Introduction

We read in Leviticus 23:2 and 23:4, “Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: ‘These are my fixed times, the fixed times of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions….These are the set times of the Lord, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time.’” What follows are instructions and calendar dates (related to the cycles of an agricultural calendar) for observing Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The biblical Book of Esther is read as part of the celebration of Purim. Chanukah, a post-biblical holiday, is derived from the apocryphal Books of Maccabees.

Jews have continued to sanctify our historic experience. Among later holiday additions: Lag Ba’Omer (a day of joy and festivity to commemorate the day a plague ended), Tishah B‘Av (a traditional day of mourning the destruction of both ancient Temples in Jerusalem), Tu BiSh‘vat (Jewish Arbor Day); and, in modern times, Yom Hashoah (a memorial day for those who died in the Holocaust), Yom Hazikaron (a day in honor of those lost to battle and acts of terror in Israel), and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day).

Today, Judaism’s religious calendar provides many choices to honor and celebrate our history and our lives (see the Union's Holiday resources site for a Jewish calendar, celebration ideas, and age-appropriate resources). Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut says, “Our religion urges us, on our journey from life to death, to give continual expression to our belief in God and to the significance of our membership in the historic people.” And, how we celebrate the cycle of life that is the Jewish calendar tells us a great deal about ourselves as Jews. As author Alexander Guttman explains: “One can learn more about the observance of Judaism through a study of the holy days and their customs than through any other particular aspect of Judaism…‘the catechism of the Jew is his calendar.’”

The Ten Commandments mandate only one holiday: Shabbat (Commandment 4). Shabbat observance that bans work derives from Exodus 31:13-17, which describes the work required to build the Tabernacle (mishkan) in the wilderness. The obligation to observe the 7th day appears 12 times among the Bible’s 55 Shabbat citations. And Sabbath observance takes up an entire 24-chapter tractate (“Shabbat”) in the Babylonian Talmud, Sefer Mo’ed, as well as 175 chapters in the Shulchan Aruch (the 16th-century compilation of Jewish law).

Surrounded by folklore and tradition, Shabbat celebrates the bond between Israel and God, the sanctity of the individual, the holiness of work, and the redemptive promise of freedom. Author Rabbi Solomon Goldman quotes Ahad Ha-Am (Asher Ginsberg, 1856–1927) as saying, “One can say without exaggeration that more than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.…A Jew who feels a real tie with the life of his people will find it utterly impossible to think of the existence of Israel without the Sabbath….”

When it comes to celebrating Shabbat today, the Reform Movement is at a crossroads. Addressing 5,000+ Reform delegates throughout North America at the 2007 San Diego Biennial convention, URJ President Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie stated: “More than a dozen years ago, we began a Movement-wide conversation about worship. Focusing our attention on Friday evening, we set out to create heartfelt, inspiring, and community-building worship services. And we succeeded….Our synagogues are often overflowing, our worship abounding in celebration and song…..Still, we had hoped that some worshipers returning to the synagogue on Friday nights would also be drawn to our Shabbat morning prayer. This has not happened.…With morning worship regularly appropriated by bar and bat mitzvah families, members who come to pray often sit in the back of the sanctuary…The time has come to try new things…. (see Reimagining Shabbat).

Then, reflecting on the Reform Movement’s “readiness to look seriously at the broader question of Shabbat observance,” evidenced by recent Reform surveys that demonstrate “a new openness to the commandment to observe a weekly day of rest,” Rabbi Yoffie charged the entire Reform Movement to reimagine and reapproach Shabbat “with the creativity that has always distinguished Reform Judaism….It will not mean some kind of neo-frumkeit or an endless list of Shabbat prohibitions. It will mean expanding our understanding of rest…[and] observing Shabbat as a loving community in which we feel commanded without feeling coerced.” He invested congregational leaders to appoint a Shabbat Morning Task Force as well as a Shabbat Chavurah; a new Shabbat blog is enabling every member of a Reform synagogue to be part of this discussion.

Overview Questions for Discussion

1. Which Jewish holidays do you observe? How do you decide which are or are not meaningful to you?

2. If “the catechism of the Jew is his calendar,” what does your calendar reveal about you as a Jew?

3. Does fulfilling the mitzvot of holiday observance bring you closer to the Jewish people? Closer to God?

4. What does the saying “More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel” mean to you? Why do you think a holiday celebrated each week ranks higher than those that come once a year?

5. Recent Reform surveys demonstrate “a new openness to the commandment to observe a weekly day of rest.” Do you share this openness? Explain.

6. In your synagogue, is Shabbat morning worship regularly “appropriated” by bar and bat mitzvah families? What do you think would be the best solution?

Section III Questions for Discussion

Participants responded to three questions—about holiday, lifecycle, and Shabbat celebrations—in bold below.

What has been your most meaningful Jewish holiday experience?

1. Investing Holidays with Meaning: John Planer says, “The holidays bear no inherent meaning…It is we who endow them with meaning.” Do you agree? What do you learn about Judaism when you celebrate the holidays? In what ways do you or might you give meaning to the Jewish holidays this year?

2. Choosing Holiday Practices: Planer believes that agricultural festivals such as Sukkot and Shavuot are outmoded. Do you agree? Do you observe them? If not, why? If yes, how do you make your celebrations relevant to 21st-century life?

In contrast, Planer asserts that Tishah B’Av, commemorating tearful events in Jewish history, should receive greater emphasis, “not so much because of the destruction of the Temple—heaven forbid we should ever return to sacrificial rituals!—but rather because we would do well to contemplate sinat chinam (gratuitous hatred), especially in preparation for Elul and the High Holy Days.” Do you think we should place greater emphasis on commemorating the tragic events in Jewish history? What about when we teach our youth?

3. Celebrating Life: Jennifer Warriner says that “Jewish holidays remind us to celebrate life, even if the circumstances are not what we would have wanted them to be.” Do you share her perspective? What can you do at home to make Pesach, Purim, Chanukah, and other holiday celebrations more meaningful?

What has been your most meaningful lifecycle experience?

1. Conversion and B’nai Mitzvah: For the participants, the most popular lifecycle experiences are conversion and, overwhelmingly, b’nai mitzvah ceremonies. Why do you think these were selected over marriage, circumcision, naming a child, burial, etc.?

After her son’s conversion to Judaism, Jennifer Warriner focused on handing the Jewish teachings to her son, her future. Why do we recite v’shinantam l’vanecha—teach these diligently to your children? How can we best engage the next generation? Is there more you could be doing to make this happen—if not for your children/grandchildren, then for others?

2. Jewish Learning: John Planer recalls how he celebrated the Jubilee of his bar mitzvah by chanting Torah and Haftarah and preparing a critical study of Genesis chapter 37. “In the 50 years since my bar mitzvah I’ve learned and come to appreciate the importance and logic of the ta-amei hamikra (Masoretic cantillation signs), the Torah and Haftarah trope, the structures and meanings underlying the Hebrew texts, the glorious tradition of biblical study, and the beauty of our liturgy. My bar mitzvah was a rite of passage, the Jubilee a rededication of the soul.” For Barbara Holender “the crowning event of my adult life was my bat mitzvah at age 70. Our cantor, David Goldstein, taught me trope. I learned to chant.” Abby Shepard-Smith’s high point was watching her daughter inscribe a letter on a Torah scroll.

Is Jewish learning as engaging for you as it is for these participants? Why/why not? What do you enjoy learning about? What kinds of Jewish learning might you seek out to recharge your Jewish spirit?

How do you observe/enjoy Shabbat these days?

1. Your Shabbat Rituals: Read the respondents’ replies aloud with friends or family. Which ideals or practices most coincide with yours? How so? Do any of the responses prompt a rethinking of your own practices?

2. Real Life Dilemmas: Many of the respondents struggle with how to make Shabbat meaningful to them as modern Jews. The issues of work, family, and children often get in the way. Still, nearly all try to make Shabbat special. Some read, think, listen to music, see friends and family, walk, or knit. Some focus on life’s blessings. Some prepare for and celebrate Kabbalat Shabbat at home. Some attend a Shabbat service. Some study Torah. Some engage in tikkun olam.

Describe your household on a typical Shabbat. Does everyone in the family agree about the family Shabbat practice? Is everyone satisfied with the choices you’ve collectively made? How do you reconcile differences?

3. Avoiding Work: Many respondents avoid working or thinking about working, shun the computer, avoid chores, and spend Shabbat differently than other days.

Do you avoid “work” on Shabbat? If yes, what kinds? Why? What do you think of Judy Fisher’s practice of not reading or responding to emails as a means to avoid thinking about work?

4. Creating Shabbat Community: The absence of a sharing Reform community makes Shabbat observance difficult for many respondents, as does the considerable variation in what Reform Jews want in a service, from traditional ritual to an informal minyan to a sacred space that becomes “an island in the week.”

Do these challenges describe you and your congregation? Explain. If there are problems, what solutions, if any, has the synagogue tried? What might be tried?

What might you do—at home as well as in synagogue—to provide a Shabbat community for others?

5. A Labor of Love: Martin L. Shapiro speaks of Shabbat as “labor of love.” Does this idea resonate with you? What “labors” might you consider undertaking to enhance your Shabbat experience?