In 2017, shortly after a mass shooting occurred in Las Vegas, plans for an open-air Shabbat dinner on Pico Boulevard (as part of the global unity program, Shabbat Project) were cancelled.
Similarly, this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the hundreds of volunteers behind the 2020 Shabbat Project to get creative with how they plan their programs.
Emphasizing the at-home nature of this year’s Shabbat Project, a group of volunteers — including students from Bais Yaakov, an Orthodox girls school near Hancock Park — are planning to deliver 150 kits of a yearlong supply of Shabbat candles to women of all backgrounds across Los Angeles.
“Since lighting candles is an important, easy, and beautiful mitzvah, the thought of encouraging other women to light really appealed to our group,” Sharon Wiener, a L.A. Shabbat Project committee member, said in an interview. “Lighting candles really sets the mood in our homes for Shabbat, and really helps us set the time as special, away from the obligations of the rest of the week. Lighting candles tells us it is time to stop, unplug, [and] spend time with the people and things that are most important in our lives.”
The kits will not only have candles but also will have candle holders, blessings to be recited, and contact information for people in the Shabbat Project community — “anything like that to stay connected with someone in the community,” Wiener said.
The kits will not only have candles but also will have candle holders, blessings to be recited, and contact information for people in the Shabbat Project community.
Started in 2013 in Johannesburg, the Shabbat Project is a worldwide, independent, and grassroots movement that encourages Jewish communities around the world to observe a single Shabbat.
Although previous years’ Shabbat Project programs gathered people for a variety of in-person events, including concerts, challah bakes, and dinners, this year’s Shabbat Project, held November 6-7, will be all virtual programs, from cooking classes to challah bakes, Shabbat flower deliveries to storytelling, arts-and-crafts events to discussions over Zoom.
Those interested in receiving the candle-lighting kit can sign up by emailing lashabbosproject@gmail.com.
“The team at the Los Angeles Shabbat Project was attracted to doing something home-based this year,” Wiener said. “We like the idea of bringing more light and peace into the world and into our homes.”
