In our Torah reading for holidays, we not only recite the laws of holidays, we include Shabbat, and oddest of all, some laws about sacrificing animals. What do all these laws have to do with one another? Shabbat and the holidays seem like separate phenomena, but... is the Bible trying to say something about the importance of Shabbat as it relates to other Jewish holidays? In this video, Rabbi Fohrman makes a fascinating argument about how Shabbat works and shows that there are Shabbatot in different realms. Through this analysis, he uncovers what Shabbat is really about, and the importance of the Sabbath Day for understanding other Jewish holidays.

Join Rabbi Fohrman for an in-depth discussion of Kabbalat Shabbat.

Join Rabbi Fohrman for an in-depth discussion of Kabbalat Shabbat.

What’s meaningful about keeping Shabbat? Lots of things, right? It’s a day of rest, a chance to put down our phones, learn and pray, focus on our family and friends. But Shabbat has its challenging aspects too. Sometimes the restrictions of Shabbat weigh on us and make it hard for us to appreciate how meaningful it is. So how do we hold on to a sense of the beauty of this day? Click here to listen to the audio only version of this content.

Join Rabbi Fohrman for an in-depth discussion of Kabbalat Shabbat.

We know all about Shabbat, right? Shabbat is about emulating God. Back in the beginning of Genesis, after God created for six days, God rested, so, after our six days of work, we too rest. We spend 25 hours in this intense emotional and spiritual state, connecting to God, praying, singing, learning Torah. It’s so beautiful and meaningful. But, if we’re being honest, I think many of us would admit that, more than anything else, Shabbat is a time where we reconnect with our loved ones, with family and friends, where we’re with our communities. And that leaves us wondering: what really makes Shabbat meaningful? Is it bad *to* focus on friends and family, even, often, more so than God? Or is that exactly what God wants? For the video series on Shabbat, click here.

The Sabbath prayers include special additions for each of the three times of day - Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon. Each prayer includes a rabbinic text that either appears in tandem with a Biblical text about Shabbat, or stands alone to describe the Sabbath. Why did the rabbis choose to include these specific Biblical texts, at these times of the Sabbath? How can we make sense of the liturgical additions that accompany them? In this three part series, Rabbi Fohrman shows how each of these prayers are in fact offering a rabbinic interpretation on the Biblical text, and how each one reveals a deep secret about the nature of Sabbath itself.

We talked last week about seeing Shabbat in different worlds. But how do we understand, conceptually, what this means? The clues may lie in the laws of the Sabbath and Jubilee cycles of rest, which follow a pattern of seven years in the Bible. In this week's video, we look at Pesach, Shmita and Yovel and ask, where do we see Shabbat, and why does it matter? Rabbi Fohrman follows the clues to unearth the spiritual meaning of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, one that applies to our own lives today. He discusses the concept of how when the land rests and slaves return to freedom, so do we, too.

In this animated video version of the Meaningful Judaism podcast episode, Rabbi Fohrman takes a fresh look at Shalom Aleichem to uncover its hidden depth. This familiar yet curious prayer leads him to a surprising insight about the profound meaning behind keeping Shabbat—and what resting on the seventh day is really all about.