Shabbat in Finland- our family moved to Finland a few weeks ago and the newness of everything can at times be overwhelming. With so much being new we crave the familiar. Before we left we wanted to make sure we did our best to make sure our Friday evenings continued with our Shabbat traditions. It’s what we are used to from home and it’s what we look forward to and are trying to protect this special time now. The four of us sitting together for dinner. Salmon, salad, challah and the traveling Shabbat candles we brought from home. So the challah is actually Pulla- a favorite Finnish sweet bread that is braided and has subtle reminders of challah from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf with a bit of added cardamom. And it’s dark so early out. In fact, our first Shabbat in Finland the sunset was at 2:30 pm. We emailed our go-to’s at CBB (Rabbi, Cantor, Jen, Laurie, and Ben) and they provided some great suggestions for our family’s time of observance. After reading a few articles with follow up discussions we opted to give a nod to our home in Goleta and light candles at what would be sunset back home (i.e sunset is 5:38 pm in Goleta then we would aim for 17:38 in Finland). The thousands of miles we are away hasn’t been easy. However, this experience is amazing and we are taking advantage of every opportunity possible. Shabbat has grounded us. The traditions, the prayers, the conversations, and the foods, this one time each week feels like home. Shabbat Shalom.
Love,
The Young’s
