A friend once told me of something she and her friends did when they walked around on Shabbos. When they passed by someone, they would mumble "pajamas," and see if anyone caught on. After all, Gut Shabbos/G'Shabbos and Pajamas sound alike, right? One person caught in. Smiles :)
When I was walking this Shabbos I passed by someone. He was on the sidewalk and I moved to the street. I didn't greet him and he didn't greet me. Ensue a rant inside my head "What if he thinks I am rude? Isn't it bad for shidduchim? What if I said hi? Would he think I am too friendly?"
Sounds a little hysterical, but that leads me to wonder.
What's the right thing to do?
If I say hi first will he think I am overfriendly and flirtatious? (Having been accused of this before in other situations, I try to be careful...) And if he doesn't respond, how much worse!
So I compiled a list of what I deem to be appropriate Shabbos greeting etiquette.
1. If it is a single male, I wait for him to say Good Shabbos first, and will respond if he greets me.
2. If it is female/group of females, I will say Good Shabbos. Especially if I know them
3. If it is a husband and wife, I will say Good Shabbos.
4. If it is a group of males, I will most likely not say Good Shabbos, but if they do, then I will greet them.
Walking down the street with all this in mind gets complicated. I don’t like being rude. I am a friendly person, I do like schmoozing with people, but I don’t want to cross any boundaries or offend anyone. And I certainly don’t want to ruin any shidduch prospects.
What do you think?
Post Sabbatical Salutations!
