The International Shabbat Project
Project inspires people, religious and secular, to come together in peace and unity. Hundreds of events held across the country: a thousand women gather in challah bake in central Tel Aviv, mayors invite residents for Friday night dinner, and a boy celebrating his bar mitzvah decidedsto invite anyone in the area to celebrate with him.
During the Shabbat of October 23-24, more than a million Jews around the world, secular and religious, decided to participate in the project "Keeping it Together." Jews in the Diaspora celebrated as well as in Israel, where hundreds of events were held during Shabbat.
"Mitcham Hatachana" Tel Aviv is one of the liveliest entertainment areas in the city and is open 24/7. Many flock there on weekends for a good meal, a glass of beer or to enjoy one of the fairs held there. On Thursday, October 22, it also became spiritual: 1,000 women came to the challah bake event for the "International Shabbat Project" led by Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi.
The hangar was filled to capacity and long lines of women, religious and secular, Israeli and international, crowded around long tables. The screens displayed challah events held being concurrently around the world with the participation of thousands of women at each event - 6000 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Tanya Greenberg, the producer of the Shabbat project in Israel, stated: "There were more people than we expected and we were really impressed. Women from around the world arrived for the event, including 400 women who were on a tour in Israel. It was wonderful to see the combination of Israeli and non-Israeli women coming together; it was a magical evening."
Many cities in Israel participated in the project and organized various events for the residents. The Ashkelon municipality held 15 different events for Shabbat; Netanya held a superb challah bake and Friday night dinners; and hundreds of events were held from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat, including the cities of Dimona, Tzfat, Haifa, the Jezreel Valley, Ofakim, Binyamina, Acre, Ramla, Ness Ziona, Emek Hefer, Kiryat Motzkin, Beer Sheva, and more.
Ofra Bell, a city councilwoman of the Hertzliya municipality said: "The mayor made kiddush and we sang Shabbat songs. On the Friday afternoon before Shabbat, I received a call from Rabbi Goldstein, the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, and let everyone hear his greeting. There were people from all over, religious, secular, even a Druze. There was an amazing atmosphere; people talked a lot about the project, we ate all Jewish food, and more. We hope that after the city administration saw this Shabbat project, next year we can do something bigger for the city."
Aaron Ackerman, director of an organisation El Ami in Eilat, said: "About 200 people gathered last Friday night for a communal meal in the Yamin Herzog School for 'The International Shabbat Project.' We sang, we danced, we heard words of Torah, played bingo and especially felt the 'sanctity of the Shabbat' together - half of the participants were families from the community in Eilat and half families from outside. Those that came together to organise the event in Eilat included Yael Derby from the municipality, the center for young people (Yossi Erez), the Community Foundation and El Ami. The dinner was amazing, with uplifting words from the Torah from Rabbi Tuvia Bleicher, amazing food, and fun was had by all, leaving everyone with many wanting more."
An even more spontaneous event was held in the settlement of Tekoa. Hanni Rosenberg stated: "My husband told us that his family in Canada is participating in the Shabbat Project. We decided to do an event in honor of the project and invited the women of the settlement of Tekoa, Gush Etzion. Over 50 women attended, an uncommon number in our community. We had a great evening led by Malka Fitrkobski. We heard the story of the International Shabbat Project and how it started in South Africa.
At the end of the evening, we donated the challot to the soldiers guarding us here in the community and the surrounding area. Thank God, I'm glad we did it." Another said: "The day after we saw the pictures of the events in London and Canada, and it was so fun to be a part of it. It's exciting to know Jewish women around the world have made it at the same time; this power can make a difference. We prayed simultaneously worldwide for the recovery of the wounded and for peace in Israel. Next year we plan to make it bigger - we are already beginning to prepare for next year's events."
Arad Frichter, a 13-year-old boy from Tel Aviv, was surprised to find out that the International Shabbat Project fell on the Shabbat of his bar mitzmah. Arad did not hesitate and asked his father to make an open event inviting everyone. "I love to hear people wishing me good luck," said Arad, smiling. "I wanted a lot of people to take part in my joy; you celebrate a bar mitzvah once in a lifetime and it's a big day, so why not celebrate with a few more people?"
The event was held in the heart of Tel Aviv with about 500 people, including people who said that this was the first time they had come to the synagogue. "When I saw 500 people celebrating with me, I was really glad that strangers came to rejoice with me. There were mainly young people, but also adults. Of course classmates too, not just foreigners. I think anyone who had spare time and heard about the event came. It was a bit strange that there were people who we have never met, but it's pretty nice to meet new people. I was happy to have my bar mitzvah fall on the same date as the Shabbat Project.”
Some people chose to participate in the International Shabbat Project at home, intimately, and not in the various public events. Natalie Gamliel and her husband Nir are a couple from Netanya; she comes from a traditional background and is more religious, but they never kept a proper Shabbat together. They recruited their extended family and decided to keep Shabbat together. Natalie says: "It was not always comfortable, difficult not to drive on Shabbat.
"I am very addicted to my phone, so for me to decide to put the phone aside is a big deal. I was a lot more available for my children. We sat together, it was calm and peaceful, disengaging from daily life and creating a day just for us. The fact that we were a family together strengthened it greatly: my sister in-law with her children, my in-laws. The kids felt loved and surrounded by us. The candle-lighting was a very moving moment."
