Shabbat: life’s work

By Barry Kislowicz - Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 12:43 pm | Updated: 4:41 pm, Wed Mar 14, 2012. 
On Shabbat we stop working precisely so that we can start living. Shabbat is not a time to lock ourselves away in our rooms, to focus primarily on personal rest and relaxation, but rather to actively live with those in our homes – spouses, parents and children – learning, singing, talking or simply being together. By providing us with a protected, spiritual retreat once every week, Shabbat affords us the opportunity to deepen our too often unnoticed life-bonds with our loved ones and with God Himself.

http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/religious_life/torah/article_e021ced0-6df4-11e1-9bcb-0019bb2963f4.html

A Frugal Feast Shabbat in our nation's capital

by Sasha Lyutse - Posted March 5, 2012 in Living Sustainably

Last week, I took Frugal Feasts on the road and co-hosted a hybrid Frugal Feast-Shabbat dinner with a dear friend in Washington, D.C. Now I have to be honest: food is more my religion than religion is my religion, but the marriage of the two was so seamless, with so many common and resonant themes, that it’s worth some reflection.

To date, all our Frugal Feasts have been held on Fridays, the evening that marks the beginning of Shabbat, or the Sabbath, in Judaism. Above all else, Shabbat emphasizes the holiness of time versus space. There is nowhere in particular you have to be to experience this day. There is no special occasion to wait for. Each and every week, wherever you are, there are 24 hours set aside for you during which you are reminded to slow down and dedicate yourself to rest, appreciation, and community, giving thanks for what is already created, instead of what remains on your list of things to create.

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/slyutse/a_frugal_feast_shabbat_in_our.html

Foods of Shabbat: Come for the Kugel

What is there to love about Shabbat? It's a day to rest? It's a day to sleep? Or perhaps, like thousands of of men and women profess after their first full Shabbat experience, it's the food! Challah and fish, chicken and kugel, perhaps chocolate cake for dessert. What's not to like! Some Shabbat food is so delicious, one might even forget to check one's Blackberry! Here's a verbal taste of a Friday night feast, and a sampling of the deeper meaning of these traditional foods.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sr-hewitt/shabbat-food-come-for-the-kugel_b_1303161.html