Shabbat Project in 1,150 cities, 94 countries
Following one of the most bitter, divisive and exhausting presidential races in the history of the United States, the Jewish world took a well-deserved collective deep breath this past Shabbat.
The 2016 global Shabbat Project — now in its third year — outdid its predecessors on all fronts, reaching 1,150 cities in 94 countries around the world, and attracting record numbers of participants. An estimated one million people took part in celebrations on and around the Shabbat of Nov. 11–12 — not just in unique Shabbat programs, but in city-wide pre-Shabbat “Challah Bakes” and post-Shabbat “Havdallah Concerts.”
“The response to this year’s Shabbat Project has been stronger than ever,” says South African Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, founder and director of The Shabbat Project. “It has been so inspiring to see how The Shabbat Project connects with millions of Jews from every kind of background, and how people around the world have worked in partnership to make this a sublime moment of Jewish unity, all centered around Shabbat.”
The Shabbat Projects brought together Jews of diverse backgrounds and persuasions in ways never seen before and many of the participants observed Shabbat in full for the first time in their lives. In the U.S., there were 543 participating cities.
“We’ve witnessed an outpouring of emotion across the Jewish world, as Jews from all walks of life have embraced The Shabbat Project, putting aside their differences and gathering together in a spirit of love and unity,” says Goldstein. “There is a real thirst worldwide for true Jewish unity and for a genuine connection to Judaism. And people really resonate with the way Shabbat carves out a sacred space of tranquility and togetherness amidst the frenzy of modern life.”
Stories big and small from across the globe are already beginning to emerge — 8,000 at a challah bake in Buenos Aires; 15 families in the tiny Jewish enclave in Cancun, Mexico, keeping Shabbat for the first-time; 850 Sydneysiders “seaing” in Shabbat at a musical Kabbalat Shabbat service on Bondi Beach; a Shabbaton on board a cruise ship in the Atlantic; and a lone Jew in Karachi, Pakistan, keeping Shabbat with the rest of the Jewish world.
This year, thousands of Israelis from 160 cities and towns, including also joined events across the Jewish state, including 1,000 Tel Avivians eating Friday night dinner together and a Havdalah ceremony with 2,000 people in Raanana. Entire buildings across Israel hosted “Kiddush Binyani” services, with residents gathering in the buildings’ lobbies for Shabbat meals.
France boasted 19 participating cities, including Paris, Strasbourg, Grenoble and Nice. For first-time participants in Metz, The Shabbat Project coincided with the anniversary of the liberation of the city’s Grand Synagogue in 1944, and various Shabbat celebrations were held commemorating the event.
