The Shabbat Shalom Project
What is it
Start a text thread with at least ten Jewish people—family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. Every Friday afternoon, send one simple message wishing everyone "Shabbat Shalom." That's it. That’s all there is. It takes only seconds. One simple step. One meaningful way to help solve a big problem.
What’s The Problem
Today, the Jewish diaspora faces significant demographic challenges. Shifting social priorities and the resulting decline in the intergenerational transmission of Jewish identity is steadily shrinking the Jewish community and weakening the sense of connection that has long been its strength. To sustain itself, the Jewish diaspora needs greater engagement from its cultural and spiritual Jews — those who may not routinely practice in traditional ways — and The Shabbat Shalom Project provides a way.
Join The Shabbat Shalom Project
Come up with a fun name for your Shabbat Shalom Text Thread.
Register your group using this form.
Text your group every Friday afternoon.
Send your group members a link to this page and ask them to start a group text.
We’ll keep you up to date how we’re growing.
Impact.
The true power of this effort lies in its ripple effect. When every member of your group starts a ten-person Shabbat Shalom text thread—and each of those participants does the same—we create a powerful chain of connection. One simple message becomes hundreds, then thousands, tens of thousands, strengthening bonds, inspiring engagement, sustaining and invigorating the Jewish diaspora, one text at a time.
Join The Shabbat Shalom Project
Come up with a fun name for your Shabbat Shalom Text Thread.
Register your group using this form.
Text your group every Friday afternoon.
Send your group members a link to this page and ask them to start a group text.
We’ll keep you up to date how we’re growing.
Shabbat Misunderstood
Shabbat is Judaism's most cherished observance. We are called on both to remember and observe it. Your weekly Shabbat Shalom message fulfills the first by helping all of us remember that sacred time has arrived. Observing Shabbat can be misunderstood. It is not a day of restriction—it is a day of liberation. Every week we are given the opportunity to step off the merry-go-round, and embrace the peace, rest, and renewal Shabbat offers. What this looks like for you need not be what it looks like for someone else.
Your Unique Shabbat
Send a text, exercise, read a book, play a sport, meet a friend for coffee, light Shabbat candles, take a drive, share a meal, take a walk, or simply enjoy a quiet moment. Whatever brings you joy and renewal, let it become your way of honoring Shabbat. All that is required is to mark the time as sacred. Whether for the twenty-four seconds it takes to send a Shabbat Shalom text or twenty-four hours devoted to rest, or anything in between. The heart behind Shabbat is what matters most.
Join The Shabbat Shalom Project
Come up with a fun name for your Shabbat Shalom Text Thread.
Register your group using this form.
Text your group every Friday afternoon.
Send your group members a link to this page and ask them to start a group text.
We’ll keep you up to date how we’re growing.
The Shabbat Shalom Project is an outreach of Havurah Yehudim,
a small Havurah in Southern California passionate about Judaism across the diaspora.