SHABBAT IS OUR BIRTHRIGHT

by MICHAEL H. STEINHARDT

“S habbat” can be a scary word. For many Jews, it conjures religiosity and prohibition: swaying in synagogue, shutting the phone, avoiding work, money, computers, pens, even erasers. If Shabbat is the core of Judaism, one might conclude that ours is a religion of ascetism incompatible with modern life.

FROM THE TIME of our inception as a community, Shabbat has been an oasis of social, spiritual and sensual sanctity. It is time to return Shabbat to its role as a unifier of the Jewish People and a catalyst of Jewish reflection.

And yet, to view Shabbat solely through the lens of religion fails to appreciate its depth and its grandeur, two qualities that have made it the foundation of Jewish existence for millennia. It wasn’t the rules and prohibitions that transformed Shabbat into the iconic Jewish experience. It was its simple yet ingenious emphasis on the social: A community taking a break and celebrating life together. In this, Shabbat cuts to the core of Jewish values and announces itself as perhaps the primary distinguishing element between Judaism and every other major religion. As Abraham Joshua Heschel put it, “It is a day for praise, not a day for petitions.”

Those of us seeking to deepen Jewish engagement and strengthen the bonds of the Jewish People would do well to examine the reasons Shabbat has been the archetypical Jewish holiday since antiquity. In my view, the heart and soul of Shabbat can be found not in the world’s synagogues but in its dining rooms. Shabbat meals are a time of social connection, spiritual engagement and intellectual debate — the foundations of our community — all centered on the cornerstones of universal human yearning: good food and good drink.

Speaking from personal experience as a secular Jew, it is at Shabbat meals — whether as a host or a guest — that I feel most profoundly and intimately Jewish. Among food, friendships and family, debating the news, joking and sharing gleanings of Jewish wisdom ancient or modern — at these moments, I feel more connected to the millennia-long trajectory of the Jewish People than I do anywhere outside of Israel.

Friday night meals are Judaism’s prime example of Peoplehood because they are sanctuaries of commonality no matter one’s gender, denomination, political views — or, for that matter, religion, as nothing forbids non-Jews from celebrating with us. Whether familial or communal, they are the quintessential Jewish experience that offers most of the virtues of being Jewish without requiring deep knowledge, particular religious beliefs or even a faith in the supernatural. Unfortunately, for too many Jews Shabbat has been encrusted with rituals and rules, the sheer wonder of communal celebration lost or forgotten. It is time to return Shabbat to its traditional place of celebration: of eating, learning, debating and socializing for the purpose of “l’chaim.” Just as Shabbat has bound the Jewish people together for centuries, so it has the potential to revitalize Jewish commitments among those for whom Jewish experience has lost its interest and edge.

And we have an unparalleled opportunity: Hundreds of thousands of Birthright Israel participants have been returning to the Diaspora, craving points of connection and seeking to fan the flames of Jewish excitement ignited on their trip. In Israel it was easy: immersed in the “Birthright Bubble,” they were inundated 24/7 with Jewish history, culture and people. But the success of Birthright has become its greatest challenge: How can we recreate such intense and concentrated connections to Jewish life once participants have returned home? As the years go by, the magnitude of their Israel experience risks being diminished by the mundane exigencies of post-Birthright life.

After having devoted considerable energy to Birthright NEXT in the effort to keep Birthright alumni involved Jewishly, I have concluded that in this effort there is only one sine qua non, and that is Shabbat. Various other post-Birthright activities have at best a mixed record and have nowhere near the resonance that Shabbat can potentially have. Why not use Shabbat meals — the weekly bubble of Jewish celebration — as the primary connecting point for Birthright alumni and their friends?

I envision a nationwide Shabbat program that harnesses the success of Birthright Israel to make Shabbat meals a vital part of participants’ weeks — and, in turn, a crucial element in their Jewish journeys. Shabbat meals provide a venue to catch up with fellow participants, make friends, experience Jewish culture and learn something new. They offer opportunities for continuous Jewish engagement and empowerment untethered by daunting commitments. Who doesn’t enjoy a meal among friends old and new? Our goal must be to make Shabbat a habit in the lives of this generation so that they experience the true ethos of the Jewish people: The ways in which the social, spiritual and sensual come together as one.

But these meals will advance beyond eating and drinking and into weekly venues for sharing and learning. Shabbat meals are a perfect context for informal education. They’re primarily social experiences, unfettered by the hierarchical burdens of traditional learning, and focused instead on peer engagement. Most of all, they are participant-powered. As I envision them, the meals will not take place in synagogues or JCCs but in homes, emphasizing both a DIY ethic and a grassroots appeal. Meals will potentially branch off into other activities ranging from traditional to alternative, depending on the respective community, all with an eye towards expanding participants’ Jewish horizons. But while the education will be informal, it will be rigorous. We will carefully recruit, train and coach Shabbat ambassadors and hosts, educating them at learning retreats and providing them with original educational materials and activities, so that the meals become more than simply sites of satiation. We will coordinate and partner with local institutions that have track records of engaging young adults. We will help develop computer and mobile apps to disseminate educational materials and activities tailored to diverse cohorts, and to make it easier for Birthright alumni to organize and participate in the meals. Finally, we will seek ways of bringing elements of the Birthright Israel experience, including but not limited to encounters with Israeli culture and society, into the structure of the meals and activities.

We should remember that for many Birthright alumni, the first experience of a meaningful and exhilarating Friday night Shabbat dinner took place on their Birthright trip. A thoughtful and rigorous Shabbat program has the potential to take one of the few elements of their Israel experience that is portable — Shabbat — and bring it back to the Diaspora intact. It helps participants to deepen the connections they made with one another on their trips, and creates opportunities for new connections based on their peers’ respective social networks back home. It builds on Birthright’s success, enhancing and expanding the ten-day bubble into what can turn into a weekly routine for life. This is crucial: we are not interested in one-shot events, annual Shabbat reunions or last-minute Friday get-togethers. We are interested in creating new social habits that become as memorable as the Bar or Bat Mitzvah — with an emphasis on the fact that while a Bar or Bat Mitzvah occurs once in a lifetime, Shabbat is a weekly celebration.

We at Birthright Israel have not done as good a job as we might have in attracting a majority or even a meaningful minority of our alumni. In my view, it is time to focus entirely on Friday night Shabbat experiences. Even if we start in pilot cities, the vision is to be broad and expand across the country. If executed properly, Birthright alumni will incorporate these meals into their lives so that ultimately they eagerly await Friday nights as a special time of Jewish connection, exploration and celebration.

From the time of our inception as a community, Shabbat has been an oasis of social, spiritual and sensual sanctity. It is time to return Shabbat to its role as a unifier of the Jewish People and a catalyst of Jewish reflection. If we are successful, Shabbat can help revolutionize Jewish engagement as a new social habit in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews, sealing the bonds of the Jewish People for generations to come. ■

Michael H. Steinhardt is Chairman of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life.