This is the Forward’s coverage of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.
Shabbat
The Latest
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News Jerusalem Gets Very Different Kind of Kabbalat Shabbat
The bar is doling out drinks as fast as it can manage. A man at the front recites Kaddish while the mixed-gender congregation slouches, sipping beer, eating snacks, talking on cell phones. It sounds like anarchy to even rabbis with the rowdiest congregations. But here, there’s consensus that this represents a renaissance for the liturgy…
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Life Giving Thanks, For Selfish Reasons
There’s an episode of “House” that Jeremy and I watched recently. In it, a doctor on House’s team is trying to thank him. When he avoids her, she says to him, “Do you know why people pray? Do you think they pray to him and praise him because they want him to know how great…
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Recipes What’s for (Shabbat) Dinner? Spanish Tapas Platters
Last March I visited a good friend studying in Spain. Being early spring, I packed scarves, boots, and jeans for our trip to Valencia. My friend and I arrived at the hostel in a full sweat, annoyed at just how inaccurate the weatherman had been. Tired and hot, I checked out the forlorn hostel kitchen….
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Opinion Texting and the Power of ‘Half Shabbat’
Should observant Jews text on Shabbat — and if not, why not? I personally do not text on Shabbat because I believe doing so violates the prohibition on working on that day. Gershom Gorenberg eloquently expressed the same viewpoint in the Daily Beast’s Open Zion blog. I’m not sure how well this message would resonate…
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Food Longest. Shabbat Table. Ever.
Imagine your regular Shabbat dinner. Now extend the table and summon several more chairs. And a few more. OK, now add about a hundred more seats. Your table is still not likely to be even half the size of the record-setting Shabbat dinner that was recently on display in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak….
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Life Shabbat — The Marriage Cure
There are many things that make being Orthodox difficult. In fact, if I started a list right now I think I would be busy for hours, compiling all the challenging aspects of following halacha as I understand it. But no matter how frustrating it can be sometimes, no matter how many times a day I…
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Food How To Host a Fair Trade Oneg
World Fair Trade Day is May 11, and thousands of people around the world will be celebrating the positive impact that Fair Trade has made on the lives of farmers and artisans. Fair Trade principles embody key Jewish values – Osek – prohibition about oppressing workers, B’Tzelem Elohim – honoring the humanity of each person,…
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Life Shabbat War Rages — Over Makeup
We all expect makeup to do exactly what it promises, right? A woman in Monsey, N.Y., has filed a lawsuit in federal court against cosmetics giant Lancome saying that its “24-hour foundation” doesn’t last for 24 hours, which she needs to make it in full makeup through Shabbat. Rorie Weisberg is charging, in her lawsuit,…
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Film & TV For ill and for good, this ‘Wicked’ song has become ubiquitous
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