A "love" Shabbat!

At Pardes, Shabbat is the topic of many discussions and the focus of a lot of study. Last semester I took Halakah (Jewish Law) and the class focused on Shabbat. I have written about Shabbat on the blog in the past as well. I have been trying to create a Shabbat "space." One thing I've done for two weeks now, is not using Facebook on Shabbat. I feel like this has really enhanced my feeling for Shabbat. I love Facebook, I am fairly addicted. But nothing on Facebook is necessary, except for the pictures of Jack, of course. And most of the things on Facebook are complaints. So to help keep my in this holy space and time, I haven't been logging on. 

The other thing I've done for Shabbat is to surround myself by people I really love and want to be with. People who are positive and warm and have open hearts.  Last night I went to a beautiful Shabbat dinner at my best friends, they were great hosts, the food was delicious, we talked about Torah, and laughed a lot. It was a wonderful separation from our usual hard intense week of studying. 

On Shabbat, Yishai and I hosted at our home! Yishai made hummus from scratch!!! It was AMAZING!! One of our guests was gluten free so I made stuffed peppers with lentils, wild rice, and beans. I was nervous, but Roi and his mom helped me and they turned out great! 

I also made green beans with garlic and onion and soy sauce. They are coming into season here and it reminds me of home. In the summer we pick green beans fresh from the garden and this is how my mom makes them! They were great, not as good as when you pick them yourself, (or when Roi or my mom picks them and I stand and watch them) but they were still great! 

Anddddddddd...I had a "love" Shabbat! Because to be honest, Shabbat is really about love and being with people that you love. It was also appropriate because it's a week before Valentine's Day! Plus, my parents had just sent me a big box of candy! So we had Sweet Hearts and Peanut M&Ms. 

 Who doesn't love Valentine's Day candy??? =)

This Shabbat was a beacon of sunshine after a lot of rain last week. It felt so nice to be outside and in Jerusalem. I hope everyone had a wonderful Shabbat with family and friends. In a couple of weeks I will be home with my family and hopefully we'll have a wonderful Shabbat together!