Shabbat Stories from the October Voice Rhonda Daniels, President, Women of Rodef Sholom: My synagogue youth group As a young girl growing up in Western Massachusetts, I attended Junior Congregation every Saturday morning in the cellar of my synagogue. We had our own chapel and the seats were always filled with kids, ages 8 -18. We took turns leading the service, the older children teaching the younger. We read from the Torah once we became Bar or Bat Mitzvah and  although we had an advisor to our youth group with us, my memory is that the service was lead by the older kids who were all members of our synagogue Youth Group, USY.  This was Saturday morning.   This was Shabbat. No one would ever think of skipping services. This initial sense of community, sense of belonging and having a purpose in my Jewish community leaves such sweet memories of my youth. On the occasion when one of us “went upstairs” because we were invited to a Bar Mitzvah or had another reason to pray in the main chapel was always accompanied by a trip downstairs to see how things were going.  This was my Shabbat. This is how my Jewish values and sense of commitment were formed in the synagogue of my youth.     Rose Essrig: One of my sweetest Shabbats When I was younger, Shabbat started on Wednesday or Thursday of the week. I would go with my grandmother to the market. We would use the local streetcar to take us to the area where the kosher meat and fish markets were – live fish was the only kind my grandmother would use. Friday would start early because the meal for Friday night was prepared. The challah was baked, the gefilte fish was cooked, the chicken and vegetables baked. The table was set with candles and wine. We were ready to welcome the Shabbat Queen. As I look back, I don’t know how she did all that work. It was a night we looked forward to all week.   Marissa Robbins, 11th grade: Shabbat dinner Every Friday night my family sits around the dinner table and sings the prayers for the candles, wine and challah. Then, every Friday, we have the same exact meal. It consists of chicken with sauce, rice pilaf, or better know as “green rice”, roasted cauliflower, cucumber salad and usually some special dessert. It’s called Shabbat dinner, and it is not Shabbat without Shabbat dinner. Ask my family, and they’ll tell you, I get very upset when we have something different for dinner on Shabbat.   In all seriousness, Shabbat is my favorite quality of Judaism, and I feel very connected to it. “God was smart, “ my mom likes to say, “to stop working on Friday night and Saturday.” I agree completely. I believe that keeping Shabbat keeps us sane. Shabbat is the only time of the week where my family can truly relax. The rest of the week we are non-stop with school, homework, and sports, but we always look forward to Friday night, when we can just sit on the couch and watch all the “Tivo’d” shows we missed during the stressful week. But only after Shabbat dinner, of course.   During this stressful time in high school, Shabbat is most important to me. I know I will pass on this important tradition to my family when the time comes.   Claire Mikowski, our new Assistant Director of Education: “Tatty” When you are 3 years old and love your "Tatty", who works very long days, you hardly ever see him. He was gone when I woke up in the morning and soon after he came home at night, I had to go to bed. When your family is small (mother, father and 2 girls; no grandparents, aunts or uncles), you look forward to seeing your daddy come through the door at 6:30 pm on the dot. The one time we had together was Shabbat morning, when we walked to shul hand in hand. I remember being so proud that I could sit next to him during the service. I didn't have to sit upstairs with the older girls and women. I had my "Tatty" to myself. I stood up when he did. I rocked my body back and forth like he did when he read his prayers. He even showed me the letters sometimes, so I could pretend that I too was reading Hebrew. It was such sweet time with my daddy as I snuggled into his side.   After the praying was over, we went downstairs to the social room, where the men would talk business and life and the ladies would serve herring and kichel, which soon became my most favorite food in the world. Now as I look back on it, it was the time I spent with Tatty that made me love herring so much. Otherwise, what 3-year-old would eat it? I still remember how proud I was  looking up at him as he prayed. He could read so fast and I was daddy's little girl. Still today, I look for kichel in Jewish delis and bakeries and I learned how to make my own herring in cream sauce. I guess Shabbat for me is a taste of time and memories that still play out in my mind.   Vivien Braly, Board member: Finding Shabbat peace in Jerusalem I’ve always loved the idea of Shabbat. Slowing down, relaxing and turning off the phone for a day sounds great. So why haven’t I done it? With three young kids, I’ve always thought rest on Shabbat was a great goal, but one that I’d reach when my kids are grown. It took a trip to Israel this summer to open my eyes to the availability (and necessity!) of Shabbat rest. I brought my eldest son, Jonah, with me this summer on the congregational trip to Israel. On our first Shabbat in Jerusalem, Rabbi Lezak urged us to celebrate Shabbat like Israelis do; prepare, slow down and rest for the day. Jonah and I decided to give it a try. On Friday, we discovered Israelis finish up their work, shop for Shabbat and head home before sundown. On the street, few cars pass by as people as people walk to shul. With no restaurants or stores open on Saturday, Jonah and I had to think ahead and buy groceries for Friday night and Saturday. When Saturday morning arrived, we slept in and walked to find other families picnicking in the park. Jonah quickly picked up a game of frisbee with some Israeli boys and tried in vain to speak Hebrew to a toddler having trouble on the playground. I chatted with friends on a blanket in the shade and felt unhurried for the first time in a long time. Jonah smiled and laughed as he dived for the frisbee in the Israeli heat. We had nowhere to go and it felt fantastic. That day, we discovered one of the many gifts of the trip; how restorative, how sweet and, ultimately, how necessary Shabbat is for a family’s well-being.