Customer Reviews

Gates of Shabbat: Shaarei Shabbat: A Guide for Observing Shabbat

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I bought this book because I felt that I was not learning enough about Shabbat in my conversion class. It is an excellent book for people converting or who want to know more about the Sabbath as Jews observe it. There is Hebrew, English and transliteration for the prayers. There are wonderful stories, there are explanations to the how and why of many things done on shabbat. The book has songs in transliterated Hebrew and at the end of most of them it tells you what you are actually singing about for those who don't fully comprehend Hebrew. It helped to make services more meaningful for me because now I actually know what I am sininging about. There is also a companion tape of music put out by the Reform movemnet for this book.

As an Orthodox Jew, I naturally have certain reservations about recommending a Reform book, especially one that says you can just sort of make up your own level of Shabbat observance as you go along. I guess you would have to call me the "traditionalist" among the smorgasbord of pick-and-choose choices the authors offer for how Reform Jews observe Shabbat.

Now, having said that, I think the book can still be a useable gate for the absolute beginner, coming from a secular or Reform background, who is trying to bring Shabbat observance into the home. It does have good "how-to" instructions for the home rituals, non-sexist translations, and clear transliterations of the Hebrew text. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the how-tos for the rituals are very traditional, reflecting, perhaps, the recent movement within Reform to introduce more Hebrew into the service and more observance into the home.

Plus it has the written music for the blessings and songs around the table, and there are nice explanations of some of the "whys" for the traditions, such as why we have two candles, etc.

All of which makes it an appealing reference for the non-Orthodox Jew who is trying to explore Shabbat but does not want anything "too heavy." I especially liked the relaxed, user-friendly writing style. (My Orthodox brethren could learn a lesson here, because, sad to say, many Orthodox book in English are just too academic and formal, making them inaccessible to the rank beginner.)

At the same time, because it takes the Reform approach, tending to see Judaism as a man-made culture rather than a divinely-revealed religion, it doesn't really go into much depth about the halachic (Jewish law) details for observing Shabbat, nor does it stress our obligation to God to observe it, etc.

So, if I may use an analogy, "Gates of Shabbat" is more like a fast-food burger, rather than a full Sabbath meal.

My advice would be to use the how-to instructions for making the blessings and singing the songs, and regard the various "models" as essays for helping you to examine your own relationship to God, Judaism, and Shabbat as you evolve toward greater levels of observance. Once you are really inside the Gate, you'll need other resources as well, to deepen your learning.

The present publication is a guide to observing Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) from the point of view of Reform Judaism. From the standard Reform point of view - which is not really bound to Jewish law - this book may seem somewhat "right-wing". It actually says that Reform Jews should follow Shabbt, including a number of the traditional laws and customs! Its presentation of a number of such laws and customs is well done.

As a starting guide, this is an Ok book. However, Reform Judaism is supposed to be about choice, and it seems to me that no one really has a choice if they don't know what all the options are. What are all the customs and laws regarding Shabbat, and how did they develop? What purpose do they serve? Why do people do them? Unless you comprehensivle look into these questions, you deny yourself the ability to make an informed choice.

As such, I would also reccomend reading the chapters on Shabbat in in Issac Klein's "A Guide to Jewish Religous Practice" and Michael Strassfeld's "The First Jewish Catalog".

Another book I would reccomend is "The Shabbat Seder" by Ron Wolfson. It is a step-by-step guide teaching the meaning and practices of the Sabbath, and has an easy-to-read format for people with varying degrees of Hebrew skills, with most blessings written in both Hebrew and English, and transliteration. On a more technical level, one might want to read through "The Sabbath: A Guide to Its Understanding and Observance, by Dr. I. Grunfeld.

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom has hit the nail on the head: this book is a helpful introduction for the absolute beginner, but from a Traditional point of view, it's "Shabbos Lite."

My suggestion? Use the book as an introductory guide -- and then, if you want to learn more about Shabbat observance (and incidentally rid yourself of some silly prejudices at the same time), make friends with some Traditionally observant Jews and spend an occasional Shabbat with them.

It's a mitzvah for you, it's a mitzvah for them, everybody's happy. And fostering Ahavat Yisrael in this way is very much in the spirit of Shabbat.

I have found "Gates of Shabbat" to be my favorite tool for learning to appreciate the warmth of Shabbat. As a Jew by choice I had a lot to learn! This book is an excellant resource for "new Jews" as well as those born Jewish, helping us to "remember Shabbat and keep it holy" with meaning and depth of feeling.