This post is dedicated in memory of Etya Sarah bat Yitzchak ha-Levi. May it be an aliyah for her neshama.
If I mentioned two
tons of sifted flour being prepared for an event and the first thing that
popped into your mind was a massive bake sale, you'd be wrong. However, you
wouldn't be too far off the mark. The sifted flour used was for the challah baking that took place Thursday, exactly
one year ago, in honor of the countrywide South African Shabbos project –
keeping it together. Over 3,000 women participated, up to their elbows in
dough.
G-d created Shabbos
so that man could rest and reconnect with himself, his family and his community.
Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, the chief Rabbi of South Africa, wanted to give the
experience of a traditional Shabbos to everyone and he succeeded: over 10,000
people from all walks of life came together. That weekend, the streets were
lined with tables and Shabbos song, and when it ended, no one was itching to get back to their cell phones.
They were living in the moment.
This year, Rabbi Goldstein is once again taking on another
Shabbos project, this time expanding to a global initiative. The goal is to
bring together one million Jews (if not more). Dr. Warren said, "The Jewish sages remarked
that if the Jewish nation were to all keep two Shabbatot it would bring
redemption." He pointed out that the teaching shows
the great power Shabbat has, perhaps more than all the commandments, in its
ability to transform and unite the Jewish nation.
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