Curious Invited to ‘Real Shabbos Meal’ : Rabbis Promote Sabbath Rituals

Two Orthodox Rabbis hope that the prospect of a Friday evening launched with sacramental wine instead of wine coolers will attract unaffiliated Southern California Jews back to traditional Judaism.

The program, part of a nationwide marketing campaign, is called “Turn Friday Night Into Shabbos.”

Shabbos is the Yiddish word for the Sabbath, a 24-hour period of rest, study and prayer that is a weekly highlight in the lives of observant Jews.

“We estimate that 70% or more of the Jewish community is not affiliated with anything Jewish, and based on the New York experience we think we can reach these people, many of whom are embarrassed to come into the synagogue because they don’t know which side of the siddur (prayer book) is up,” said Rabbi Abner Weiss of the Beth Jacob synagogue in Beverly Hills.

He said that those who leave the Friday evening session wanting to know more about Judaism will be directed to the synagogue’s minyan , or prayer group, for beginners, which has brought in about 120 new parishioners for Beth Jacob in the last three years.

The Shabbos program, which also involves a Beth Jacob affiliate in Irvine, has been promoted through leaflets, flyers, bumper stickers and posters.

One flyer says, “How about sharing red wine for kiddush (the ceremonial blessing over the Friday evening meal) instead of white wine for cocktails?”

‘A Real Shabbos Meal’

The curious are invited to pay $10 for “a real Shabbos meal . . . complete with all the rituals. The ones you remember from your parents and grandparents. The ones you remember from years gone by. And some you might have even forgotten about altogether.”

Scheduled for Friday, at Beth Jacob’s building on Olympic Boulevard and at the Park West Clubhouse in Irvine, the evening is to open with an abbreviated Friday evening service, then break for dinner with members of the synagogue at each table to explain the proceedings.

Guests are promised singing, dancing, questions and answers, chicken soup and sweet red wine.

“The thrust is to reach out to people and give a chance to experience Judaism in a non-threatening setting,” said Daniel Epstein, rabbi of the Irvine congregation.

“We’re giving them the message that growth occurs in small steps, and that to experience the beauty of Judaism the best way is to gain knowledge and have a chance to explore.”

Launched eight years ago, the yearly event attracts more than 300 unaffiliated Jews to the Lincoln Square Synagogue on New York’s West Side, organizers said.

This year’s expansion was underwritten by a $65,000 grant from Avi Chai, a philanthropic foundation financed by Zalman Bernstein, chairman of a New York investment firm.

“The generous grant from Avi Chai will allow us to take our special style of West Side Manhattan outreach to synagogues throughout the country,” said Saul Berman, rabbi of the Lincoln Square Synagogue. “The grant will probably have an effect on Jewish identity throughout the country.”

The New York synagogue, like the two Southern California congregations and 22 others involved in the program, is part of the so-called Modern Orthodox movement.

Jews of this persuasion believe that they can be strictly observant of Jewish law and tradition “and at the same time be in touch with life in the 20th Century,” Epstein said.