Friday Night and Beyond: The Shabbat Experience Step-by-Step [Hardcover]

Lori Palatnik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998

Friday Night and Beyond is a practical guide to Jewish Sabbath observance. Lori Palatnik walks us through the celebration with an easy-to-follow 'how-to' approach, allowing us to experience a traditional Shabbat. Common questions and concerns are explored by the author, who has also included personal reflections by other individuals on each aspect of the observance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Friday Night and Beyond is a novel, fresh, and long-needed guide to the spiritual depth and halachic program of the Shabbat. It is a must-have for everyone getting back on the track. Often we emphasize the depth and beauty of Shabbat, leaving the new Ba'al Teshuvan to his own devices in incorporating this beauty into the reality of his or her life. The most informative shiurim are valueless without training the person in 'how to bring it home' like long-practiced Jews, and thereby truly reclaiming our way of life. (Rabbi Maurice Lamm )

This is a warm and wonderful book that describes some of the most life-enhancing aspects of Jewish tradition in inviting, accessible terms. Reading Friday Night and Beyond is like joining an especially joyous and informative family table as an honored Shabbat guest. (Medved, Michael )

The Sabbath is a foundation stone of Jewish life, both spiritual and social. But the gap between those who have not tasted its sweetness and inspiration, and the mode of traditional Sabbath observance seems almost unbridgeable. Friday Night and Beyond by Lori Palatnik provides such a bridge, for the uninitiated as well as the initiated. She does so painstakingly, engagingly, with an exaltation that hovers over every detail—and above all in both current idiom and profound love for both Sabbath and every Jew. (Rabbi Nachman Bulman )

About the Author

Lori Palatnik is a writer and educator with Aish HaTorah, Toronto, an international Jewish adult education organization. She has appeared on television and radio and has lectured, both in North America and abroad, illuminating traditional practices and life-styles for our contemporary world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc. (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765760673
• ISBN-13: 978-0765760678
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,276,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for almost anyone, February 8, 2000

By 

"buckeye0562" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friday Night and Beyond: The Shabbat Experience Step-by-Step (Hardcover)

This book provides exactly what the title advertises: a step-by-step guide through the Shabbat experience, from Friday night through the end of the day on Saturday. Whether you already keep Shabbat, or you are someone seeking to learn more about Jewish religious observance, this book will make Shabbat a more meaningful and spirtual experience.

Ever wondered what beginning Shabbat dinner with Shalom Aleichem is all about? Kiddush? Grace after meals? What about that washing of the hands before Hamotzi? Or, maybe you are curious about WHAT to do, not just why? This book answers all of these questions and more.

Indeed, for each ritual or step in the Shabbat experience, the book provides the what, how, and why. The author even includes the full text of prayers (in English, Hebrew, and transliteration) for both before and after the meals. Also included in each section of the book are first person antecdotes describing various individuals' personal stories behind their endeavors to observe particular rituals.

I highly recommend this book, especially for those who want to-the-point explanations of specific Shabbat rituals, including for those interested in learning what to do, and how to do it.

I now use the book to refresh myself on particular rituals so that I can share their meanings with Shabbat guests, making both mine and their Shabbat experiences more meaningful.

As an aside, the book would make a great gift for that friend or family member who keeps talking about wanting to learn about or "do more" on Shabbat but who feels overwhelmed by the prospect of having to catch-up years of not learning about Judaism. It certainly helped me in that regard.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Wonderful Book, February 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Friday Night and Beyond: The Shabbat Experience Step-by-Step (Hardcover)

My only regret about this book is that we didn't purchase it sooner. My wife and I are on the path of becoming more observant. We bought and read several Shabbos books before we found this one. The other books were o.k., but none came close to combining inspiration and instruction in such a pragmatic manner as Lori Palatnik is able to do. I strongly recommend this wonderful book to anyone wanting to learn and embrace the how's and why's of a traditional Jewish Shabbat.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shabbat is within YOUR reach..., January 9, 2001

By 

Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Friday Night and Beyond: The Shabbat Experience Step-by-Step (Hardcover)

This is the book for those of us for whom BEING Jewish isn't enough. This book is a wonderful introduction to DOING Jewish... the rituals that have kept Judaism going through the centuries.

If you worry that keeping Shabbat is beyond you, just dig into this book, written just for you by a woman who is much-loved here in her former hometown of Toronto (and much-missed now that she's moved down to Florida).