CULTURE

WHAT TO EXPECT AS A PRATT STUDENT:

On the Sabbath, Jews:

Preparation: begins as early as mid-week in some households,and includes shopping, cooking, cleaning, showering and getting dressed in dressy clothes.

Arrival:

The woman of the house welcomes the Sabbath Queen into her home by lighting two candles. Many women light more, one for each kids plus the two for her and her spouse. The men then go to synagogue and welcome the Sabbath there with song and dance. If you walk by a synagogue on Friday night, you will hear the songs of Sabbath, melodic without instruments.

Friday Night:

Once the men come home from synagogue, the family sits down to a three course meal that begins with a special blessing over wine or grape juice called Kiddush, and bread called Challah. Family meals are occasions for singing, studying, and celebrating together, as well as for consuming distinctive Shabbat foods.

Saturday:

The men and women head to synagogue early Saturday morning, where they sing special prayers and read that weeks passage from the bible, called the Parsha. The family then comes home and sits down to a large lunch, traditionally with egg salad, chopped liver, salads and a hot beef and bean stew (like a chili) that had been sitting in the crockpot since Friday morning called Chulent.There is another prayer midday,as well as a light meal.

Departure:

The Sabbath ends with another prayer in the synagogue at the emergence of three stars. The men then come home and say a prayer on a lit torch, in remembrance of Adam discovering fire on Saturday night, and a prayer on a sweet smell. Many stores will open Saturday night, and people will have a meal with bread and hot food called “Melave Malkah” escorting the Sabbath queen out.

As there is so much more to explain and learn, here are some links that can be helpful: