Slow Series · Shabbat trunk
· מַסְלוּל שַׁבָּת
Shabbat as sanctuary in time.
A six-week chavruta path for moving from rushing into resting — learning to let
Shabbat hold you with more gentleness, presence, and joy.
שַׁבָּת כְּמִקְדָּשׁ בַּזְּמַן — לֹא רַק מַה שֶׁאָסוּר, אֶלָּא מָקוֹם לָנֶפֶשׁ לָנוּחַ.
You can begin in any week, but the arc is meant to be read in order. Each week
offers a core idea, a small set of sources, and one gentle practice to carry into
this Shabbat.
Six small turns toward Shabbat.
These are not full source sheets yet, but a map. Each card can grow into a
printable sheet, app page, or chavruta PDF.
Remembering before keeping
“Zachor” comes before “Shamor” — inner memory before outer fence.
Idea
Shabbat is first something we remember and cherish, and only then
something we protect with boundaries. Before lists of what not to do,
there is a story we are stepping into.
Learn
• Shemot 20:8–11 — “Zachor et yom haShabbat”
• Devarim 5:12–15 — “Shamor et yom haShabbat”
• Rashi / Ramban on why the two versions differ
Practice
Sometime between Sunday and Thursday, pause for one minute and whisper:
“I am walking toward Shabbat.” Notice what you hope this Shabbat could
feel like, without judging yourself.
Lighting the threshold
Candles as a gentle border crossing between weekday and holy time.
Idea
Shabbat candles do more than “fulfill a commandment.” They soften the
room, mark a border, and say: “For the next 25 hours, the light is
different here.”
Learn
• Basic halakhah and reasons for ner Shabbat
• Sources on Shalom Bayit and oneg (peace and delight)
• A short midrash or chassidic teaching about candle-light
Practice
Add one tiny moment before lighting — a deep breath, a quiet request,
or the name of someone you are holding. Let the match be your crossing
into a softer world.
Rest that is not collapse
Menuchah as a positive way of being, not just finally lying down.
Idea
Many of us “rest” only when we hit the wall. Torah’s menuchah is
different: an active choosing to stop, while we still have some
strength left, so that we can actually enjoy existing.
Learn
• Midrashim on Shabbat as a gift
• A teaching from Sfat Emet / Rav Kook on menuchah
• Short halakhic notes on melachah vs “being”
Practice
Choose one activity you will not do this Shabbat (email, dishes,
one specific chore) and one nourishing thing you will do (a slow
walk, a song, a nap without guilt).
The Shabbat table as a small Temple
Seeing bread, wine, and words as offerings of joy and presence.
Idea
The table becomes a mizbeach; the food is no longer “just dinner.”
Kiddush, challah, and zemirot turn eating into an encounter — the Divine
is invited as a guest at your table.
Learn
• Sources calling the table a mizbeach
• Texts on kiddush remembering creation and exodus
• A short teaching on lechem mishneh (two loaves)
Practice
Add one line of kavannah before kiddush or hamotzi: “May this table be
a place of peace and kindness.” See how that line changes the meal.
Holy conversation
Letting Shabbat reshape what and how we speak.
Idea
On Shabbat we are invited to speak differently: less “what I produce,”
more “who we are.” Not every harsh conversation belongs on this day.
Learn
• Yeshayahu 58 on “not speaking your own words”
• Selected halakhot of Shabbat speech
• A chassidic or mussar teaching on gentle words
Practice
Choose one conversation this Shabbat that you will approach with extra
listening and less defending. If a hard topic must wait, let it wait.
Carrying Shabbat into the week
Letting motzaei Shabbat echo into the days ahead.
Idea
Shabbat does not vanish at havdalah. It leaves an after-glow, a
neshama yetera that slowly folds back into weekday life. We can learn
to notice and keep a thread of Shabbat in every day.
Learn
• Sources on neshama yetera
• Laws and symbols of havdalah
• Teachings on “me’ein Olam Haba” — Shabbat as a taste of the world to come
Practice
Pick one simple “Shabbat echo” for a weekday: a short song, lighting a
candle before dinner, five minutes without your phone. Let it remind you
that time itself can be a sanctuary.