The Shabbat Initiative:
Embracing Shabbat in Your Congregation

Studying on Shabbat

  • What would and could a contemporary Reform Shabbat practice be like?
  • How can we reshape our members' perceptions about Shabbat?
  • What kinds of institutional and communal supports are needed for us to provide our congregants with the knowledge and means to observe Shabbat fully, meaningfully and joyfully?
  • How can we create and develop a strong communal Shabbat observance that is a true partnership between lay leaders and synagogue professionals?

The materials presented here have been developed to guide your congregation through a process of communal study about, reflection on and experimentation with Shabbat observance. To order your complimentary copy of Embracing Shabbat, fill out our online order form.
Download Embracing Shabbat
Embracing Shabbat - Full Program (PDF 1.39 MB)
Download the complete 138-page program.
Overview of Embracing Shabbat (PDF 142.64 KB)
Shabbat Initiative Board Workshops (PDF 354.69 KB)
Responsibility for congregational worship and ritual observance should be guided by a strong clergy-lay partnership because providing for and sustaining Jewish life is at the core of every congregation’s responsibilities to its members. These workshops are the venue in which your congregation should begin its work on the Shabbat Initiative.
Shabbat Morning Task Force: A How-to Guide and Program (PDF 244.21 KB)
Part of the Union's Shabbat Initiative, this is a detailed, step-by-step guide to setting up your congregation’s Shabbat Morning Task Force. Each Task Force’s purpose is to recommend to its own congregation and our Movement how Shabbat morning worship might be reimagined and enhanced.
Shabbat Initiative Chavurah Program (PDF 536.52 KB)
Participants are guided in a program of Shabbat immersion, studying about Shabbat and actively observing it alongside a small group of fellow congregants, with support given by the synagogue and the Union.
Lil'mod Shabbat - To Study Shabbat (PDF 1.01 MB)
Six study sessions that may be used separately or together in a variety of ways: as the study component for the Shabbat Shachrit Task Force, with the Shabbat Initiative Chavurah Program, as a congregational adult study program, or as part of a course of personal learning.
Reading Assignments for Lil'mod Shabbat—To Study Shabbat
Assignments for pre-session reading for Lil'mod Shabbat. Sessions 5 and 6 are especially for the Shabbat Morning Task Force.
Shabbat Resources (PDF 272.92 KB)
A full list of publications and websites for guiding you in creating a Shabbat observance.
An INVITATION  

We’ve created a listserv just for congregations who are using the Embracing Shabbat material; both the Shabbat Task Force and Shabbat Chavurah Program. The listserv is an email-based discussion group and is a forum specifically for members of your congregation’s Shabbat Task Force and/or Chavurah.

To sign up for the Shabbat listserv:

  1. Send an email to worship@urj.org
  2. Put "subscribe Shabbat" in the subject line
  3. In the email include:
    • Your name
    • Your email address
    • The name of your congregation
    • Your congregation’s city and state/province
The Shabbat Initiative  

Excerpted from Rabbi Yoffie's Biennial sermon, December 15, 2007

"There is a magical quality to Shabbat at Biennial. When we ask our delegates what was their most powerful experience during their five days here, the great majority say “Shabbat.” We treasure these twenty-four hours together, because, for once, we celebrate Shabbat as it is meant to be—a respite from errand running and clattering commerce, a day when we pay attention to the holy and the pull of Jewish time."

Read more...
Additional Resources  
Sharing Our Successes: Creative Congregational Approaches to Renewing Shabbat Morning Worship (PDF 251.38 KB)
Congregational lay leaders and professionals share their communities' efforts to transform Shabbat morning observance.
Hineih Mah-Tov -- "How Good It Is..." When Communities Come Together on Shabbat Morning (PDF 1.03 MB)
A collection of narratives from nine Reform congregations recounting how they have created spiritually meaningful Shabbat morning experiences.
Reform Voices of Torah
The Union's weekly Torah commentary, also available as an email or RSS feed.