One of the harder aspects of doing a weekly podcast like this is that the awesome crew here at Soulful Jewish Living frequently feels challenged with a conundrum: Should we respond to this week’s events, or should we stick to the script? If we talk directly about events that occurred in the past week, we run some risks: 1) Whatever I say might be outdated by the time you listen to it; 2) We might wind up making some listeners feel less welcome, not more, and we want as many people as possible to feel welcome here.
On the other hand, if we don’t talk about the issues of the day, we run some other risks: The risk that maybe we’re not offering something with real-world application, or the risk that, in not mentioning something significant going on this week, we make a good chunk of listeners feel like we don’t see them–and thus they don’t feel welcome here either.
Rock, meet hard place.
We did make a scheduling change once, after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. We interrupted our regular calendar to offer a couple of episodes that were more directly about sitting with and mindfully responding to the horrible events of that day and the weeks—the far too many weeks—that have followed. But in three seasons, that was really the only time.
This is an intimate medium, podcasting, so I want to be transparent with you. We’ve been planning for a while to do a special miniseries on Shabbat: Seven episodes (get it–seven?) devoted to making the most out of this greatest of Judaism’s gifts, the weekly day of rest. It so happens that the moment we’re creating these episodes arrives during the opening weeks of the second Trump administration, and whether you love or hate the guy, everyone can agree that there is a lot going on—like, a lot—and more will have happened by the time you listen to this.
What that tells me might be counterintuitive to you, but here goes: You betcha we’re going ahead with our seven episodes on Shabbat. Because dude, if we ever needed what Shabbat has to offer, we certainly need it now.
What is it that Shabbat offers? So many things. A 25-hour zone to unplug from the crazy-making rhythms of the workweek and plug into the slower, richer, deeper rhythms of life. A spiritual refuge. A time to be more present for our family, friends, and community. Six days we are to do our work, the Torah says, but on the seventh, just like God, we rest and refresh our souls. We probably need that every week—and we might especially need it now.
We’ve talked about Shabbat on previous episodes, so my goal here is to offer some practices you can use for different parts of the day: the rituals of Friday night, an approach to Saturday daytime, a little detour to talk about preparing for Shabbat and bringing Shabbat consciousness into the rest of the week, and the beautiful practice of ending Shabbat with havdalah. So let’s get started with the ritual that, for many, marks the real beginning of Shabbat, lighting candles on Friday night.
There’s a very practical explanation for why we light Shabbat candles: The Torah states that we’re not to light fires on Shabbat. In the ancient world, if you didn’t want to sit in darkness all through the night, you would need to light a candle. So: make sure your candles are lit before Shabbat begins.
Yet even that, right there, is a mindfulness practice: By lighting the candles just before Shabbat begins, we’re signaling to ourselves that we’re aware that something is different about this day. It’s a day when we don’t alter the world to suit our will—symbolized by refraining from the most basic ancient element that fuels human power, fire. We light the candles, and then we let them be.
That actually leads to one of the really interesting little details about Shabbat candle-lighting: In nearly every other circumstance, Jewish tradition tells us to say a blessing before we do a ritual act. Going to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah? Say the blessing, then blow the shofar. Going to shake the lulav on Sukkot? Say the blessing, then shake the lulav. But with Shabbat candles, it’s reversed: We light the candles and only then say the blessing. Why? Because when we say the blessing, that’s when we’re really starting Shabbat. And if we said the blessing and then lit candles, we’d be lighting a fire on the Sabbath—which is the very thing we’re aiming not to do. Again, a mindfulness practice.
Yet there are even more opportunities to make this a mindful moment of transition and presence. Here’s a practice you might try, which comes from my friend and colleague at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Kohenet Keshira HaLev Fife:
Before lighting your candles this Friday night, pause. Breathe. Close your eyes. Let your body soften, relax. Arrive in this moment.
Now, with care, light the candles.
Pause now and take a moment to behold the light, and then, with a gentle, slow, circular motion, bring your hands towards you, like you’re gathering in the warmth and radiance of the light. Go slow. Allow yourself to feel the motion.
Now bring your hands over your eyes and pause in this moment of refuge, this moment of peace. Bring to mind something from the past week that you’re grateful for. A relationship. An encounter. An accomplishment. A moment of learning or insight. Allow yourself to feel gratitude for that moment.
And now, bring to mind something from the week ahead that you’re looking forward to. A conversation, a journey, a learning, an encounter. Allow yourself to feel hope about that moment.
And now, mentally set both of those moments—from past and future—set them both down and just be here, in this moment of Shabbat.
When you’re ready, with your hands still covering your eyes and using whatever tune you might use, recite the blessing: Blessed are you, animating life force of the universe, who has made us holy and given us this mitzvah, this incredible opportunity of connection, through lighting the Shabbat candles.
Remove your hands and take in a new look at those candles, the light and the warmth they offer. Shabbat shalom.