🌅 A Soft Beginning: Your First Shabbat

A Companion Guide to Episode 1 of Shabbat Shalom with Sophie Klein

"You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to begin."

🕊️ Welcome to Shabbat

This guide is for anyone taking their very first step into sacred time.

Whether you’re lighting candles for the first time, creating space for peace, or simply listening and wondering what Shabbat could feel like in your life — this is for you.

You don’t have to do everything. You just have to begin. Shabbat will meet you wherever you are.

✨ Try This — 5 Gentle Ways to Begin

These are small but sacred actions. Choose one, try a few, or simply read and reflect. There’s no wrong way to start.

1. Light one candle before sunset on Friday night.
You don’t need two, or silver candlesticks. Just light one small flame and let it warm the space.

2. Say a line of gratitude before your meal.
Something as simple as: “Thank you for this food. Thank you for this quiet.”

3. Turn off your phone for 15 minutes.
Set it aside. Breathe. Let your thoughts slow down. You deserve a break from the noise.

4. Eat at a cleared table.
Even if you’re eating something simple, give it a clean space. Add a cloth napkin or a flower if you’d like. Let your table become a sanctuary.

5. Sit in silence before you begin your meal.
Close your eyes, take a breath, and say to yourself, “Shabbat is here.”

📝 Reflection Prompt

What do I want Shabbat to feel like in my life?
Use these questions to guide a quiet moment of writing or thought.

• Do I want more stillness in my week?
• Do I want a sacred family ritual?
• Do I want space to reconnect with myself?
• What part of me is longing to rest?

🪞Set Your Intention for the Week

Finish this sentence in your journal or simply say it aloud before candle lighting:

“This week, I will…”

Examples:

• “…allow myself to unplug for a little while.”
• “…try lighting one candle and just breathing.”
• “…welcome in peace, even if my week felt messy.”

💛 Sophie’s Closing Reminder

“There is no perfect Shabbat. There is only your Shabbat.”

Start with one moment. One pause. One candle. One breath.

Even five quiet minutes count. Even your simple meal counts. Even your trying counts.

Welcome to sacred time. Welcome to something ancient, beautiful, and deeply yours.
Welcome to Shabbat.

✍️ Sophie’s Personal Shabbat Letter

A Story About My First Shabbat

🌃 Shabbat Changed Me — Gently, Quietly

I’ll never forget my first real Shabbat.
I had just started learning about Judaism, and everything felt unfamiliar. I didn’t know the prayers. I didn’t have a challah cover or candlesticks. I didn’t even know if I was “doing it right.”

But I lit the candles.

The table wasn’t perfect. My daughters were watching, curious and a little giggly. I closed my eyes and tried to feel something.

And then — slowly — it happened.

Peace showed up.
Not loudly. Not all at once. But something softened. My body slowed. The house didn’t change, but I did.

That was the beginning.

✨ What I’ve Learned From Starting Small

Over the years, I’ve realized a few things about Shabbat, and I want to share them with you:

1. There is beauty in the mess.
The kitchen does not need to be spotless. Your prayer does not need to be memorized. Something sacred can happen anyway.

2. The mood catches up later.
Sometimes when I light the candles, I’m not in a peaceful mindset yet. But I light them anyway, and I let the calm come after.

3. Presence is more important than perfection.
You’re not performing Judaism for anyone. You’re living it — beautifully, imperfectly, honestly.

🕯️ How I Welcome Shabbat Now

Today, my Shabbat still isn’t perfect — but it’s mine.

Here’s what I usually do:

• I light candles at my kitchen table
• I take a deep breath and say a quiet blessing
• I sit with my daughters for dinner, sometimes just us
• I bless them
• I try to put away my phone
• I say thank you for the week — even the hard parts

Some weeks we play music. Some weeks it’s quiet. Some weeks I’m emotional and tired.

But always, I show up.

💌 A Note Just for You

If this is your first Shabbat, I want you to know something:

You’re already doing it.
The moment you intend to welcome Shabbat — even if you don’t do it all perfectly — it counts.

Start small.
Let it be yours.
Let it be enough.

You belong in this tradition.
You are not behind.
And you don’t need permission to begin.

Shabbat Shalom,
Sophie

🕊️ A Blessing for the Beginning of Shabbat

A Companion Reflection from Episode 1 of Shabbat Shalom with Sophie Klein

🌅 The Blessing

As this week comes to a close,
May I enter into stillness.
May I release what is unfinished,
And bless what has already been enough.
May I light this candle with hope,
And let peace dwell in my home,
And in my heart.

✨ What This Blessing Means

This isn’t a traditional prayer — it’s a personal blessing. Something quiet and soulful. You can whisper it aloud, write it down, or speak it in your heart.

Let’s break it down:

“May I enter into stillness”
You don’t need to be calm already. You just need to begin. Stillness isn’t something you chase — it’s something you allow.

“May I release what is unfinished”
The to-do list will still be there. But for now, you’re allowed to rest anyway. This line gives you permission to stop.

“And bless what has already been enough”
Even if your week felt messy or incomplete, there were moments worth honoring. You can bless them now.

“May I light this candle with hope”
Shabbat is a symbol of renewal. Lighting a candle is lighting a new possibility.

“And let peace dwell in my home, and in my heart”
Let peace be more than an idea — let it be something you actually feel. Inside. Right now.

🕯️ How to Use This Blessing

There’s no “right way” to do this — here are just a few ways to bring this blessing into your week:

• Before lighting your Shabbat candle — read it slowly, line by line
• Before your meal — pause and say it aloud before you eat
• During your commute home on Friday — say it quietly in your mind
• Any time you feel disconnected — this blessing can bring you back to center

You can also print it, write it out by hand, or keep it on your fridge or nightstand.

🪞 Write Your Own Shabbat Blessing

This week, take a moment to create your own personal blessing for Shabbat.

You can start with the words:
“As I welcome this Shabbat…”

Here’s a space to get you thinking:

• What do I want to let go of this week?
• What would I like to receive more of?
• What would peace feel like in my body right now?

Example:
“As I welcome this Shabbat, may I soften. May I breathe. May I feel that I am already enough.”

Now try writing your own:

As I welcome this Shabbat...

💛 Final Words

This blessing is yours. Say it how you want. Say it when you need it. There is nothing too small or too simple to make sacred.

You are part of something ancient. And you are building something beautiful.

Shabbat Shalom.