Shabbat on the Moshav was truly a day of rest. This weekend I experienced an atmosphere of Shabbat much different than in Cleveland. Although people may observe the day of rest in Cleveland, the city does not. Life moves around you even if you stop. But on the moshav it seemed much of the day that whole community was asleep. At times, while I sat and read a book along with Raz’s (the girl I stayed with) family, the only sounds I could hear were birds chirping and pages turning.
On Friday evening everyone helped to bring in Shabbat. Raz’s brother set up timers on all the air conditioning units so they would go on and off periodically, her mother made dinner, and her sister set the Shabbos table. It was like watching them perform a well-rehearsed routine. Her father and brother then went to the synagogue while the girls stayed home (not my usual custom), and we ate dinner once they returned. Her father led the prayers prior to the meal and once again everything was systematic in a way. Her father did the kiddish, took a sip and passed the kiddish cup to Raz’s mom, she then passed it to her sister, then brother, then to Raz and finally to me. At first I was slightly confused but they told me to take a sip (don’t worry it was kiddish wine, so sweet) and I became part of this Shabbat experience. We then ate a full and delicious Kurdish meal.
The next day her father and brother went to synagogue in the morning and Raz was supposed to take me later to see a ceremony of the bride and groom before their wedding. Unfortunately we didn’t go due to the fact that they don’t use alarm clocks on Shabbat and Raz slept in too late. Once her brother and father came back from services we sat down for another wonderful meal together.
The afternoon was filled with complete nothingness. I asked Raz what she usually does on Shabbat her answer was simple, sleep. As I said, a true day of rest. So we rested and in the afternoon she took me on a tour of the moshav showing me her father’s green houses (where he works), the teen center and her cousin’s home. Walking through the Moshav, we saw everyone was sitting on their porches with their families enjoying Shabbat. When we got back to her house we sat and joined her family doing that same thing and watched the Shabbat end.