Chabad of Santa Clarita Valley hosted a community dinner to observe the weekly occurrence of Shabbat during the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah at the synagogue on Friday.
The community dinner included courses of traditional shabbat food, such as bread, fish, meat and poultry, while also incorporating the traditional fried foods of Hanukkah, latkes and sufganiyot.
“This is the coming together of two celebrations,” said Choni Marozov, rabbi at Chabad of SCV. “We’re getting the community together for the holy day of Shabbat.”
According to the Jewish calendar, Shabbat is the seventh day of the week and the Judaism day of rest. It begins at sundown on Friday and continues until sundown the next day.
“During this time we put away our phones for 25 hours and enjoy each other’s company,” said Marozov.
Shabbat is typically observed by keeping away from work and taking a day to rest. As acknowledged in the Torah, it is the final day of the creation of the universe.
Along with the dinner, Shabbat is observed with a candle lighting and songs.
“This is a great way to get the community spirit together,” Marozov said. “It’s a beautiful thing for people to come together to celebrate and feed off each other’s joy.”
Chabad of SCV ended its Hanukkah celebrations Monday with a morning service.For more information, contact the synagogue at 661-254-3434. Chabad of SCV is located at 23120 Lyons Ave., Newhall.
