Credit: Anash.org
“Shabbat 250” or National Shabbat was a historic, nation-wide initiative observed from sundown on Friday, May 15 to nightfall on Saturday, May 16, 2026, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The day marked the first time in American history that a sitting U.S. president - Donald Trump - formally issued a proclamation calling for a national Sabbath observance, through an executive order establishing the day as part of Jewish American Heritage Month. He Invoked President George Washington’s famous 1790 letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, which honored early Jewish patriots, specifically Haym Salomon, the financier who helped fund the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
The weekend blended traditional Jewish observances with patriotic celebrations. The White House hosted an official Shabbat 250 Reception in the Indian Treaty Room last week, serving Glatt kosher food and traditional Shabbat dishes. It was organized alongside the American Friends of Chabad Lubavitch.
Orthodox and Chabad centers nationwide hosted community dinners and "Learner's Services". In Baltimore, events overlapped with Armed Services Day, honoring Jewish military veterans. “Choosing this Shabbat to celebrate the United States is especially meaningful,” said the Baltimore-based chaplain and director of JUSA-Chabad (Jewish Uniformed Service Association Chabad). “It coincides with Armed Services Day. It’s a double reason for our community to come together.”
“In special honor of 250 glorious years of American independence and on the weekend of Rededicate 250—a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving—Jewish Americans were encouraged to observe a national Sabbath,” President Donald Trump wrote. “From sundown on May 15 to nightfall on May 16, friends, families, and communities of all backgrounds came together in gratitude for our great Nation. This day recognized the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and gratitude to the Almighty.”
Providentially, the national Shabbat took place on the weekend when Jews around the world were reading the Torah portion of Bamidbar, which precedes the holiday of Shavuot. Forty years ago, on Shabbat Bamidbar 5746 (June 7, 1986), the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, suggested this particular Shabbat to be a global Shabbat achdut, or Shabbat of Unity."
The Rebbe of Lubavitch often described the United States as a medinah shel chesed, a country of kindness—a land where Jews have enjoyed the freedom to live openly as Jews, deepen their observance, and serve G‑d and their fellow man.
