Note from the songwriter:
Shabbat! A wonderful gift! Remind people to let go of their typical stresses and enjoy the moment. While this tune isn’t directly related to any particular blessing, it can be shared ritually in conjunction with any of the blessings or songs that are part of your communal celebration.

Activities:
Collect the ideas your community members want to contribute- you can do this ‘in real time’ as the recording models, with each participant speaking or singing their idea, but you can also ask children to illustrate their ideas ahead of time, and/or collect the Shabbat wishes the community members have as they enter the space. One way to do this is to distribute post-it notes as people congregate and ask them to write or draw (or write their child’s dictation and then stick the post-it note someplace prominent so that you can see and sing their ideas at the point of the celebration when you’ll choose to share the song (of course, keep in mind the timing and the customs of the community before using writing utensils!) 

Dramatically play pretend and wave ‘bye-bye’ and open the door so that our stresses can leave ie “Bye-Bye trying to get the house organized before our guest arrive….bye-bye worrying about the dishes in the sink...bye bye deadline at work on Tuesday, I’ll work towards meeting you after Shabbat”

Teaching Tip:
I’ve had very young kids report their stresses to me- and I was not anticipating that they would have a full understanding of the concept- but their contributions revealed that they do, too! “Bye-bye feeling scared that I will go pee pee in my bed, bye-bye thinking about losing my Teddy…”
This zipper song presents the opportunity to learn about the kind of Shabbat the participants want: remind the adults to pay attention to their child’s wishes, because sometimes, they can be granted! If a child proposes a “yummy” shabbat, involve them in choosing and preparing foods or if a parent hears their partner suggest a “restful” shabbat, take note and try to find a time that will allow them to take a nap (I know, easier said then done…) the big idea here is that we can learn about the needs of our families pretty easily, and Shabbat is the perfect time to take the time to ask, listen, and accommodate requests when possible. Consider taking a video of the wishes and sharing it through social media to the larger community- this can be an easy way for the larger community to glimpse the beauty and power of your program! 

Chords:

Lyrics:
What kind of Shabbat should we share?
Let’s gather all the blessings? from everywhere!
Say- Bye, Bye to the stressings
Hello to the blessings!
Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom!!!
 
 
I wish for you a ___________ Shabbat
I wish for you a ___________ Shabbat
I wish for you a ___________ Shabbat
Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom!