“It’s Alright.. She moves in mysterious ways.” (U2)
Shabbat Shalom Lab/Shul!
Yes – I’m planning ahead with a sabbath greeting earlier in the week. There’s a reason.
Greetings from Jerusalem, where for the past two months, my world has mostly shrunk to the size of my 96 year old mother’s bedroom, where I’m privileged to care for her at this tender stage. In the disorienting blur of medicine, caregiving, the ongoing reality of conflict and war just beyond these walls, I have rediscovered a comforting and grounding gift: Sabbath is the center of gravity.
Fresh flowers each Friday light up my mother’s face, as candles, a raised glass of wine, and songs help distinguish between the days and bring joy during these difficult threshold moments. Every tiny gesture that welcomes Shabbat into our homes and hearts helps activate this badly needed “soul-fuel station” – keeping the spark of life from flickering out.
Shabbat is the highlight of my mother’s week—and ours—a sanctuary in space and time, a feast that invites us to eat better, dress up, pause, breathe, connect – and simply be.
So how did this precious Jewish ritual, beloved by so many of us, become a political polemic?
On May 4, 2026 the White House declared this coming weekend as National Shabbat, as part of Jewish Heritage Month.This presents us with a moment of profound paradox.
I ❤️ the Sabbath Queen. I think you all know that.. ☺️
(And if you have not yet seen Sandi DuBowski’s award winning documentary film – please join us in Brooklyn on June 7th to celebrate its’ second birthday with a special screening – or catch it elsewhere in the world. )
As the film depicts, our Lab/Shul community is dedicated to celebrating sacred fusions of our tradition—mixing up the ancient and the avant-garde together to keep the essence of Judaism alive, just and hopeful.
SO: Do we mark this presidential and politically motivated “National Shabbat” intended as part of the celebration of 250 years of the American story? Do we embrace the notion that our hallowed “Palace in Time” is being recognized as a pillar of democracy, as a testament to the enduring power of our greatest gift to the world? On the one hand – I’m proud of our tradition’s power to persist and be hailed as a national holiday. But on the other hand, I am appalled.
Witnessing what seems to me to be the Trump administration’s cynical use of this sacred day is like watching a neon sign being bolted onto a redwood tree.
As Rabbi Jill Jacobs has so sharply noted, this is an act of “authoritarian co-option..When the state begins to prescribe religious observance, even under the guise of ‘honor,’ it threatens the very religious liberty that American Jews have fought for 250 years to protect.”
By framing Shabbat as a response to “campus radicals” and pitting “good Jews” who observe Shabbat the ‘right way’ against “bad Jews,” who don’t, the proclamation violates the very soul of the sacred day.
Shabbat was never meant to be a political loyalty test; it is a radical act of protest against the idea that our worth is defined by our productivity or our politics. The purpose of Shabbat—rest for everyone in society, including the poor, the worker, and the immigrant—is fundamentally at odds with an administration that often targets the vulnerable and disregards our sacred, shared humanity.
When the state meddles in our sacred affairs, blurring the already fuzzy lines between church and state, it doesn’t elevate the Sabbath; it diminishes the democracy that 250 years of history were supposed to protect. So, what do we do when the Queen is invited to a ball she didn’t ask to attend? How can we show up this coming Sabbath—wherever we are—with pride and paradox, body and soul?
I propose that we show up for Shabbat, but that we rewrite the guest list. I suggest we each adapt this “National Shabbat” in our own unique way – not because a leader commanded it, but because our humanity demands it. I encourage us to set the table for a fabulous Friday night dinner or Saturday brunch as our oldest tech tool for dialogue and discussion. Fill your table with friends, but also with those you don’t agree with. Debate this day and what it means for you in this confusing context. Reclaim the regal sabbath table, or a picnic blanket, as a safe space for the “slow-food interactions” the digital world has forgotten. We can find our way into this Shabbat despite the proclamation, or perhaps beyond it. We won’t light candles because of a presidential decree; we will light them because the world is dark and needs the glow of a different kind of fire.
In the end, Shabbat is older than any nation, any constitution, and certainly any leader. Governments rise and fall, proclamations are signed and shredded, but the Sabbath Queen – endures. She doesn’t need a permit to enter our homes; she only needs an invitation.
This Sabbath, everywhere in the world—let’s dance with her, let’s pray for peace, for joy and justice—not for the sake of the state, but for the sake of our souls. That is the fusion that matters. That is the radical repair that will save us from despair, and bring us closer to our essence, and to each other.
I will celebrate this coming Shabbat in international style – with my mother, who is feeling a bit better (she asked for ice cream yesterday, and you can read more about this journey in my online journal). With her health improving I’ve booked a flight to return to NYC at the end of this month I’m excited to be present for a number of upcoming community B Mitzvahs as well as for Lab/Shul’s own B Mitzvah celebration on June 18th honoring our beloved friends and long-time Lab/Shul leaders Jen Pehr and Jon Adam Ross. All of the event details and registration information can be found HERE.
Please do join Shira, Naomi, Ben and guest musician Shirazette Tinen this Friday for our final Sabbath Queen at Judson Memorial Church for the season. Lab/Shul Partner, artist and peace activist Gili Getz will be joining us to share his reflections on the Inaugural NYC Nakba Remembrance Ceremony with our friends and partners at Combatants for Peace which will take place at Judson prior to Sabbath Queen at 4pm.
This is how we elevate Shabbat – and honor our sacred human story on the path to peace – together.
Sabbath Queen Reminds us:
Pause for Peace
سبت السلام
שבת שלום
~ Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie
