Shabbat Observance: Books to Get You Started

Interested in observing Shabbat in your home but not sure where to begin? These books and other resources can guide you in creating a meaningful home observance of Shabbat. If you already celebrate Shabbat in your home, tell us: What books or resources helped you get started?

• Birkon Mikdash M’at: NFTY’s Bencher, edited by Jeremy Gimbel: A small, portable book of songs, prayers, and blessings for Shabbat and holy days.

• An Invitation to Shabbat: A Beginner’s Guide to Weekly Celebration: Explore Shabbat step-by-step and blessing-by-blessing from candle lighting to Havdallah. Discover the essential elements of tradition along with modern options for enhancing spiritual awareness. This book also includes a CD recording that brings to life the music of Shabbat.

• Gates of Shabbat: A Guide for Observing Shabbat: A guide to encountering the Shabbat and it’s possibilities for those who are unsure about the significance of Shabbat as well as those who are already committed to the Sabbath

• On The Doorposts Of Your House: Prayers And Ceremonies For The Jewish Home: Use the second chapter of this Reform prayerbook (“Prayers and Readings for Shabbat, Festivals, and Special Days”) for use in the home, incorporating gender-sensitive language, traditional prayers, and new readings.

• Do It Yourself Shabbat: This guide explains each of the four prayers recited on erev Shabbat and suggests alternate ways to incorporate them into various family settings.

• Shabbat Cards: 52 Ways to Look at Shabbat: What’s your Shabbat Moment? These cards offer 52 new ways to look at Shabbat with different eyes.