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  Virtual Shabbat Box

  







  
  

    
  


    
  
  

    Phone screen with a green box and the words "Virtual Shabbat Box: Resources for you in these uncertain times"  


  





Your Virtual Shabbat Box holds many ways to celebrate the day. Choose what nurtures you: listen, watch or read. Looking for Shabbat services? Check out Recon Connect for virtual Shabbat services and other live, online programs throughout the week.


 


October 30-31


 


Listen: Mizmor Shir l’Yom HaShabbat (Psalm 92)


Listen and sing this original melody for the Shabbat Psalm by Ann R. Silverman-Limor (aka Rahel). Sourced from Ritualwell




    
  
  

          closeup of acoustic guitar being played by musician
        


  





 


Read: A DIY Shabbat Ritual for These Trying Times


For the end of a distressing week full of social unrest, an ongoing health pandemic and any other challenges we may individually be going through right now, Rabbi Ilanit Zietman offers a special way to begin this Shabbat. Sourced from Ritualwell




    
  
  

          Shabbat candles, bottle of win, two wine glasses on table adorned with tea lights and decorative stones 
        


  





 


Listen: Finding Good Points


This practice from Rabbi David Jaffe and based on teachings from Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav looks into finding the good in oneself and other people. Sourced from Reset




    
  
  

          small yellow flowers growing out of crack in stone wall
        


  





 


Read: Now I Finally Get It — What George Floyd Has Taught Me


Rabbi George Stern teaches that “Black Lives Matter” is an insistent cry that it is far past time for America to acknowledge the sin of racism and to stop acting as if Black lives don’t matter. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations




    
  
  

          Crowd holding Black Lives Matter signs
        


  





 


Watch: The Melody and Meaning of Prayer in Time of Challenge


How does the combination of meaning and melody in prayers touch us spiritually? Rabbi Shelly Barnathan unpacks the meaning and melody of several prayers and chants, coupled with timely poetry and spiritual readings. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash




        
Bet Midrash - Melody of Prayer in Times of Trouble

    
  
  

    

  


  


  





 


 




October 23-24


 


Read: ‘Shabbat’


Welcome Shabbat with this poem by Terry Boyle. Sourced from Ritualwell




    
  
  

          Table with wine bottle, kiddush cup, burning candles, covered challah
        


  





 


Watch: Three-Minute Musical Kabbalat Shabbat


Cantor Karen Webber leads a three-minute interpretation of the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Sourced from Ritualwell




    
  
  

          woman in tallit playing guitar
        


  





 


Read: Pandemic Ethics: Safeguarding Life


The Jewish imperative to protect human life — pikuakh nefesh — overrides almost every other obligation. As we face a desire to return to community activities and a surge in infections, the Center for Jewish Ethics offers thoughts on how we can express the ultimate value of safeguarding life in our individual and communal decisions. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org




    
  
  

          woman putting mask on boy with backpack
        


  





 


Read: ‘It Is Not Good for the Human to Be Alone’: Community Organizing as Spiritual Practice


Rabbi Alex Weissman teaches that not only does organizing have an impact on the outside world, power relations, and policies. It also shapes our inner lives and offers us the potential to cultivate a deeper spiritual awareness. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations




    
  
  

          Demonstrators holding sign "Fight today for a better tomorrow"
        


  





 


Watch: The Psalm for Shabbat: A Roadmap for Growing Older


We recite or sing Psalm 92 in services every Shabbat. The psalm expresses widely disparate moods and images — delight, satisfaction, despair and hope. Rabbi Dayle Friedman endeavors to see what we might learn about the journey of aging from the Psalmist’s words. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash




        
Psalm for Shabbat - A Blueprint for Growing Older - Bet Midrash - Dayle Friedman

    
  
  

    

  


  


  





 




October 16-17


Read: ‘Pandemic Shabbat’


As we continue to shelter in place, poet Cathleen Cohen describes the experience of Shabbat behind the mask. Sourced from Ritualwell




    
  
  

          Two people sitting facing one another in lawn chairs, wearing face masks
        


  





 


Listen: Miriam’s Moon: A Shiviti Meditation


Rosh Hodesh Heshvan begins on motzei Shabbat (Saturday night), Oct. 17. Welcome the new moon/month with this chant by Batya Diamond. Sourced from Ritualwell




    
  
  

          Moon in twilight sky with branches holding orange leaves surrounding it
        


  





 


Read: God’s Presence in All Things


Rabbi Danielle Parmenter describes her experience of the whole world being filled with God’s glory. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations




    
  
  

          man gazing into the distance of a wooded area
        


  





 


Watch: ‘The Art of Suffering’


Hila Ratzabi leads “The Art of Suffering,” a practice inspired by Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jewish writer, whose Holocaust diaries and letters reveal profound spiritual wisdom that is relevant to our times. Transcript available here.  Sourced from Ritualwell




        
Hila - Etty Hillesum Art of Suffering

    
  
  

    

  


  


  





 


Watch: Did You Ever Wonder Why Some Foods Are Traditional?


Discover why we eat certain foods in the Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions for Shabbat and Sukkot with Rabbi Fredi Cooper. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash




        
Ever Wonder Traditional Food?

    
  
  

    

  


  


  





 




October 9-10


This week, we bring you a Virtual Simchat Torah Box.


 


 




October 2-3


This week, we bring you a Virtual Sukkot Box.


 




These resources were drawn from:



 


Previous Virtual Shabbat Boxes by month: 




  





    

    

      




            

        


  
  

    

  







  
  

    

  

  







  
  

    
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Take 5-10 minutes to help shape the organization’s future.


We have embarked on a strategic planning process to envision the near-term future of the organization. To inform that process, we want to understand our constituents’ needs in these tumultuous times, so we’re reaching out to you.


If you have any questions, you can contact our strategic partners and survey administrators, Third Plateau, by reaching out to Sarah Edwards at sarah@thirdplateau.com.