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Shabbat

People lining up in Otello in Rehovot on Shabbat in protest of the fine the business received for operating on Shabbat, on May 16, 2026. (Ynet/Screenshot)
May 17, 2026, 12:02 pm
Hundreds show up to support Rehovot businesses fined for opening on Shabbat
Ice cream parlor Otello and cafe Nook are cited after operating on Saturdays for over a year, leading residents to complain about uneven enforcement of Shabbat policy
By ToI Staff
US President Donald Trump prays at the first cabinet meeting of his second term at the White House, in Washington, DC, in February 26, 2025. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images/JTA)
May 15, 2026, 7:38 pm
Trump’s ‘Shabbat 250’ call divides US Jews ahead of National Mall prayer rally
Call marks first time a US president has urged marking of Shabbat; some Orthodox rabbis have embraced it, while those on Jewish left warn of blurring between religion and state
By Jackie Hajdenberg
Police clash with Israelis during a protest against the current Israeli government and the ongoing war with Iran, at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, April 4, 2026. (Flash90)
April 5, 2026, 2:22 am
Cops violently disperse protesters at Tel Aviv anti-war rally, after court raised attendance cap
Detained activists say police stopped them from reaching shelter amid missile attack; chief rabbi declares court ‘enemy of Judaism’ after permissive ruling is issued on Shabbat
By Charlie Summers and Sam Sokol
Israelis take cover in a public shelter in Tel Aviv as a siren sounds warning of incoming ballistic missiles fired from Iran toward Israel, on February 28, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
March 6, 2026, 3:42 pm
With Israelis under fire, a rabbi offers guidance where Jewish law meets mental health
Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig says that for observant Jews, it can be challenging to observe laws like Shabbat while dealing with the anxiety and stress of missiles flying overhead
By Rossella Tercatin
Students and parents at the Upper East Side's Town School celebrate the school's third annual Shabbat. (Pierangelo Rossi via JTA)
January 30, 2026, 5:31 am
Oct. 7 spurred this NYC secular private school to start holding an annual Shabbat gathering
After the Hamas atrocities and the wave of antisemitism that followed, Jewish students at the Town School sought an affinity group of their own – and have been met with enthusiasm
By Jackie Hajdenberg
People gather for a OneTable Shabbat dinner. (Courtesy of OneTable via JTA)
January 23, 2026, 1:12 am
US Shabbat-dinner nonprofit OneTable disinvites anti-Israel advocates amid post-Oct. 7 slump
The organization reveals a raft of new pilot programs and policies as it pivots to accommodate a more reticent Gen Z crowd while fielding layoffs and a recent funding downturn
By Grace Gilson
The cholent served on Thursday nights at Hadar Geula in Jerusalem is scooped from giant pots behind a packed counter. (Philissa Cramer/ JTA)
July 17, 2025, 7:10 pm
Rabbi’s ‘ruling’ discouraging eating Shabbat stew on Thursday nights briefly roils Israel
Top Haredi authority Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein suggests that having cholent during the week isn’t healthy and takes away from the dish’s holy status – but doesn’t forbid it outright
By Deborah Danan and PHILISSA CRAMER
People shop at the BIG Fashion Glilot mall, March 4, 2025 (Tal Gal/Flash90)
May 17, 2025, 12:28 pm
Open seven days a week, flashy new mall near Tel Aviv rekindles Shabbat battle
Backed by the local mayor, BIG Fashion Glilot defies law limiting commercial activity on Jewish day of rest, drawing attempted government crackdown and Haredi boycott
By Zev Stub
Illustrative: Israel's Orbit team celebrates winning the FIRST robotics competition in 2024. (Courtesy: FIRST)
April 23, 2025, 4:05 pm
Top-ranked Israeli robotics team gives up championship bid over Shabbat observance
Trigon team from Modiin’s AMIT high school pulls out despite being ranked 15th out of 600, one of eight Israeli teams to make it to a final stage of the elite competition in Texas
By ToI Staff
People shop at the BIG Fashion Mall in Glilot, central Israel, March 4, 2025 (Tal Gal/Flash90)
April 2, 2025, 6:54 pm
Tel Aviv suburb says it’ll defy order to shut new mall on Shabbat amid Haredi threats
Ultra-Orthodox vow boycott of all chains operating in new BIG fashion mall in Ramat Hasharon if it opens on Jewish rest day; Lapid: ‘Stop interfering in lives of secular people’
By Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
An unfinished construction of a railway bridge on Route 1, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, on June 1, 2024. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash9)
June 6, 2024, 5:50 pm
Builder warns avoiding Shabbat work on train bridge will cause highway hazard
Amid religious pressures, Solel Boneh says doing job on several weekdays instead of one weekend means drivers on main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road must pass under hazardous construction
By Stuart Winer
Heavy traffic on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, May 30, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
May 30, 2024, 7:58 pm
Massive traffic as central Israel highway closes for 24 hours under Haredi pressure
Major project to install pedestrian bridge over Ayalon Highway carried out overnight Thursday-Friday as ultra-Orthodox prevent work on weekend, which would violate Shabbat
By Stuart Winer
Kosher McDonald's restaurant in Ashkelon, Israel. (Creative Commons via JTA)
May 19, 2024, 5:53 pm
Rehovot residents protest after police repeatedly shut McDonald’s on Shabbat
Locals say newly opened restaurant is being targeted for selective enforcement, but city maintains it’s maintaining status quo given fast food joint’s location
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, right, arriving for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)
February 11, 2024, 8:47 am
Ultra-Orthodox party pans Netanyahu for issuing credit rating statement on Shabbat
Housing minister Goldknopf of United Torah Judaism calls PM’s response ‘inappropriate’; Finance Committee chair says it was ‘totally unnecessary’ and a colleague laments ‘disgrace’
By ToI Staff
NYC locals enjoy the world's longest challah, baked Jan. 19-20, 2023 with the help of volunteers and local businesses in New York and New Jersey. (Screenshot from Instagram, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
January 23, 2024, 7:34 pm
35-foot challah in NYC attempts to break Guinness record
Over 200 pounds of dough transformed into world’s longest challah for Jewish Federation of North America’s Shabbat of Love
By julia GERGELY
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