I am constantly telling my students that Shabbat dinner can be simple. Here is an example from my own life. We have not-quite-moved-into a new home. There is only a little furniture, but we do have running water and electricity, so I decided that tonight was the night for our first Shabbat dinner here. Menu:
- takeout roast chicken – my spouse picked it up at a store that makes tasty chicken
- salad – nothing fancy
- challah – made and brought by a friend (our first Shabbat guest!)
- grapes and dates for dessert
- a bottle of wine
- Kiddush cups
- Candles
… on a folding table. We have two chairs so I will sit on the exercise ball I brought here to rest my back while moving.
It’s makeshift. It’s ramshackle. It will be very tasty, and it will be shared with a friend. SHABBAT!
My point is, YOU CAN DO THIS.
Now I have to go and see if we have anything for napkins. Shabbat shalom!
I love this. You can ring in Shabbat anywhere you find yourself to be, as well. When my partner went to the ER last year on a Friday afternoon, I arrived with challah and wine, we used the light of electric bulbs, and we made Shabbos in an exam room. And more than once we’ve made Shabbos at the HoJo across the street from Disneyland. Teeny airplane-ish wine bottles, muffins standing in for challah, lots of song, davenning, and then an evening stroll down Main Street USA is among my favorite non-traditional Shabbatot.
Wonderful! Yes! We can celebrate the arrival of Shabbat anywhere at all! I love your examples. What comfort, to bring that warmth and normalcy to an ER exam room!