Paula Abdul Invites You For Shabbos

Former American Idol judge says 'Yes!' to the Shabbos Project.

Hannah Dreyfus, Staff Writer for The Jewish Week

International singing star and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul just sent you a Shabbos invitation.

Abdul, who is herself Jewish (the name 'Abdul' is Syrian), agreed to be a part of the Shabbos Project, an world-wide initiative to encourage Jews to keep the Sabbath together on the weekend of October 24-25. In a recent video promoting the Shabbos Project, she pronounced her love for the day of rest.

“Shabbos is very important to me because it’s my time to be just me—no paparazzi, no invasion of my privacy,” Abdul says in a promotional video. “I can always look forward to the end of the week and say, ‘Thank God I have Shabbos.’”

Abdul heard about the project from the chief rabbi of South Africa, Rabbi Warren Goldstein, who gave her a personal call asking her to participate. “When the chief rabbi calls, like you’re going to turn it down?” she says in the promotional clip. Rabbi Goldstein started the project as a campaign to urge South African Jews to keep one Shabbat together.

One year later, the project has become a global phenomenon. This year, the project will take effect in more than 212 cities and 33 countries around the globe.

Aside from Abdul, other celebrities have also signed on to participate. Actress Maureen Lipman, radio presenter Vanessa Feltz and singer-songwriter Alex Clare have all recorded promotional videos, encouraging participation in Shabbat activities.

Visit theshabbosproject.org to sign up to partcipate.


Follow us on      page.