2018: Let’s Get Back a Shabbat

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/2018-lets-get-back-a-shabbat_us_5a5396a1e4b0ee59d41c0ca9
Once upon a time people worked during the week and rested on the weekend. Most businesses closed. Holidays were dedicated to worship, family, friends, and, for some, culture. Sociologists, especially communitarians like myself, saw a great importance in maintaining a work- and commerce-free space. They pointed out that during the week we stray from the moral codes and values that guide our lives. We are trying to get work done, make deals, move ahead. These activities tempt us to cut corners, to put self-interest above concern for others and the common good. Weekends and holidays are supposed to be the occasions when we rededicate ourselves to what is right, and when we reconnect with each other as full-fledged human beings rather than as dealmakers or bosses and employees—an essential element of human flourishing. This is what happens in places of worship, family gatherings, and community activities.

Shabbat Is an Underrated Way to Destress

Shabbat Is an Underrated Way to Destress

Wine, weed, and unplugging—your ancient Jewish guide to modern-day stress relief.

... I came to appreciate Shabbat not only as an ancient Jewish tradition but as a contemporary, therapeutic practice of being present and unplugging.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kzgb7e/shabbat-is-an-underrated-way-to-destress-stressweek2017

A comfortable Shabbat

Yes, the world has changed and the place of the Jewish people in their homeland has created a new set of circumstances. Yet what does this have to do with keeping the laws of Shabbat? I am national-religious, and for me and many others I know, our desire to observe the Sabbath is just as strong now as it was for our ancestors. Moreover, the technological innovations that are so characteristic of our times have made such observance easier and, in most cases, allowed for the integration of family, work and security in a much more palpable fashion.

http://m.jpost.com/Opinion/November-28-2017-A-comfortable-Shabbat-515349

One Shabbat can be life-transforming

https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/one-shabbat-can-be-life-transforming-1.446232

...a strong case can be made for the argument that Shabbat observance is a positive keystone habit for life itself. It propels a greater awareness of and sensitivity towards many other values that underpin not only a positive Jewish life but positive living in general.

And here’s the really interesting bit. Traditional Shabbat observance involves many of the same activities as those identified by Duhigg as keystone habits in the context of nurturing emotional well-being and developing a positive lifestyle.

Shabbat can unite a divided nation

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jjps-goch-1025-20171020-story.html

The weekly ritual of observing Shabbat might just be the remedy that unites a divided nation.

One need not be observant to aspire to incorporate more spirituality and Jewish practices into daily life, and celebrating Shabbat together affords us that opportunity.

We traditionally light two Shabbat candles for a reason. With one candle we stand alone; with two we unite many.

Watch new rendition of 'Shabbat Hayom'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/237015

"If I only had the strength, I would go out to the market, I would stand and declare to all, that today is Shabbat. Yes, today is Shabbat, for Hashem."

The late Rabbi Yehoshua Yagel, legendary head of the Midrashiat Noam yeshiva high school in Pardes Hana, would walk around singing the song "Shabbat Hayom" at the end of the Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night prayers, mezmerizing students with his devotion. Yair Peleg pays tribute to the charismatic and G-d fearing mentor in his own rendition of the song written by the "Admor Hachalutz".

A Shabbat Dinner for Wine Country Survivors

A Shabbat Dinner for Wine Country Survivors

OCTOBER 19, 2017 With California’s wine country reeling from this week’s horrific wildfires—the most destructive of their type in California’s history—Chabad of Sonoma County is rallying the forces to bring comfort and unity to a community ravaged by disaster.

A Friday night, Shabbat dinner seemed a good idea to many of the people struggling in the face of this disaster. Dubbed “Shabbat of Comfort & Unity,” more than 200 have already RSVPd.

“We’re all going to be supporting each other and this will bring a sense of comfort,” he says. Multiple vendors are contributing to Chabad’s efforts by sponsoring goods for the dinner, which is free of charge. The Flamingo Resort Hotel in Santa Rosa has offered a venue, and other businesses are sponsoring grape juice, hummus, flowers and more. “Everyone is pitching in,” the rabbi says gratefully. “There’s a lot of special energy.”

The dinner will provide an opportunity to memorialize the people who’ve died in this tragedy and also acknowledge the generosity of those who’ve stepped up to help bring relief and aid to a traumatized community.