Did the Shabbat Project show that we’re one people, capable of doing things the same way in unison from time to time, or did it suggest that there’s only one right way to be Jewish?

Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin
Beth Avraham Yoseph Congregation, Toronto

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, Montreal

Rabbi Korobkin: This past Shabbat, Jews from communities worldwide participated in the Shabbat Project, an initiative started by the chief rabbi of South Africa to encourage as many Jews as possible from around the world to observe a traditional Shabbat according to Halachah. Did your congregation participate in this project? 

Rabbi Grushcow: Here in Montreal, no one approached our synagogue to invite us, and the synagogues involved all seemed to be Orthodox. As it happens, though, this past Shabbat we were extremely fortunate to have Anat Hoffman as our invited guest. As chair of Women of the Wall and executive director of the Israel Religious Action Centre, she is a powerful voice for religious pluralism in Israel and around the world. 

I would have loved to have offered that for a city-wide Shabbat Project. The Shabbat Project, however, currently excludes many Jews by suggesting that the only true way to observe Shabbat is a halachic one. I reject the idea that the only way to authentic Judaism is through halachic observance. I love the idea of encouraging all Jews to take Shabbat seriously, but there has never been only one right way to be Jewish.

Rabbi Korobkin: The goal of the Shabbat Project in Toronto was to encourage everyone to observe a halachic Shabbat. It wasn’t geared to just Orthodox Jews or congregations, and several Reform congregations participated here. I’m saddened that this apparently didn’t happen in Montreal. 

I’m also troubled by your assertion that the call for everyone to observe a halachic Shabbat together is not “pluralistic.” Does pluralism mean that it’s wrong for everyone to do something together? While I certainly appreciate that different Jews observe Shabbat in different ways, what’s wrong with inviting every single Jew – Orthodox, Reform, secular, etc. – to observe Shabbat together the same way for just one Shabbat? 

That wouldn’t be an admission that there’s only one way to observe Judaism, just a sign of solidarity, that we’re one people, capable of doing things the same way together from time to time. Forgive me, but it almost sounds like “Halachah” is a dirty word to you! What great tenet of “pluralism” is being violated by a Jew deciding not to answer his phone or email for one Shabbat?

Rabbi Grushcow: I love the thought of doing things together, and Halachah is not a dirty word. However, Halachah is not the structure that defines most Jewish lives. Many Jews across the religious spectrum really resonate with the idea of unplugging on Shabbat, and I’m all in favour of that. But not tearing toilet paper, as the Shabbat Project suggests in its online guide, or having a challah bake that is only for women? These practices are not in keeping with all of our values (not to mention that my father bakes a fantastic challah). 

I would love to see a project that really explores the many places where we can meet and celebrate together. Here in Montreal, the rabbis have positive relationships with each other. We teach in each other’s synagogues and connect at communal events. But I wouldn’t have the chutzpah to suggest that the way my community observes Shabbat should be followed by my colleagues.

One of our congregants, who lives in a chassidic neighbourhood, was approached by an Orthodox Jew who suggested that she send each of her three sons to chassidic homes this past Shabbat so they could observe a “real” Shabbat. This is a congregant whose children became bnei mitzvah here, who brings them to our Torah school every Shabbat, and who is a dedicated leader and committed Reform Jew. To suggest that her family doesn’t know what Shabbat is all about simply because they don’t observe it in a traditional manner is offensive. 

That our synagogue was not asked to participate in a communal Shabbat project is problematic. If we really want to encourage making Shabbat part of people’s lives, there are so many creative ways to do it. And if we want to focus on Jewish togetherness, perhaps we would benefit if we all went to each other’s synagogues once in a while. If nothing else, hopefully this project – and our conversation – will push people to think a little deeper about what Shabbat, and community, are all about.