The family sits down to the best dinner of the week, complete with tablecloth, candles, special food and blessings — this is the Sabbath, the Jewish holiday of rest. It’s considered the holiest Jewish holiday of them all. It happens every week from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset.
A traditional Sabbath meal brings the whole family together. The table is set with candles, wine and special Sabbath dishes on a Sabbath tablecloth. This is the best meal of the week. Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe would save up their money to buy delicacies like eggs and sugar to make challah bread and a kosher chicken to make chicken soup. American Jews are fortunate enough to afford such delicacies daily, but favor such foods for their traditional value.
Seth Rogovoy, freelance writer, cultural critic and author of The Essential Klezmer, celebrates a relatively traditional Sabbath. He said of his experience, “Starting mid-day Friday I get ready by studying the weekly Torah portion so I can teach my family a bit about it or discuss it with my community on Saturday morning. I also prepare our home for the Friday night ritual, which is the one meal where we set out a table cloth, special dishes, and I make a pretty elaborate meal. It is a very traditional meal usually of roast chicken, matzo ball soup and challah. There’s no religious significance but some of the dishes were from my grandmother so it does tie us to our past and inheritance. Friday night we sing songs welcoming the Sabbath, light candles, say the Kiddish (blessing over wine) and wash our hands ritually.
Then for the next 24 hours I don’t do any work. I read and study Jewish texts, attend worship services, take walks, I spend time with my family and I do what I can to recognize the separation of Shabbis from the rest of the week. This is a day of very different quality, this is a day of spirituality, so i do a bit of a mental flip into Shabbis mode.â€
Of the Sabbath food and rituals Rogovoy said, “The food and the rituals are really just vessels to channel the inherent spirituality that’s present during the Sabbath.â€
Diane Weinstein, of Pittsfield, was raised in a religious home. For her, the Sabbath is about taking “that deep breath for the first time in a week.â€
Diane takes this day of rest literally and is famous amongst her friends for taking Shabbis naps each Saturday afternoons. She described her ritual, “By the time early afternoon comes around then my body and mind are very at peace, very quiet and tired, and ready to rest. And that’s what I do for a couple of hours. Everyone who knows me knows my Shabbis nap is an integral piece of my week.â€
She also keeps more universal traditions. These include gathering with her family Friday nights to say the traditional prayers over the Sabbath meal, including the candles, bread and wine, and attending Saturday morning services at Knesset Israel in Pittsfield.
Rachel Barenblatt, the author of a book in progress on the art of Jewish ritual craft called Disorganized Judaism and the executive director of Inkberry, has created Sabbath rituals to bring out the true spirit of Shabbat for modern souls. She said, “The theme of my adult Jewish life is discovering that even if I don’t have exactly the right materials, even if I’m not doing it exactly the way my parents did, that it can be special because of what I bring to it and because of what I find in it.â€
Rachel shared this story, “I lived through a period of time in college where every week my friend David and I would gather in my dorm room for the Sabbath. We were on a meal plan so we couldn’t have a Sabbath meal. But we would get together and light candles and we would chant the Kiddish (the prayer over wine) over whatever alcoholic beverage we had in the dorm at the time. Sometimes it was cheap wine, a few times we did it over fruit juice, once or twice we even said the Kiddish over a bottle of beer which is not technically the way you are supposed to do it. But standing together, over my window, at twilight, singing the Hebrew words together — it didn’t matter that it was beer instead of wine. It felt like we were really welcoming the Sabbath together. It was special even if it wasn’t the official way to do it.â€
Rachel shed some light on the traditional Sabbath meal. “I know that a lot of families of Eastern European descent have chicken or chicken soup on Shabbat. For their ancestors in Eastern Europe, who were poor, being able to get a kosher chicken and make soup from it was like birthday cake. It was something you only did for Shabbat and festivals. As for the wine — wine in Judaism is traditionally a symbol of joy. Almost every Jewish holiday involves blessing wine.â€
The challah bread, braided, is a symbol of the double portion of manna that is believed to have been given from God to the Jewish people during their time in the desert.
After college, Rachel arranged to have Fridays off. She would spend them baking challah bread. She said, “That was my little connection to the tradition. To me, it’s a real pleasure because you start with such pedestrian ingredients. It involves eggs, some milk, a bit of sugar. Spending half an hour at the kitchen counter using my hands to make this thing is grounding, and almost always puts me in a better mood than I was before.â€
Rachel added — “I want people to get a sense of what a delicious and enriching experience it can be to take a little pause at the end of the week and connect with themselves, their families, their communities, their traditions, their sense of a spiritual or sacred or holy, with God if that’s a term that works for you. When I was a kid I used to think Jewish holidays were special so we did these weird things to show that they were special. What I’ve come to realize as an adult is I had it backwards — Jewish holidays are holy because we make them.â€
Common to all Sabbath traditions is a festive meal together with family, connecting with spirituality and community, and taking a day of peace. Ultimately, the Sabbath isn’t about the chicken in the pot or the blessing over the wine but the spirit brought to the moment.
Elissa Shevinsky is a freelance writer pursuing the connections between the mystical Jewish and Yogic traditions.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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