Friday, November 13, 2009

Our Shabbat Dinner

Shabbat Shalom!
Have a peaceful rest!
A dear friend requested that I post about our Shabbat Dinners. So this
is an attempt to do so...
Our Shabbat Dinner is a special dinner that is set apart just like the Shabbat which is
the seventh day of the week.
Preparation for this dinner starts early in the morning with baking two
loaves of Challah Bread, making a desert, and doing all the
cleaning because on Shabbat we don't want to work, it's a day of
long awaited rest!
Of coarse many wives simply buy their Challah bread, (our
stores don't stock it, go figure) and
with the Challah bring home a pie to pop in the oven. My dh
prefers home made pies, yes dear it's my pleasure to
make you a home made pie :-)
Our Shabbat dinner isn't like the traditional 'Jewish Shabbat Dinner' if there
is an actual traditional one. I've found through the years that
Yahweh will lead each family if they ask him to, to observe
Shabbat in a way that pleases him.
The Table
Our dinner table is set apart that is to say we don't set
it the same way as during the week, we use a table cloth,
cloth napkins, two candles, wine glasses (for the grape juice)
we have only one set of dishes but if I had a set of fine China
I would use it.
Our Menu
I try to cook a 'special dinner' on the eve of Shabbat (Friday evening)
Usually I cook either Fish or Chicken as our main dish.
In the summer we do a nice salad with corn on the cob or
some other garden fresh veggie.
The vegetable dish varies.
Two loaves of Challah Bread,
butter for the bread,
Grape Juice
and
a home made desert.
Blessing the Meal
We all sit around the table while dh says the blessing.
Some people have a regular blessing they say, dh just prays
what's on his heart.
Then my girls get to light the candles :-)
As they light the candles the say:
'Blessed are thou O Yah our Elohim
King of the Universe.
Who sanctified us and commanded us
to keep the Shabbat
Blessed be your name forever!'
everyone says together:
'HalleluYah
Praise Yahweh!'
Dinner begins with worship music playing
in the background.
Oh I forgot to mention I try to keep
worship music on during the day to keep
me focused and in a spirit of worship.
Some families say the blessing after
the meal because often times in the Bible
after Yahweh provided for his people
they would forget about him, in
saying the blessing after the
meal shows that they didn't
forget about him. Nice symbolism!
Making (or purchasing) two loaves of Challah bread
symbolizes 'the gathering of manna' in the
wilderness. Yahweh commanded that
they gather twice as much so they
would not have to work on Shabbat.
The loaves also represent the
bread of life our Messiah
who died for us that
we might live.
When giving the prayer of 'Thanks' often
the loaves are lifted up and the prayer of
thanks is give (we don't do this, but it's nice to do)
then the the scripture is read in Exodus 16:22-23
Just before we eat everyone raises their wine glass
and toast each other by saying:
Shabbat Shalom!
After the meal we quickly clean up trying to beat
the sun before it sets, which now, since we set the clocks
back an hour, the sun sets much earlier. After clean up we read, listen to music,
and relax.
.
Many have the husband/daddy pray for the
children speak blessing on them, which is
what I want dh to start doing. He
also prays for his wife and pronounces
blessing on her.
I read somewhere that
studies show Jewish
children tend to excel in their studies
and have
a positive attitude and grow
into being successful adults in life
believing
they are blessed and walking
in their blessings, the one
thing that was
found different in
their lives apart from
others was this one simple act of blessing
them on each Shabbat
of their young lives.
Many families go to Shabbat Service in the
evening and on Shabbat (saturday) but we
don't because we there isn't
a Torah Observant congregation here
that follows the Messiah.
The only congregation here that observes Torah
is a Jewish one and they don't believe that
Yahshua is the Messiah :-(
So we listen to EliYah or YRM
for our Shabbat service via the internet.
When the sun sets we pray to end Shabbat, but
many have another (smaller) dinner,
we don't.
I'm learning to enjoy and call the Shabbat a delight, it's
hard because I long for fellowship with like minded
believers. I believe if we did have
a congregation to fellowship with I would
enjoy it so much better. But Father knows
best and I believe there is a reason for this
time in our lives without a physical
assembly.
I hope this has helped you my Sister Bridget, there are no
set 'rules' per say to a Shabbat dinner just a nice
dinner, teaching the children that Shabbat is
a set apart day that
Yahweh commanded
his people everywhere
to observe
so we begin it with a special
dinner that is unlike the rest of the week.
There are many 'Jewish Traditions' for Shabbat
but we like to keep ours simple and have
the Holy Spirit lead us in our observance.
Well, got to get back to preparing for Shabbat,
May you have a
His Shalom on
Shabbat!

8 comments:

  1. Greetings from another Torah observant believer!

    This is my third time observing Shabbat so I'm still trying to figure it out. Right now, I have two loaves of challah all braided a nearly ready to go in the oven.

    Unfortunately my family does not believe the way I do. Because of this, I have had to make do with just myself. But I also listen to EliYah's messages on Shabbat and listen to worship music. My favorite right now is by a group called Quodesh (forhisname.com/music).

    Blessings!

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  2. Wonderful! I love reading what you are doing for Sabbath, we celebrate or set it apart -very similar to you.... Let Him Lead...such blessing.... Shabbat Shalom!

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  3. What did you say?

    The phrase "God bless you" will change depending on to whom you are speaking.

    If speaking to a non-Orthodox and a non-Conservative Jew, you would say:
    (to a male): "Sheh-Elohim Yivarech Otcha"
    (to a female): "Sheh-Elohim Yivarech Otach"

    to an Orthodox or a Conservative Jew, you would say:
    (to a male): "Sheh-Hashem Yivarech Otcha"
    (to a female): "Sheh-Hashem Yivarech Otach"

    For the phrase "God be with you", substitute the verb "Yihyeh" for "Yivarech".

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sister Bridget pleasssse a burden? girl I enjoy all the comments and questions. If you were in my neighborhood I'd invite your family to Pasach/Passaover what fun your children would have learning about how Yahshua is our Passover, they would wear very dark sunglasses for the plague of darkness, they would experience boils on their arms with bubble wrap, they would see the water turn to blood in a piture...and they would eat chorset, a yummy side dish made of apples, grape juice, walnuts, cinnamon mixture symbolizing the mortar brick and the sweetness of deliverence, have some flat bread matzah, and look for the broken piece of matzah that is hidden away wrapped in white linen...yes symbolizing Yahshua broken for us wrapped in white linen and Mary finding him so the children find the hidden matzah afterwards they get a gift...just like we recieve the gift of the holy spirit...I wish you were in my neiborhood, what fun we would have!

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  5. :) How fun to read about your Shabbat! We also make our own Challah... my daughters do. We rise early, prepare special meals for Friday and Saturday, prepare our home all day to have it especially clean and ready, have a special order we do our meal in, and celebrate it and set it apart.

    I have been asked before to post how we celebrate, and you have inspired me. I really need to do so!

    Be blessed in Messiah!
    ~Jacque
    http://jacquedixon.com

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  6. I really enjoyed reading this post. Sabbath has been kinda getting lazy at this house-to be honest. We started out strong, but have slacked off. You've reminded me what our Sabbath should be and what we've been missing out on. Thank-you!

    ReplyDelete