Do you think it would be okay to celebrate Shabbat on a Thursday night instead of a Friday night? My job requires that I work all day and night on Fridays and weekends and by the time I get home it's often 1 am or 2 am but I really miss celebrating shabbat. I'm a lapsed Reform Jew trying to get back into Judaism in an area without many Jews. Being able to say the prayers, light the candles, sip the wine, eat some egg bread (nowhere to buy challah around me), and contemplate would be very nice.
Iām glad youāre looking for ways to connect with your Judaism, but like all questions of observance I canāt make the decision for you. However, I can give you a little background on why you might decide it is or isnāt okay. I can also throw in some alternative ideas. If youāve got access to a Reform rabbi irl, it might help to reach out.@progressivejudaism is studying to be that Reform rabbi and Iām sure would be happy to help you think this through. ReformJudaism.org also takes questions and has rabbis that would (probably, I canāt read minds) love to talk about this with you.Ā Iāll do my best to answer, but Iād really like you to talk with a Reform rabbi since my answer might read more liberal Conservative than Reform.
Traditionally speaking, Shabbat is Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown. Period. The end. It also traditionally requires specific day-long observance in addition to the Friday night candles/challah/liquid-grape ritual.
However, since when have all Jews done everything the same way? Never.
Youāre not the first person to consider moving Shabbat around. At times, German and American Jews have moved (or considered moving) Shabbat to Sundays. If you want to read more, hereās a scholarly article and hereās a shorter readĀ covering similar information. Today, itās considered pretty controversial to move Shabbat around, and itās quite likely any rabbi will advise against it.
(Warning: in the following paragraphs I use āpracticeā as in ādo something over and over again to learnā and āpracticeā as in āobservance.ā I tried subbing things out and this didnāt work. Iām sorry non-native English speakers and basically everyone)
Even without moving Shabbat around, you could certainly āpracticeā for Shabbat whenever youāve got the time. Your evening off might be a great time to start figuring out what works for you and building your own Shabbat practices.Ā
Many Sunday school kidsĀ āpracticeā saying the Shabbat blessings over candles, wine, and challah. If you feel comfortable, you might choose to āpracticeā these blessings for learning. This could be little iffy from a traditional Jewish law perspective (especially if you already know the blessings), but I think itās worth bringing up with a rabbi. A rabbi might also have ideas for when/how you could work these rituals around your busy Friday/Saturday work schedule.
But keeping Shabbat isnāt just the Friday night candles/challah/wine. There are many ways to keep Shabbat, some traditional and some not. There are lots of books on keeping a traditional Shabbat, both rules and why (but I donāt know of any written from a Reform perspective). Shabbat practices like eating good food, relaxing, studying Jewish texts, spending time with family/friends, and not doingĀ āworkā (as halachically defined) are 100% okay toĀ try outside Shabbat. Your night off might be a time to play around and develop an observance for that someday when you can get Saturdays off.
Even if you canāt make Shabbat work out, Iād ask a rabbi about havdala. Havdala is a really beautiful ritual that marks the end of Shabbat. Itās traditionally performed after sundown on Saturday night, but Iāve heard at least once (but canāt seem to source this so maybe Iām wrong) that it can be celebrated late, even as late as Tuesday! I have personally found that havdala is less meaningful if I havenāt already marked that Shabbat as special in some way, but I still think itās worth your consideration.Ā If you (or anyone) ends up looking to learn how to say havdala blessings, Moishe House has a video.
If youāre in the U.S., there are some legal protections (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act) that might help you change your schedule to be more compatible with Shabbat. Depending on your job and how shifts are divvied up, it may or many not help. Iām not sure. A rabbi or an organization like the ACLU might know more.