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The Fascinating History of Kabbalat Shabbat and Lecha Dodi
The Germans occupied France in 1940, yet the Great Synagogue of Lyon resolutely continued to function for prayer services. French Nazi collaborators, known as the Milice, decided to take advantage of the situation by attacking the Jews in their synagogue on the Friday night of December 10, 1943.
Friday night services in synagogue begin with Kabbalat Shabbat, the “Welcoming the Shabbat” liturgy. This prayer consists of six chapters of Psalms, followed by a poetic prayer that was composed in the 1500s, called Lecha Dodi.
When reciting the final stanza of Lecha Dodi, the custom is for all to turn around and face the back of the synagogue to usher in the Sabbath Queen.
As the congregation of Lyon welcomed Shabbat with the prayer service, the would-be murderer silently entered the synagogue from the back. He prepared to throw grenades into the crowd, when he had the shock of his life. The entire congregation that had been facing forward suddenly turned to face him! He was so shocked that he dropped the grenades and ran out of the shul, fortunately only causing injuries and killing no one.
As the shul rabbi described, Divine Providence arranged for the Milice collaborator to walk in precisely as the congregation was reciting the final stanza of Lecha Dodi, which saved their lives.
The History of Welcoming the Shabbat
When Shabbat begins, we welcome it with song, as it says, “A psalm, a song for the Shabbat day” (Psalm 92:1).
But why do we start Shabbat with singing?
Rabbi Shimshon Pincus answers that when one is overcome with emotion and joy, words are limiting. Song, on the other hand, is expansive. Each week when Shabbat begins, the Jewish people are so joyous that words are not adequate to express it. We turn to songs to fully express our joy and connection.
Initially, Jews would begin Shabbat by going to shul to recite the Shabbat Maariv (evening prayer), which differed only slightly from the weekday Maariv. No additional prayers or psalms were recited.
Reciting Psalm 92, a Song for Shabbat Day, and Psalm 93 before the Maariv service on Friday night became widespread during the 12th and 13th centuries.
In 1488, the Italian Sage, Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura traveled to Alexandria, Egypt. He wrote that the Jews there prepare for Shabbat, light candles and then serve food for the evening meal. “Afterward, everyone comes to the synagogue dressed in fresh, pressed clothing, and they begin with song and praise and pray for a lengthy Maariv for two hours after nightfall.” However, we do not know what prayers they were singing.
In the 16th century, the Kabbalat Shabbat service began to take the form we know of today. Jews would recite six chapters of Psalms, beginning with chapters 95-99 and then chapter 29, corresponding to the six days of Creation.
At around this time, Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz who lived in Safed composed a poetic prayer welcoming Shabbat and describing the joy of leaving aside weekday worries. He spoke about the Jewish people returning to their greatness, and “leaving the Valley of Tears.” His prayer was known as Lecha Dodi, after the first two words of the refrain.
His words struck a chord in the Jewish people, and soon became universally accepted — recited by Jews the world over as Shabbat begins. In fact, his prayer is such an integral part of the liturgy that Jewish law states that the congregation accepts the sanctity of Shabbat with the final paragraph of Lecha Dodi.
The Author of Lecha Dodi
Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz was born in Salonika in the early 1500s. In 1529, he married the daughter of Yitzchak Cohen, a wealthy man from Salonika. Rather than giving his wife a traditional wedding gift of jewelry, he presented her with his newly completed Torah work, Manos HaLevi. His bride’s family greatly valued Torah study and respected Torah scholars, and were delighted at this gift, their joy surpassing that of receiving jewelry.
Shortly afterward, Rabbi Alkabetz and his wife decided to settle in the Land of Israel. On the way, they stopped in Adrianople, Turkey. Recognizing the spiritual stature of their visitor, the people begged him to remain and guide them how to serve God and keep the commandments. Rabbi Alkabetz agreed to stay and teach the community, and several of his students became great Torah scholars. He also wrote several works at this time.
Yet, Rabbi Alkabetz would not remain in Adrianople indefinitely since he longed to settle in the Land of Israel. He arrived in Safed in 1535.
Safed at the time was a city steeped in Torah knowledge and mysticism. One of the renowned leaders living there at the time was Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as the Arizal. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah since he formulated the study of Kabbalah into a comprehensive system, known as Lurianic Kabbalah. Two other great leaders were Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulchan Aruch, the foremost classic the Code of Jewish Law, and Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (the Ramak) one of the most prolific and systematic teachers and authors on the teachings of the Zohar (the “Book of Splendor” which is the foundational work of Kabbalistic literature). Both Rabbi Karo and the Ramak became Rabbi Alkabetz’s disciples, testimony to his greatness.
The Yosef Karo Synagogue in Safed
Every week, as Shabbat began, the great Kabbalists of Safed would go out to the fields to greet Shabbat in a display of love and honor for this special day. They would joyously recite Psalms, and call out “Welcome Bride, Shabbat Queen.”
Around 1540, Rabbi Alkabetz composed the prayer of Lecha Dodi, which includes many Biblical references in its words, as well as an acronym of Rabbi Alkabetz’s name. His prayer was incorporated as part of Kabbalat Shabbat, in Safed and the rest of the world.
Rabbi Alkabetz died in 1580 and was buried in the old cemetery in Safed, where one can still go and pray by his graveside.
Outdoors or Indoors
Over the centuries, many have followed the example of the Kabbalists of Safed who welcomed Shabbat in the fields by reciting the final paragraph of Lecha Dodi outdoors. The Turkish Sage, Rabbi Chaim Benveniste (1603-1673), author of the halachic work K’nesses Hagedolah, writes that when he became rabbi in Tite and discovered that the congregation remained indoors for the entire Kabbalat Shabbat, he directed them to go back to the older custom of going outside to welcome Shabbat the way they did in Safed.
Rabbi Yechiel Michel Halevi Epstein (1829-1908), in his classic work Aruch Hashulchan, stated that going outdoors to greet Shabbos had been largely forgotten in his time. Yet, what remains of this custom today is that we turn to the back of the shul with the final paragraph of Lecha Dodi, turning westward with the setting sun as we welcome Shabbat.
A Son Returns
In a moving turn of events, Rabbi Alkabetz’s own descendant returned to his roots thanks to the prayer of Lecha Dodi.
A young man appeared at a synagogue in Israel and was invited to someone’s home as a guest. He was utterly unfamiliar with Shabbat rituals, but did his best to follow along. During the meal, he asked if they could sing Lecha Dodi again, explaining that he found the song exceptionally beautiful when he had heard it in the synagogue. Politely, his hosts sang Lecha Dodi again, and again, and again, as per their guest’s requests.
At the end of the meal, the hosts spoke to him some more and discovered their guest was actually Mahmoud from Ramallah. At their shocked expressions, he hesitantly explained that recently he had many questions about Islam and had asked his father why Islam treated Jews so badly. In response, his father threw him out of the house.
His mother managed to contact Mahmoud. She told him that his father had been infuriated by his questions, since he, Mahmoud, was actually Jewish since she was a Jew. She admitted that she made a terrible mistake in marrying an Arab man and gave him his birth certificate and her old Israeli ID card, proving what she said to be true. The final item she gave him as she bade him goodbye was a picture of her parents standing next to the grave of an ancestor of the family.
When Mahmoud finished his story, his hosts asked Mahmoud if they could see the picture. They were amazed at what it showed: an older couple standing next to a grave, on which the name Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz — the great composer of Lecha Dodi — could be seen clearly.
Rabbi Alkabetz’s descendant had been so moved by Lecha Dodi, not realizing that this holy prayer was written by his own ancestor.
For the past 500 years, why have the words of Lecha Dodi resonated with all segments of the Jewish people? It continues to inspire and reconnect Jews wherever they are — in a shul, at the Western Wall, in Safed. It’s not merely because of the beautiful words that Rabbi Alkabetz wrote, but rather based on what the words really mean.
Lecha Dodi is a reminder to Jews of the beauty of our relationship with Shabbat and with God. Jews have kept Shabbat for millennia, as a testimony that God created the world and of His special relationship with His nation. Each week, we can once again experience how Shabbat protects us and continues to be an eternal source of blessing for the Jewish nation.
Rabbi Menachem Levine is the CEO of JDBY-YTT, the largest Jewish school in the Midwest. He served as Rabbi of Congregation Am Echad in San Jose, CA from 2007 – 2020. He is a popular speaker and has written for numerous publications. Rabbi Levine’s personal website is https://thinktorah.org. A version of this article was originally published by Aish.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students

Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
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