Imagine having your family gathered around a table filled with delicious food. Perhaps these are the siblings and children you see every day, or perhaps your in-laws or cousins have come to visit. Although the faces are familiar, the feeling is different; the atmosphere is more peaceful and seems set apart from the stress and worry of everyday life. The meal has been prepared lovingly and with attention to detail, and you enjoyed the communal effort with daughters, sisters (sons and husbands are welcome in the kitchen too!)
This description may sound like a portrait of a typical family Thanksgiving, but it could easily be a portrait of a Shabbat. After receiving a Mother’s Day card, my grandmother said to my father “Happy Mother’s Day? Every day is Mother’s day!” So too, while the rest of the country has Thanksgiving once a year, the last Thursday in November, Jews have a kind of “thanksgiving” every week beginning before sunset on Friday and concluding after nightfall on Saturday night. Like Thanksgiving, Shabbat is a time for family and friends to gather around and enjoy special meals. However, there is also a significant spiritual dimension to Shabbat which makes the atmosphere palpably different. According to Jewish mysticism, we have an extra soul on Shabbat and an aspect of kindness and wholeness shines throughout the world.
So, while taking advantage of the great deals at holidays sales on Friday, why not pick up some extra food and prepare a meal when you get home. It needn’t be a major production, even if only a soup and some chicken, and put it on the hot plate for a Friday night meal with the family. You can also try your hand at a stew or a cholent and put it on the hot plate for Saturday. You can extend the peace and thankfulness throughout the weekend and the entire year by adding Shabbat to your Thanksgiving
Related: What is Shabbat Part I
What is Shabbat? Part II
No More Freaky Fridays: A Sane Approach to Preparing for Shabbat.