Shabbat Is When Everything Shifts

A Day That Transforms the Week

What does Shabbat mean to you?
"Shabbat is a day with a completely different energy. I try to focus only on what makes Shabbat special and let go of all the weekday distractions. I honor Shabbat through prayer, meals, Shabbat melodies, time with friends, and learning, even just walking through the city. All of this fills me up for the week ahead. My weekdays are deeply shaped by how Shabbat goes."

Joy, Song, and a Walk by the Sea

What’s your typical Shabbat schedule?
"Evening prayers, followed by a Shabbat meal with as many songs, piyutim (liturgical poems), and joyful melodies as possible. Somewhere in there, we say 'L’chaim.' On Shabbat morning, it’s Shacharit, then lunch, with cholent in the winter and Greek salad in the summer. And always vegetables, lots of vegetables—that’s my priority. And of course, a good bottle of wine. Then it’s learning, resting, coffee, and a stroll toward the beach."

Where do you pray on Shabbat?
"Friday nights are usually at the Chabad yeshiva, Chazon Eliyahu, in Tel Aviv. Shabbat morning it’s either at the Modzitz shul on Dizengoff or at Chabad. It depends what time I wake up."

Favorite Shabbat song?
"It changes. I love discovering a new song, piyut, or niggun (Jewish melody) and then bringing it to the Shabbat table. Mixing up my repertoire is the best part."

Soulful Guests and the Presence of Greatness

Whom would you want to host for Shabbat, and where would you want to be hosted?
"I’d love to be a guest of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I imagine a Shabbat meal in his presence would feel like a taste of the World to Come. Just being near him would fill my soul and body with light and abundance. As for hosting, sharing Shabbat with close friends is the best thing there is."

What makes your Shabbat stand out from the rest of the week?
"My Shabbat is filled with deeper spiritual content and a different kind of consciousness. Even the preparations are meaningful. That’s been a big shift for me. There’s a feeling I carry throughout the day, a sense that everything’s going to be okay… let Shabbat take care of it. And of course, the 11 a.m. meal—that’s essential."

What’s the first thing you do after Shabbat ends?
"Right after Havdalah (the ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat), I usually take a shower and make myself something hot to drink."