Hundreds of people were attracted to events in the run-up to this weekend's Shabbat UK, the national celebration of the day of rest.

In Leeds young Jewish rappers starred in a video to promote the Chief Rabbi's initiative. Shabbat Rap has been released online and stars Year 6 pupils from Brodetsky primary. View the Shabbat Rap Shabbat UK .

Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue's Shabbat UK warm-up included a learning programme run by Rabbi Andrew Shaw. He said: "For one unique and special weekend we are asking as many of our members as possible to keep the full 25 hours of Shabbat and join over a million Jews across the world in this project."

Kisharon's Tuffkid Nursery in Golders Green marked the event by holding a challah bake over a two-day period in which 30 children took part.

Side by Side school in Stamford Hill prepared for the day of rest with a special Shabbat UK Mummy and Daddy kabbalat Shabbat.

Woodside Park Synagogue's preparation for Shabbat UK saw over 120 people attend a Ready Steady Cook style event with chef Philip Small and Rabbi Pinchas Hackenbroch providing the community with ideas to spice up their Friday night cooking.

Rabbi Barry and Naomi Lerer of Barnet Synagogue visited members in their homes and spoke to them about the beauty of Shabbat and ran educational evenings at the shul.

The Whitefield community attracted more than 300 people to 10 venues for discussions on "Shabbat - a 3,000-year-old institution - is it still relevant today?"

Food redistribution charity Gift launched a social media campaign inviting people to post on Facebook a picture of a dish that they cooked for the sabbath with the hashtag #outtheoven -- texting the words "shab55£3" to 70070. Supporters will be donating £3 to Gift to go towards Shabbat UK food packages for families in need.

Gift also worked with schools, youth movements and cheders across the UK to make 4,000 besamim sets to be used at havdalah ceremonies.

Shabbat UK , the national celebration of the day of rest, was initiated by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis last year, with the inaugural event attracting more than 100,000 people. This year's event, taking place this Shabbat, is likely to involve even more participants.