A real post coming soon, but here’s a little something fun for Shabbas.
I’ve also started a YouTube channel where I’ll be collecting videos, both sublime and surreal, that may be of interest.
Archive for the 'Shabbat' Category
So, a little while back I talked about doing Sabbath Salons. I’ve re-thought the idea, since so many of the people who expressed interest are spread far and wide.
Here’s the new plan.
We choose a book. Each Shabbat, we all read the same chapter and then post our thoughts on the chapter. The idea came to me because I’ve been reading The River of Light, by Lawrence Kushner
On Sunday mornings, I’ll post my thoughts about the chapter we’ve read — hopefully a few of you will join in during the week and add your thoughts, too.
I’d love to start with this book, and I’m happy to re-read it. Let’s start October 7th, right in the middle of the days of awe. That should give everyone time to get a copy of the book. It’s not a very long book, so I’d also love suggestions for what we should read next!
I missed Shabbat this week. Completely.
Work has been so crazy that by the time Friday rolls around I’m dead tired. The weeks have been feeling both incredibly long and fast. Each day feels like a marathon and yet when Friday hits, I have no idea how it can be Friday already.
Shabbat is usually a welcome rest. Walking to the bakery to get my Challah after work always brings me a calmness that I love. I have this moment of fear before I get there as I wonder if they have run out before I can get there. When I see one Challah left, which is usually the case, I feel so happy!
This week I left work in such a daze on Friday that I didn’t realize it was Sabbath until I got home. I was so wiped that I just sat on the couch. No candles. No challah. No wine. I just sat there. I was really confused about how I could forget to go to the bakery.
I said a little prayer to myself welcoming the Sabbath and then went back to sitting on the couch. I guess I just needed the rest. In a way, I guess I did celebrate Sabbath this week. It’s been a nearly completely restful weekend, which I desperately needed.
Good Shabbas.
Someone asked an interesting question about Sabbath. Is it important what day we celebrate, as long as we honor the creator?
We are told that the Sabbath is the seventh day in the Torah, but it does not say that the seventh day is Friday - our modern calendar does. The modern calendar goes from Sunday to Sunday, so sundown Friday is the beginning of the seventh day. Jewish days start at sundown, not midnight. Part of the power of using the same night as other Jews, is the connection to your tribe. You know that all over the world your extended tribe is stepping through many of the same ritual actions as you.
I think the answer is up to you. I think in our modern world Friday night as Sabbath makes a great deal of sense. We work, generally, Monday to Friday, so stopping on Friday night to breath, rest, and reconnect, resonates strongly for me. We also often need at least one day of the weekend to do work around the house, with charities, or at a side job. Claiming Friday night through Saturday night as Sabbath allows us to have Sunday for other work.
I think the important thing is taking the time to stop — and acknowledge how precious life is, how blessed you are, and that you are a part of a greater whole. The commandment says, “Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
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