Global campaign picks up steam in Israel

Israel continues to be the global hub of the Shabbos Project – or Shabbos Olamit as it’s called there. Ongoing partnerships including those with the ministry of education, nongovernmental organisations such as Kesher Yehudi and Zehut, and various municipalities will result in this year’s project reaching more than 750 000 Israelis across the religious and political spectrum in more than 250 towns and cities.

One of the big innovations this year is to have a volunteer in each apartment building in Israel driving events, creating awareness, and distributing Shabbos-themed educational materials and items among residents. Thanks to a high-profile social media campaign, more than 10 000 “building captains” have already been recruited, driving events for close to half a million residents, while a Shabbos picnic kit will be distributed to 6 000 families.

About 40 000 high school students and 55 000 elementary school students, along with their families and teachers, will be participating in special Shabbos meals and other events, while special Shabbos learning programmes will reach more than 175 000 Israeli kids.

The mayor of Eilat addressed the Israel launch of the project. Last year, Eilat set the tone for the Shabbos Project in Israel, holding events even while absorbing 50 000 evacuees – the sum total of the population – and this year, the coastal city will be going all-out with four open-invitation mass Shabbos dinners among other city-wide events.

Hundreds of Jewish communities in North America are participating in the Shabbos Project. In Los Angeles, Aish will be helping non-observant community members host their own Shabbos meals while matching others up with host families. First-time participants Summerlin (Nevada) are organising a Shabbaton for students and their families. And Savannah (Georgia) is hosting a city-wide Shabbos lunch in a central location and arranging accommodation for those who live too far away to walk.

In Phoenix, families who sign up to keep a full 25-hour Shabbos, whether in their own home, as guests in another home, or at a local hotel near a synagogue, will receive a $100 (R1 805) Amazon gift card towards Shabbos essentials. In New York, Chabad on Campus is running a massive Shabbaton for 1 700 students. And a Shabbos dinner in Palo Alto run by the Z3 project for Israel-Diaspora relations is expected to draw more than 1 200 people.

Meanwhile, San Diego is rolling out a “Shabbos shuk” with more than 30 local Jewish vendors providing an array of Shabbos-themed delicacies, art, and Judaica, among other offerings. NCSY Canada is organising a community challah bake, Shabbos educational workshops, and student accommodation. And a rabbi in Tampa Bay Florida will be hosting a Shabbaton for young families, and learning Rabbi Goldstein’s book, Shabbos – A Day to Create Yourself, with a group of 12 boys from a local public school, one of more than 150 such learning groups happening across the US.

Across Europe, hundreds of events are happening in cities such as Prague, where a guest rabbi and rebbetzin from Israel will oversee a full programme including a challah bake, kids concert, challahs distributed to elderly members of the community, a musical Havdalah, and a Shabbos workshop for Barmitzvah boys.

And a special international Shabbaton in Switzerland will bring together students from Paris, Lyon, and Geneva, and will include a challah bake, Shabbos dinner, learning, and activities throughout the day, and a post-Shabbos “melave malka” party.

In France, the focus is on youth, with Shabbatons and learning events organised at university campuses across the country, while hundreds of schools will be running challah bakes, Shabbos dinners/lunches, and educational programmes for kids and their families.

Among dozens of events in Strasbourg involving every synagogue in the city, 20 young Jewish refugees from Ukraine will attend a Shabbaton along with local youth.

New cities participating in this year’s Shabbos Project include Casablanca (Morocco); Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire); and Tahiti, a small island in the middle of the south Pacific Ocean, which is organising a gala seudah shlishit (third meal) to join its celebrations with Jews around the world.