Hold a mock Shabbat: (electric) candles, grape juice, challah, and the blessings sung together.
Children wonder and discover; you facilitate more than you lecture.
- What do you do to make Shabbat special?
- Why do Jewish people celebrate Shabbat every week?
- How does it feel to have a special day?
Shabbat is the weekly day of rest from Friday night to Saturday night. We light candles, bless wine/juice and challah, and rest — remembering creation.
- Shabbat — day of rest
- Nerot — candles
- Challah — Shabbat bread
- Shabbat Shalom — peaceful Shabbat
- “Why rest?”
- Even God rested on the seventh day; resting helps us enjoy our families and feel peaceful.
- Children can name Shabbat customs: candles, kiddush, challah, rest.
- Children experience the calm and joy of Shabbat.
Many families mark Shabbat differently or are just beginning — celebrate every version, including ‘pajama Shabbat’ or a quiet family dinner.
Folktale. Joseph Who Loved Shabbat (Talmudic) — a poor man who honored Shabbat finds a jewel hidden inside a fish.
Changemaker. Abraham Joshua Heschel — a rabbi who taught that Shabbat is like a palace built out of time.
I wonder what makes a day feel special and restful?
“We practiced Shabbat! Try at home: light candles (or pretend ones) Friday night and say ‘Shabbat Shalom.’ Recording linked on the hub.”