Shabbat Campaign Pioneers: "An Unprecedented Event in the History of Israel"

"I, too, will light Shabbat candles this Shabbat," under this theme, tens of thousands of women in Israel joined the call from the Halperin family, descendants of the late Rabbi Rafael Halperin, to observe Shabbat and thus protect the people of Israel. "I, too, will keep the upcoming Shabbat," declared others who had never experienced the taste of Shabbat, but now decided to do so for the first time in their lives.

This call to observe Shabbat, which under normal circumstances might have been dismissed as incitement, found itself last week to be a real lifeline. It went viral on social networks. More and more people joined in, declaring that they had decided to keep the holy Shabbat, promising that they did so to save the people of Israel.

יוסי אלדר

Dedicated to Shabbat

The initiators of the project were the family of the late Rabbi Rafael Halperin, recently joined by Yossi Elder, president and founder of 'Parliament for Israel', who last week engaged his daughter, Shiran, to Ariel Shimon Halperin, son of Rabbi Moshe Halperin and grandson of R' Rafael.

"R' Rafael Halperin was the one who initiated the Shabbat sirens heard in ultra-Orthodox cities and, surprisingly, in many cities far from being identified as such," he notes. "Throughout his life, he fought with all his might for the sanctity of the Shabbat and even organized a significant rally at Yad Eliyahu Stadium in Tel Aviv to promote Shabbat observance. Personally, I've heard from people not observant who testified that after hearing the music emanating from the sirens, they simply couldn't get into their cars, and this is what led them to begin keeping Shabbat. Incidentally, I know he also announced that anyone who would commit to observing Shabbat would receive a Shabbat platter as a gift from him, and he distributed thousands of such platters."

R' Rafael Halperin is no longer with us, but Elder mentions that in recent months, the Halperin family has frequently discussed promoting awareness of Shabbat observance. "The family saw how the Shabbat was being trampled in different cities around the country, and this pained them greatly. They themselves are meticulous about renting stores for their optical chain only in locations that observe Shabbat, and they also promote Shabbat observance in other ways, inherited from their father. But they also sought to launch a larger campaign to encourage the people of Israel to observe and uphold the Shabbat."

Campaign in Minutes

In the last week, he says, the opportunity arose. "The difficult days we all experienced made the Halperin family realize that this period of the global pandemic was the most fitting time to shine a light on the importance of Shabbat observance. Anyway, circumstances arose where all malls are closed, no restaurants are open, nor is public transportation running on Shabbat. People are required by the Ministry of Health to stay at home and not go out, so what better timing than this to call upon the people of Israel to join the keepers of the Shabbat?"

How did you manage this?

"Despite being very busy last week, due to my daughter's engagement, I decided to take this matter into my own hands. Together with my new relatives and their family, hundreds of thousands of shekels were invested in advertising in almost every imaginable media outlet. As a result, almost everyone who opened a newspaper last weekend found a large ad with the headline: 'More than Israel has kept the Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept them'. Below it, we wrote: 'The upcoming Shabbat, Parshat Vayakhel, will be the first in the last 71 years of Israel's history where transportation, theaters, gyms, restaurants, and shopping centers will not operate. United as one family and as one people, we keep the Shabbat, and the Shabbat will keep us.' We used the simplest language to convey our message because we wanted people to awaken and understand that the Shabbat is the most important thing for the people of Israel".

Elder emphasizes that it was the Halperin family who initiated and led the project, while he, as president and founder of the 'Parliament for Israel', reached out through the organization to Israeli representatives in various countries to join this important project. "'Parliament for Israel' is an organization that connects Latin American countries with the State of Israel, for supportive purposes, of course," he explains. "And indeed, we succeeded in establishing excellent collaborations in a short time." 

And how were the responses?

"The responses were cross-sectored and came from all corners," Elder recounts excitedly. "I know the ad spread wings on social networks and went viral. Countless follower pages opened, where very well-known people and celebrities, as well as ordinary individuals, joined and marked that they, too, intend to keep the Shabbat, some for the first time in their lives. We received feedback also from Jewish communities abroad, and even from non-Jews, encouraging us to act. It really felt like, during these days, the world was looking up to the heavens and trying to find relief, to hold onto something, and there's nothing more than the Shabbat, known as a source of blessing and protection for the Jewish people, the Shabbat is a symbol of the Jewish nation.

"Interestingly, we received many responses from the religious and ultra-Orthodox public. People contacted us, expressing that they might already keep the Shabbat, but now decided, in honor of this special Shabbat, to start it earlier, what is called 'Tosefet Shabbat'."

How did you manage to organize such a comprehensive campaign within such a short time frame?

"I think when it comes to the Halperin family, it's not a question," Elder responds with a smile. "For them, the Shabbat is a life project, and when the opportunity comes to magnify it, one cannot forgo it."

Do you have an estimate of the number of people who joined the Shabbat keepers last Shabbat?

"It's still too early to know, but I'm not sure we're going to delve into the data. Our goal was to unite, strengthen, and be strengthened, and I believe we've succeeded in achieving that. It's clear to me that this activity made a great noise in the heavens and added many merits to the people of Israel, and this is our purpose."