"I Gave Shabbat a Chance and Something Surprising Happened"

Somewhere Between Secular and Shabbat Candles
“I fall somewhere in the middle,” writes Odelya Yakir in her Israel Hayom column. “On the spectrum from completely secular to ultra-Orthodox, I’m in a pretty good spot.”

Raised in a traditional home but living in the heart of Tel Aviv for the past decade, she describes herself as someone who fasts on Yom Kippur and avoids chametz (leavened bread) on Passover, but doesn’t go so far as to deep-clean her apartment before the holiday. “Some might call that ‘easy religion,’” she quips. “I say: better something than nothing.”

An Unexpected Spark from the Shabbat Project
Scrolling through social media, Yakir came across the now-global Shabbat Project, an initiative spearheaded by South Africa’s Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein. She read about its spiritual impact and communal power and something shifted. “Suddenly, I thought: why not? One Shabbat of peace and quiet at my parents’ place. Who knows? Maybe we’ll actually talk.”

She imagined the experience: “Reading books and newspapers, three meals, fish, salads, challah, a ‘short’ eight-hour nap, and waking up to black coffee with Abadi cookies.” But she also remembered the beach, the beer, the paddleball and the perfect weekend weather. “Then again,” she wrote, “it’s a one-time spiritual experience, and let’s be honest, it’s not even that hot anymore.”

In the end, she decided to go for it.

One Day, No Phone, and a Deeper Connection
On her way to her parents’ house, Yakir sent a dramatic group text to her friends: she wouldn’t be available all weekend.

She joined her mother for candle lighting and then settled into a swing in the garden with a book. Before she knew it, it was Saturday night. “I realized I’d finished one book and was halfway through another,” she wrote. “But the highlight of Shabbat was a two-hour conversation with my parents.”

At first, it was awkward. “We didn’t know how to break the tension or what to do with the silences,” she admitted. “But then something loosened. We even scheduled a second ‘date.’”

And best of all? “I was saved from the constant urge to check my phone every two minutes just to see if anyone was looking for me.”

Conclusion
What began as a hesitant experiment became something surprisingly real. One quiet Shabbat, with no distractions, no pressure, and no phone, opened up space for connection, rest, and depth. As Yakir discovered, sometimes stepping away is exactly what brings us closer.