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

Keywords

Religion, Spirituality, Judaism, Ritual, Shabbat, Qualitative

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.

Original Publication Citation

Marks, L., Hatch, T., & Dollahite, D. (2017). Sacred practices and family processes in a Jewish context: Shabbat as the weekly family ritual par excellence. Family Process, 10, 1–14.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2017-03-19

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5838

Publisher

Family Process

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Adjunct Faculty

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