For the Ovadia’s, Shabbat is meant for relaxation and family time. From card games, to late night walks, to just laughing and telling stories, it is clear that they are all extremely close and happy to be together. Naomi’s older sister who has her own apartment comes back home for Shabbat, so the entire family, including all five siblings are together for the holiday. Everything about the dinner reminded me of my own family’s Shabbat but magnified up a few levels. Even with the huge cultural and linguistic differences between American Jews and Israeli Jews, we still recite the same universal prayers to begin the Sabbath. The difference is that Naomi’s brother recites the prayers faster the anyone in my family ever could. Another important factor is, of course, the food! If anyone thinks that we eat a huge Shabbat dinner at our homes, they have never had a dinner with an Israeli family. In addition to the traditional meals, they were constantly eating chips or chocolate or fruit or popsicles and just offering me more and more food no matter how much I tried to resist. My favorite part of the Sabbath was definitely just spending time with the family. We played card games and hung out, chatting and petting the dogs. This really made me appreciate the peacefulness that comes with putting away technology and other distractions and just appreciating family and friends for the day.