together, though most people call them “prayers”. I now realize that the joy I am experiencing is holiness. And I want more.
This feeling of holiness, is sparked by what we do together on Shabbat: our singing, our rituals, and our special potluck meals that we eat together. This separation between the work week and the sweetness of Shabbat is what I look forward to finding by welcoming Shabbat each week with you, my people, my tribe.
During a recent vacation, I reflected on the many things I have studied throughout my life; for my Bar Mitzvah, for college degrees, for work, for health, for improving skills, for fixing things, for mindfulness. I've learned how to speak other languages, to lose weight, to cook, to play guitar, to exercise correctly, and so many other things. But I have never intentionally learned about one of the greatest gifts that Judaism has given to the world, Shabbat, the day apart, the day of rest and of holiness.
And so I came up with a plan: I will spend a year learning and experiencing the fullness of Shabbat. I want to welcome Shabbat at BHA on Friday night and maintain that holiness for the next 25 hours, and end it with meaningful Havdalah traditions. And, I'd like to do this with you.
Consider joining me on this year-long journey. Together, we will co-create an intentional small community within BHA that explores Shabbat in depth. Let’s learn about the practice and observance of Shabbat, let’s learn to chant the Shabbat prayers, perform the rituals, and understand the why of it all. Let’s eat a Shabbat meal together once a month (or more) and share our goals and reflections on our experiences. Let’s improve our Hebrew reading and chanting of prayers, and strive to move each other further along on our paths of observance, whatever that means to each of us. There will be eating, singing, studying, walking, and sharing, suggested readings and discussions, all in the service of a purposeful striving for weekly holiness. Let us become a focused learning community within our larger BHA community.
If you are interested in participating, discussing, or learning more, please fill out the form below.
Ben Sherman, BHA Board of Trustees