Practicing Shabbat While Israel is at War

Shabbat is a time to pause, a time to gather, and a time to reflect. It is also an opportunity to listen to our own inner voices and to other people around our table.

Right now, so many people around our Shabbat tables are: 

  • Praying for the safe release of the more than 125 hostages still being held in captivity, including children, women, and elderly;
  • Praying for the end of the war in Gaza;
  • Praying for the end of innocent people’s suffering.

It is not always easy to listen, especially to people who might have different perspectives. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to be seated around the Shabbat table for teaching and learning so that we all have an opportunity to speak, listen, and empathize.

Jewish tradition calls us to listen AND struggle, starting with the familiar words “Sh’ma: Israel.” The Hebrew word Sh’ma means Listen, and Israel means “wrestling with God” and challenges us to turn toward, not away from, complexity. 

In other words, “Sh’ma: Israel” can mean “Listen: those who are struggling.”

We hope the resources below will help you to continue to sit at the table, continue to engage, and continue to be part of community.

If you’re not yet a host, apply to host a dinner to pause and discuss.

Based on needs expressed by you and other OneTable users following October 7, 2023, we collected these resources. We will keep updating them as your needs change. OneTable curated resources to share many perspectives and the opinions expressed are those of the authors.

Why Be Jewish in a Time of Crisis?

Download this guide to focus on elevating learning and ritual, and to imbue even the most challenging moments with Jewish meaning. There will be as many answers to “Why Be Jewish?” as there are guests, and that’s exactly as it should be. Our strength, as individuals and as a Jewish community, is in our willingness to ask the question.

Together at the Table Shabbat Guide

Download this guide with the Shabbat blessings, education, readings, and discussion prompts to help you come together at the table with the people and issues, including responding to antisemitism, that you care about.

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Tunes for Togetherness Playlist

Songs for healing, coming together, and tuning in to the feelings flowing through us in this moment. Play this while you’re prepping for Shabbat, or anytime you want to tap into the restorative power of music.

Stories for the Sake of Argument

We know it can be challenging to talk to each other about Israel, so check out Stories for the Sake of Argument by Abi Dauber Sterne and Robbie Gringras and this resource to lead an argument with a group and bring this conversation to your Shabbat table.

Repair the World's Guide to Respectful Conversations

Use this guide to help create a space in which individuals can express and listen to each other’s lived experiences. These suggestions can facilitate the conversation into a larger communal narrative.

“It feels like every day there’s more to talk about as American Jews and fewer places that feel safe to have those conversations. Let’s make a Shabbat space that feels safe to do that. Let’s talk to each other. I’ve got love for my people.”

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More Resources for Your Shabbat Table

OneTable compiled these resources for reference and the opinions expressed are those of the authors. Email our partnerships team to suggest your organization’s resources for our library.

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Read Jewish Authors

In June 2021, @kaylareadsbooks on Instagram, encouraged her followers to set aside the time, be thoughtful about book choices, and read from a selection of by Jewish authors.

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Reflection by Boaz Munro

In Boaz Munro’s letter, “Your Jewish Friends Are Terrified by Your Silence,” he shares a personal reflection of his family’s story and challenges others to speak up in response to antisemitic violence.

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Reflections from OneTable's Rabbi

Rabbi Jessica Minnen writes, “To live justly is to continue to do both kinds of work, to build love and kindness in ways that are connected to our past and committed to our future.”

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How Shabbat Dinners Transformed a White Nationalist

In an excerpt of an interview from On Being with Krista Tippet, Derek and Matthew discuss how a Shabbat dinner in college helped them meet and interact with people who share different views and opinions.

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The Issue Is Not "The Issues"

Zohar Raviv shares that educators and everyone should reflect together on how, not what, people think to lead to effective and meaningful dialogue.

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Resources from Jewish Education Project

While this guide was developed in response to the tragedy at Tree of Life, the Jewish Education Project has added resources as, unfortunately, the list of hate crimes in Jewish and other communities continues to grow.

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We All Belong: A Letter in Response

On August 15, 2017, OneTable CEO Aliza Kline invited everyone to join Together at the Table in response to antisemitism. Avigayil was one of many to share the movement and her passion stands out to us years later.

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Charting a New Course

Read Craig Cohen’s post on 18Doors, a community for interfaith families, about his experience of antisemitism and how it caused him to think about the words we use, the way we speak, and how we greet strangers.

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Human Dignity in a Time of Crisis

The Conservative Yeshiva is a diverse, egalitarian, and engaging learning community in the heart of Jerusalem. This text source sheet from them can help guide your conversations.

History of Together at the Table

In August 2017, we first came together to mobilize a grassroots movement of Shabbat dinners across the country dedicated to celebrating diversity, equality, and inclusion in the face of fear, division, and hate following the horrors that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was hard to put into words how many of us felt following a weekend in which we witnessed white supremacists and neo-nazis marching openly in America, leaving violence and tragedy in their wake.

Unfortunately, since that time, we’ve had to respond to the horrific events in many other communities from the tragic shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway to the recent acts of violence.

Regardless of where we each stand politically, we can all agree: hatred, bigotry, and violence cannot be tolerated in our communities. When our values are threatened in this way, we raise our voices and rise up, not just in opposition, but in unity.

See all of the partners that have joined OneTable for Together at the Table since 2017.

2019 Guide

Created in partnership with the ADL, Be’chol Lashon, Keshet, and Repair the World in response to the horrific shooting in Poway on April 27, 2019.

2018 Guide

Created in partnership with the ADL, Be’chol Lashon, Keshet, and Repair the World in response to the tragic shooting at Tree of Life on October 27, 2018.

2017 Guide

Created in partnership with Repair the World in response to the horrors that took place in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017.