Never in my life have I craved Shabbat as deeply as I did on Friday, April 19th, 2013. My wife Nicole and I were expecting our family to arrive from all over the East Coast to celebrate our newborn son Caleb’s Hebrew name, during Kabbalat Shabbat at Temple Israel of Boston, where as I serve as a rabbi.

When I awoke to learn that one of the suspected Boston marathon bombers was “at-large” in or around Boston, and that our city and surrounding areas were in virtual lockdown, I was stunned. Five days had passed since the horror of the marathon bombings, five days filled with tragedy,...

It's Friday evening. The smells of rosemary chicken and freshly-baked challah fill the house. My daughters, 3 and 9, sigh as I gently detach the iPads from their laps. One by one, our screens are powered down. My husband, Ken, is usually the last holdout, in his office, madly scrambling to send out just one last email before the sun sets. Then he unplugs too. We light the candles, and sit down to a sumptuous meal.

I'm prepared. I've printed out the next day's schedule, along with maps and phone numbers that live on my cell phone. Most people in our lives know they will not be able to...