Sacred Practices and Family Processes in a Jewish Context: Shabbat as the Weekly Family Ritual Par Excellence

Fam Process. 2018 Jun;57(2):448-461. doi: 10.1111/famp.12286. Epub 2017 Mar 19.

Abstract

The present article provides a deep and more focused look at the utility, meaning, processes, and power involved in a specific, family-level, sacred practice or ritual from Judaism: Shabbat (Sabbath). Content analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 diverse, marriage-based Jewish families living in the United States (N = 77 individuals) yielded three emergent themes: (a) "Shabbat brings us closer together"; (b) How Shabbat brings the family together; and (c) The Power of Blessing the Children. These themes will be discussed respectively, along with related verbatim data from participants' in-depth qualitative interviews.

Keywords: sabbat; Judaism; Qualitative; Religion; Ritual; Shabbat; Spirituality; cualitativo; espiritualidad; judaísmo; religión; ritual; 仪式; 安息日; 宗教; 定性的; 犹太教; 精神性.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Ceremonial Behavior*
  • Child
  • Family Relations / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Jews / psychology*
  • Judaism / psychology*
  • Male
  • Marriage / psychology
  • Middle Aged
  • Qualitative Research
  • United States