Posted on March 24, 2026 in Neshamah Shabbat Stories
The Ocean Has Always Known How to Keep Shabbat
Beach Shabbat Havurah | Friday, April 10, 2026 | Delray Beach, Florida
Rabbi Amy Rader | The Neshamah Institute
There is a moment, right at sunset, when the sky over the Atlantic turns every shade of gold and rose and fire, and the sound of the waves seems to slow down, and something in you just… exhales.
Jewish mystics believed that on Friday evening, the whole world shifts. The week with its demands and noise and rush steps back, and something holy moves in. They called it Shabbat.
And for thousands of years, Jews have welcomed it with candles and wine and song.
This April, we are welcoming it with all of that. And also: the actual ocean.
Beach Shabbat is what happens when ancient Jewish tradition meets South Florida living in the most honest, joyful, and luminous way
possible.
On Friday, April 10, 2026, The Neshamah Institute invites you to join us at the beach in Delray Beach for our Beach Shabbat Havurah. Come for the sunset. Come for the music. Come for the community. Come because you have been looking for exactly this, and maybe you have not had the words for it until now.
What Is Beach Shabbat, Exactly?
Shabbat is Judaism’s weekly gift to itself: a full twenty-five hours of rest, beginning at sundown Friday night, set apart from the rest of the week. It is ancient. It is countercultural. And when you actually let yourself experience it, it is profoundly beautiful.
At Neshamah, we celebrate Shabbat in different ways throughout the year. But Beach Shabbat is something special. Every April, we take Kabbalat Shabbat, the Friday evening service that welcomes the Sabbath, out of any building and onto the sand.
We gather at the edge of the water as the sun goes down. We light candles. We sing. Rabbi Amy offers a short, warm teaching. We chant Kiddush, make Motzi over challah, and share in the simple holiness of being together in an extraordinary place.
It is, as our community has said year after year, unlike anything else.
If You Have Never Done Anything Like This Before Good. Honestly, some of our most meaningful Beach Shabbats have been filled with people
who had never been to a Jewish service, people who grew up Jewish but drifted away, people who were not sure what they were looking for but knew they needed something.
Here is what you need to know:
• No Hebrew knowledge required. Rabbi Amy translates and explains everything. You
will feel included, not left behind.
• No membership, no synagogue affiliation, no prerequisites. The Neshamah Institute is dues-free and genuinely open to all.
• No dress code. This is South Florida. Wear what you wear to the beach.
• Children are welcome and encouraged. Let them run. Let them play. Joyful chaos is
part of the point.
• You do not have to believe anything in particular. Wonder counts.
What you will find when you arrive: a warm, low-key gathering of real people, beautiful music led by our extraordinary Musical Director Sharon Shear, and a Rabbi who genuinely loves this and will make you feel it too.
What to Expect
The Setting
We gather on the beach in Delray Beach as the sun moves toward the horizon. The Atlantic is our backdrop. The sounds of the waves are our ambient music. Bring a beach chair or a blanket and plan to settle in.
The Service
Kabbalat Shabbat is the traditional Friday evening service that welcomes the Sabbath. At Beach Shabbat, we sing the psalms and prayers that make up this service in a form that is completely accessible, even if you have never heard them before. Rabbi Amy weaves in a short teaching that connects the ancient text to right now, to this beach, to this moment.
The Music
Sharon Shear leads us in melodies that will stay with you. We draw from the full, beautiful tradition of Jewish sacred music, including soul-stirring arrangements of Lecha Dodi and Shema Yisrael, songs written to be sung at exactly this hour, as the light changes over the water.
The Challah
We close with Kiddush, the blessing over wine, and Motzi, the blessing over bread. There will be challah. There is always challah.
Event Details
Date: Friday, April 10, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM, at sunset
Where: Delray Beach, Florida
Cost: No charge | Suggested donation: Adult $18 | Family $45 | Child $5
Bring: Beach chair or blanket, sunscreen, water, an open heart
Hosted by: Rabbi Amy Rader and Musical Director Sharon Shear
An Invitation, from Rabbi Amy
Every year, when we gather on the beach for Shabbat, something happens that I do not know how to fully explain. People who have never been to any kind of Jewish service find themselves singing. People who have not felt connected to Judaism in years find themselves crying, in the best possible way. People who came because a friend dragged them feel, by the time we are done, like they have been somewhere real.
The ocean does something to us. It reminds us how big everything is and, somehow, how held we are within it. That is exactly what Shabbat has always been trying to say.
Come join us on April 10. Bring whoever you love. Come as you are. The sea will do the rest.
With love and anticipation, Rabbi Amy Rader
The Neshamah Institute | niboca.org
Ready to Join Us?
RSVP for Beach Shabbat | April 10, 2026
Spaces are limited and fill up quickly.
Want to Explore Everything We Do?
Beach Shabbat is one expression of a community that gathers every single week to celebrate Jewish life together. Whether you are new to all of this or returning after a long time away, there is a place for you at Neshamah.
Phone: 561-368-1199 | Email: info@niboca.org
All of our Shabbat offerings: niboca.org/shabbat
The Neshamah Institute | A dues-free, synagogue-without-walls | niboca.org
About Rabbi Rader
Rabbi Amy Rader is the Founder and Executive Director of the Neshamah Institute in Boca Raton, a vibrant Jewish community offering meaningful Jewish education for kids, Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation, High Holiday services, and inspiring Jewish events. Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Rader brings over 25 years of experience helping families connect deeply with Judaism in modern, authentic ways.
