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The Sabbath
A Day of Gratefulness
In grateful memory
Introduction
Why another book on the Sabbath? The subject of the Sabbath has received the fullest attention from countless scholars, philosophers and rabbis as well as thinkers of all religious persuasions. Beginning with its rst references in the Bible the Sabbath has expanded into a complex institution as a result of extensive commentary in the literature of the Rabbis -the Talmud, Midrash, legal codes, philosophical treatises and mystical documents. Over the centuries, the Sabbath has emerged as a pivotal institution in the life of the Jewish people and indeed in the experience of all humanity. Like the Torah whose meanings are indeterminate, the Sabbath, as a vital piece of Torahs mosaic of wisdom, likewise holds out multilayered strata of possible interpretation and meaning. For many, the Sabbath is seen either as a day guided by strict and unyielding religious behavior often impeding the embrace of the Sabbaths inner light, or is experienced as a day of leisure devoted exclusively to recreational, familial and ethnic experiences, leaving little room for the exploration of the days spiritual richness. My intention in presenting this book is to extract from the radiant crown of the Sabbath one gem that needs, I believe, further polishing to release its brilliance and beauty. The Sabbath invites us all to lend our hearts and minds to the task of renewed discovery within its limitless layers of holiness and blessing. For me, a jewel on the tiara of the Sabbath is that of gratefulness. Sabbath is many things -a day of rest, a holy day, a day of leisure, a day of prayer and study, a day of family bonding, a day of delight. What infuses the many facets of the Sabbath is the underlying opportunity it offers to rediscover life as a gift, experience gratitude for being alive, and articulate this gratefulness in many traditionally Jewish ways that are expressive and heartfelt As the Sabbath summons us to cultivate a heart of gratitude it likewise holds out the invitation to respond with generosity and compassion each day of the entire week.Not only does a day of physical rest rejuvenate the body, but the Sabbath replenishes and restores the soul with its vital essence so that the weekdays may be approached with the sanctied aura of each Sabbath day.
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A Personal Preface:
In my early twenties I read Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschels The Sabbath more than once as part of my seminary education. Sadly for me, its poetry and emotional depth collided with a closed heart. Thankfully, as I grew to understand the place of the heart in ones spiritual life, I have re-read this masterpiece many times as one would read inspirational poetry or a sacred text, and today, with each reading, I rejoice like one who has found great treasure. In his brief treatise on the Sabbath, Heschel succeeded in releasing the brilliance of Sabbaths crown of glory to the great blessing of us all. I write this essay on the Sabbath as a humble midrash, a commentary, on a sacred text, Heschels The Sabbath, and as a belated response of a grateful heart to a poet who has enlightened not only the hearts of Jews but the soul of all humanity as well. As a confused adolescent seeking a sense of specialness, a feeling of stabitlity and uniqueness in an emotionally turbulent world, I cloaked myself in the mantle of strict Orthodoxy, which included a rigid form of Sabbath observance.This immutable structure gave me a framework which would help, so I thought, in creating some coherence to the many disparate fragments of my emerging identity and sense of self. The Sabbath became a day of legalistic obsessiveness accompanied by the dread of the most minute of technical violations. It was my immature way of showing God and others my extraordinary piety .While others of my family and friends enjoyed the secular pleasures of a day free from work and school -matinee movies, Friday night television,Saturday morning sports - I attendied Sabbath services, read and passed the time in psychological isolation. Self- restriction and sacrice further served the function of atoning for a range of unacceptable adolescent feelings touching on erotic stirrings and inclinations of violent rivalry with siblings and friends.Thus my Sabbath experiences were joyless, devoid of inner peacefulness and delight. I was locked into a web of regulation and restriction rather than freely embraced by the warmth of Sabbaths sacred stirrings. This relationship to the Sabbath continued for many years. My decision to enter the Rabbinate only exacerbated the difculty of my relationship to the Sabbath; Shabbes became a day of demands for excellence in the pulpit and the excessive need for public approval. The day which proclaims freedom from the need for success,
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Prologue:
The Sabbath is so monumental an institution, so over-arching and multi-dimensional, one searches in vain for an underlying spiritual premise or theme that can simply and accurately capture the variegated richness and universal meaning embedded in the day. As a secular institution, the Sabbath is recognized and valued as a much needed day-off from work activity, an opportunity, even a necessity to relax from the strains and stresses of earning a livelihood or preparing to do so. All contemporary societies acknowledge the benets of a day of rest and leisure as a basic human right.1 But the Sabbath is more than a legal or social institution; the Sabbath is not only ....a state of mind or a form of conduct, but a process in the world of spirit.2 One major pillar of the Sabbath that upholds and sustains its spiritual signicance is the obligation to cease from work.Beginning with the Bible, the Sabbath continues to evolve through the process of interpretation and application, creating many dimensions of understanding regarding the nature of work in each century and each location where Jews dwell.This process is on-going and each generation is challenged to re-discover the Sabbaths scope, beauty and blessing .According to the Talmud, the categories of work
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To sanctify the Sabbath as prescribed by tradition, an honest and open hearted sense of gratefulness is indispensable. Paradoxically, this attitude of gratefulness bears with it a deep potential for repair of the world during the other days of the week as well. As we emerge refreshed spiritually, and having regained our sight of the world as a gift, we nd ourselves more inclined to share that gift with others, and in this way, live out the weekdays with a sense of generosity and kindness.This idea that gratitude activates generous and compassionate responsiveness to the world is profoundly articulated by Lewis Hyde in his book The Gift: I would like to speak of gratitude as a labor undertaken by the soul to effect the transformation after a gift has been received. Between the time a gift comes to us and the time we pass it along, we suffer gratitude Passing the gift along is the act of gratitude that nishes the labor.7
heaven and earth were c o m p l e t e
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God r e s t e d
In the popular mind, Sabbath means rest. Resting means more than relaxing the body or not being engaged in any strenuous physical activity. In fact the Hebrew word for rest is incorporated in the term Shabbat. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy because on it He rested-shavat- -from all the work of creation He had done.8 Only from the perspective of gratefulness for what is on this day of non-doing can we understand the rationale of Jewish laws insistence that down to the tiniest and most elementary of activities, one needs to be attentive to the possibility of crossing the line between impacting our world in a direct way and allowing the world to be, without the slightest interference. Nevertheless, exclusive preoccupation with prohibitions, without an internal mindfulness of this systems rationale in cultivating gratefulness on this day, is to betray the soulfulness of the day for the arid and lifeless mechanics of disembodied behavior. Such a view makes Shabbat a burden, not a blessing. Why Shabbat? From a religious point of view a satisfying answer could be to emulate God by resting; as He rested so do we have the obligation to rest. Another response could be understood in terms of obeying all of Gods laws pertaining to this day and as such we make this day one of dedication to divine authority and to the will of God. For the traditionalist, the above can be fully satisfactory. My understanding doesnt preclude the nature of this kind of relationship to the Sabbath. I prefer however, to expand the context of Sabbath celebration to embrace those who may not share the formal conventional connection that is rooted in a more conventional belief in God. I believe that all human beings have the capacity and spiritual need to consecrate one day a week during which to pay full attentiveness, in mind, body and heart, to the giftedness of life and the world, and then begin to convert time from a context of petition to one of praise, from a setting of dissatisfaction to one of utter gratefulness. I pray the following pages will help serve that purpose.
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There are times when a universe of thought is contained in one word. Hebrew, in particular, is a language rich in multiplicities of meaning. We know from Jewish tradition, especially the mystical strain of that heritage, that language, especially Hebrew, reects the fundamental spiritual nature of the world; in other words, it has mystical value...man's common language...reects the creative language of God.9 As a frame of reference around which I shall construct my presentation, I have made use of the Hebrew word for the Sabbath, ,shabbat, discovering in each of its three letters- - --Shin- Bet-Tav-an acronymn that spells out the essential meaning of the Sabbath as a day of gratefulness. Taking each of the three Hebrew letters of the word Shabbat, I assign to each one a particular reference to a fundamental principle and dimension of the Shabbat experience and potential . These three letters symbolize and encompass the core essence of Sabbath as a divine opportunity to discover and incorporate gratefulness in our lives. Shin ( ) suggests exercising one of the basic capacities of the human mind and heart, one called upon by Jewish tradition daily-Shema- -listen, give heed, pay attention to. Shabbat is designed as a gift to the Jewish people and to the world by which one is given the time and opportunity to pay attention, to
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Sabbath
sabbath
sabbath
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It has been said that the Sabbath is an incubator for wisdom. Like an incubator that provides the warmth and moisture necessary for a babys physical growth, so too can Shabbat be seen as a setting in time that offers us a way of being, thinking and feeling for one day, a way of listening that nurtures our hearts, bodies and souls. Six days a week we are tempted and trapped by the seductions of the market place. The world of commerce conquers our souls with the message that the more we have, the happier and more blessed we become. If we only buy what the purveyors of merchandise have to sell, our troubles will dissolve, our lives will be sweet and happiness will be achieved. The unmistakable American message is: We are blessed only if we are wealthy. This message propels our efforts, sacrices, energies and commitments throughout the six days of the work week. The headlines of a recent New York Times article pierces the heavens with the cry of ingratitude in todays contemporary world. The Millionaires Who Dont Feel Rich, it announced. The front page item proceeded to describe a community of working-class millionaires in Silicon Valley, California, accomplished and ambitious members of the digital elite (who) still do not think of themselves as particularly fortunate, in part because they are surrounded by people with more wealth-often a lot more you look around, Mr. Barbagallo said, and the pressures to spend are everywhere. Children want the latest fashions their peers are wearing and the most popular high-ticket
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I Have a
precious
gift
among
My
treasures-
the Sabbath
It was G o o d
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Must be lived out from day to day. Vision held open in the dark By our ten thousand days of work. Harvest will fill the barn; for that The hand must ache, the face must sweat. And yet no leaf or grain is filled By work of ours; the field is tilled And left to grace. That we may reap, Great work is done while were asleep. When we work well. A Sabbath mood Rests on our day, and finds it good. 13
Wendell Berry
Sabbath is essential for the connection to our humanity and for the natural preservation of our planet. While recognizing the human need and ability to control and improve upon nature in order to civilize life, many scientists, and theologians alike, bemoan the increasing blindness of humanity to the vulnerability of Nature and to its pauperization.We ignore our natural origins and instead set our sights on the syntheticizing of life and the world through techno-scientic revolution. If ever there was an institution or pattern of living that insisted on the sacred stewardship of our world, it is the Sabbath. One day a week, without exception, our compulsion to control and conquer nature is constrained. In place of the triumph of technology, the Sabbath is transformed into a time of grateful trust. Great are the laws that govern the processes of nature. Yet without holiness there would be neither greatness nor nature.14 O.E.Wilson, the distinguished sociobiologist and Pulitzer Prize winner, passionately reminds us of our need for greater humility, in spite of his utter dependence on science. Homo Sapiens is a species conned to an extremely small niche. True, our minds soar out to the edges of the universe, and contract inward to the subatomic particlesin this respect our intellects are godlike. But lets face it; our bodies stay trapped inside a proportionately microscopic bubble of physical constraintsThis protective shield is the biosphere, the totality of all life, creator of all air,cleanser of all water, manager of all soil, but itself
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R e m e m b e r
the Sabbath Day
Shabbat is a gift of living in the present, the past being a frame of reference for the perfection of the present. Likewise, Shabbat is viewed as an eternal moment, the anticipation of an ideal future-the end of days which are Messianic in nature-being contained in the here and now. To pay attention, tradition has formulated a pattern and process of experiencing a full day in a particularly attentiveness-raising manner, in the form of a unique liturgy and a set of rituals and practices. By carefully examining parts of the Sabbath liturgy we can fully appreciate the power of Sabbath prayer to help us crystallize our ability to pay attention to a new voice, to discover an old-new spiritual reality in our lives. To remember the Sabbath is to be spiritually mindful and attentive to the message of the Sabbath as a day of recognizing the reality of blessing in our lives, to touch the gratefulness and sanctity embedded in that day. If we read the letters that constitute the Hebrew word for remember zachor- backward (from left to right)-we construct the word -rachoz- -which means to concentrate, to make central and all-important.
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Listen
Take Notice
Be Mindful
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Shabbat is the time to take notice of the treasures of the world and rediscover thankfulness in our hearts. Shabbat is story-telling time. Nature is a narrative without words, full of drama, excitement and joy. On Shabbes, we enjoy the privilege of hearing this tale of times movement through space and at the same moment catch a glimpse of time standing still. The universe in all its silent glory utters a moment of eternity on this day of gratefulness. Like children enchanted by the unfolding of some fairy-tale, each of us is invited on Shabbat to listen to the magical mystery of lifes mesmerizing miracle.
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comes out like a bridegroom from his chamber exulting and eager as a champion to run his course From the rim of the east it rises To sweep in majesty upward, Westward, warming all on earth as it passes. On the Sabbath we bask in the suns rays of warmth and clarity, aware of its life-giving energy. The sun also rises like a bridegroom, which brings us back to the night before when we experienced the Sabbath as a bride and we greeted her with the love and yearning that only a bridegroom could understand. Now, at the peak of the day, the love of bride and bridegroom, Shabbat and Israel, ood the world with climactic beauty and joy like the sun pouring out its rays upon the earth. Drenched in the brightest light of Shabbats luminescence, we yield to the fullness and saturation of the days perfection. It is no wonder that the popular custom of an afternoons nap is an integral part of the Sabbath experience. With such wholeness of feeling, we let go and like Adam fall into a deep slumber of trust and surrender.
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Part 2 : Be Blessed
Fulll-shamor--Refrain:
A second prominent reference to the Sabbath day is the second version of the Ten Commandments in the book of Deuteronomy. Observe, fulll, (keep) the Sabbath day to make it holy...the seventh day is holy to the Lord your God, do not do any work on it. (Deut. 5:12) Inseparable from the experience of the Sabbath is the necessity to refrain from work. Knowing the adverse reaction many have to living under a veil of restriction, especially when the purpose of the Sabbath institution is freedom, how do we reconcile this apparent contradiction? The following citation provides us with an illuminating insight. The Sabbath is a patch of ground secured by a tiny fence; when we withdraw from the endless choices afforded us and listen, uncover what is ultimately important, remember what is quietly sacred, Sabbath restrictions on work and activity actually create a space of great freedom; without these self-imposed restrictions, we may never truly be free.21 While the risk remains of being overwhelmed and suffocated by the mountains of Sabbath prohibitions, nonetheless these restrictions create a reality in which one can release oneself from the tyranny of doing, of making, of creating, of acting in order to feel one's sense of self-worth and value. Shabbat celebrates one's being, our capacity to witness the wonder of the world and draw forth a deep sigh of satisfaction and gratefulness.To work, to re-fashion and re-shape our world is an expression of dissatisfaction, an impulse to improve upon the creation as we have it. Prohibited activity suggests any action that interferes with the prospect of acquiring a deeper sense of gratitude for our lives. Kabbalistic thinking understands the word for remember--from its translation as zacharmasculine.To engage in remembrance and sanctication requires a creative act.The second equally important
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...
And He Blessed
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forbidden34
whether
physical and spiritual beings into response in the celebration of the day. As a complementary experience to zachor, remembering, the positive side of observing is a broad spectrum of sensual and physical experiences that help sensitize us to the awareness of the Sabbath as a day of giftedness and gratefulness. The commandment shamor--observe, carry out, fulll, embraces the imperative that we do those things and perform those rituals and activities that heighten our awareness of the multipli c ity of pleasures by which human life is blessed and made more meaningful and joyful. In much of Western religious thinking, the dichotomy of body and spirit seems to prevail as a fundamental way by which we differentiate between that which is signicant and that which has little or no enduring value or meaning. It is assumed that the spirit is superior and the material is to be abandoned, rejected if not entirely repressed, in order to achieve greatest sanctity and saintliness. By contrast, the casting away of the carnal is not the Jewish way. Rather, Judaism insists that it is possible, if not necessary, to sanctify the physical and the bodily, and in this way approach the fullness of life with an understanding that all of life is Gods gift for which we are summoned to be grateful. Thus on Shabbat, we celebrate not only the spirit but also the body; not only the soul but also the senses.
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A Sabbath Snooze
is a
delight
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the Sages said: At the incoming of the Sabbath we hallow it by reciting the hallowing(Kiddush) of the day over wine. 27 Wine, the symbol of joy and physicality, the beverage of sweet intoxication, is called into service as the rst item of the Sabbath day to be utilized in the act of sanctication.The well-known adage from the book of Psalms , Chpt.104:15-Wine gladdens the heart, makes it abundantly clear that together with all the products of the land-oil from olive trees and bread from the wheat of the eld, wine is a natural part of the myriad gifts bestowed by God upon humanity. Thus, the organic ow of gratitude that arises from an open and grateful heart. Together with the drinking of the wine is the indispensability of the act of blessing. We make holy by tasting the wine and by acknowledging its source with words of gratefulness, of blessing. Thus the onset of the process of gratefulness crystallization and enhancement.
Taste
The Psalm that contains the reference to tasting as an approach to understanding the goodness of the world, hence the goodness of the worlds Creator, is recited each Shabbat. An all-encompassing dimension, without which the Sabbath experience is incomplete, even eviscerated, is that of the fullest experience of physical delight on that day. Without the inclusion of the body, how can one fully appreciate and be grateful for, the given goodness of the universe and life? In the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the beverages we drink, the utensils we use, the games we play, the fragrances we smell, the sounds we listen to, the full measure of Shabbats holiness and the worlds blessing come to the fore. Even our ability to sleep and to engage in intimate, sexual activity is looked upon as not only permissible but desirable.
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We wish you peace, angels of peace, Angels of the most sublime-the Holy One Blessed be He.
What do angels do? They are messengers of the divine who bring holiness into the world. They praise God. He will instruct His angels to guard you in all your paths May the Lord guard your going and your coming now and forever. We are grateful for the angelic part of the human soul which allows us to make life holy and praise God from grateful hearts.
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A A H!
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hon or it
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word, shamor) the Sabbath and call it a delight-Oneg- ;the people who sanctify the seventh day will be satised and delighted (yitangu--from the word-oneg-delight) because of Your goodness (bounty or gifts). The prayer brings to our conscious awareness the spiritual imperative of experiencing physical pleasure and delight on the Sabbath as a means of fullling Gods wishes. Blessing is embedded in the day, readily available, inviting us to open our hearts and receive it. At the core of this expectation is the realization that the Sabbaths greatness and joy pulsate and come alive when the Sabbath observer is able to deeply recognize the source of lifes delights with an inner perception of gratefulness. To deprive the individual of lifes basic pleasures on the Sabbath would be entirely inimical to Sabbaths purpose. The centrality of oneg- -of delight on the Sabbath originates in an early Biblical passage- Thou shall call the Sabbath a delight.(Isaiah 58:13) The Rabbis expand on the notion of delight to encompass the totality and essentiality of the elemental components of raw physical existence. With what is one to show his delight on the Sabbath? R. Judah son of R. Samuel bar Shilat said in the name of Rav: With a dish of beets, large sh and heads of garlic. R. Hiyya bar Ahi said in the name of Rav: So long as it is prepared in the honor of the Sabbath, even a hum b le dish is a delight. What humble dish, for example? R. Papa said: Fish-hash pie. 28 Thus, whether the dish eaten on the Sabbath is regarded as something of a delicacy or a food that is common and readily available, what transforms the prosaic, primitive item is the spiritual perception of the Sabbath as a day of gratefulness, which converts it into a moment of holiness. A more dramatic illustration of the unique power of the Sabbath experience is in the following: A Caesar asked R. Joshua b. Hananiah: Why do Sabbath dishes have such a fragrant aroma? He answered: We have a certain seasoning called Sabbath which we put in the dish, and that gives it its fragrant aromaFor him who keeps the Sabbath it avails;
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The Sabbath-A Day of Gratefulness Sights, smells, songs and sex on the Sabbath:
Perhaps the most widely known and practiced ritual associated with the Sabbath is the lighting of the Sabbath candles on Friday evening. Who can forget the touching scene from Fiddler on the Roof during which Tevyas family is gathered around the simple Sabbath table and his wife and daughters share in the ritual candle lighting. The theatre is darkened and all that the audience sees are ickers of ame which evoke powerful memories and emotions of deep attachment and longing. This act is accompanied by the fathers blessing his children, another deeply endearing experience of the day. The symbolism of light, with all its many spiritual ramications, is captured in the moments of the lights glow. Light and re, a fundamental source of energy, a gift of creation, conveys the magic and the blessing of this natural manifestation of the worlds wonder. So central is lights signicance that the Sabbath is both ushered in and escorted out at the end of the day, to the kindling of lights, an unmistakable reminder of the gift of all heavenly luminaries. We feast our eyes on the colors, warmth and enchantment of the ames, perceiving with our minds eye the generosity of the Ultimate Source of all things. These little lights bring us great delight. And call the Sabbath a delight(Isaiah 58:13). The word delight-oneg--refers to the kindling of the lamp on the Sabbath. My life was bereft of peace ( Lamentations 3:17) refers, according to R. Abbahu, to the lack of the Sabbath lamp. 31 The eyes become a conduit for Sabbaths message of gratefulness. We quietly witness, with the awareness of our hearts and the blessings on our tongues, the spiritual freedom embedded in the humble ames of this sacred day. ...Fire is the ultra-living element.It is intimate and it is universal.It lives in iur heart.It lives in the sky.It rises from the depths of the substace and offers itself with the warmth of love...31
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Yah
My Strength My
Song
Holy
make
love
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Let the
humble be glad
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Shabbes in Becket
I, the text, She, the commentator, I, God-the final word, She, Rashi running with the word Cradled in her heart Side by side on rocking chairs Suns rays washing our faces With warm rivulets of honeyed Light, Eyes closed, Knitted blankets blocking winters chill, We cuddle up to the caress of Torah What is the reading today, she asks? and we embark on a Shabbes journey into our souls, taking with us a satchel of sacred words, of ancient stories with echoes of eternity.
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Taste and see how good is the Lord.(Psalm 34 :2,9) Witnessing the wonder of the world and tasting the sweetness of Torah, how can anyone not praise the Giver of these gifts? Furthermore, knowing the all time-ness of the human capacity for gratefulness, for praise, is a source of great assurance and inner stability. It is common for most to thank, to praise at moments of favor and fortune. Tamid--always, perpetually, uninterruptedly, represents the temporal reality of Sabbaths extraordinary bestowal of blessing by which to transcend circumstance and t
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Commenting on a passage in Deuteroomy, Chapter 8:10-You shall eat, be satised and bless the Lord for the good land He has given you, Shlomo of Karlin stated:
When one eats in a spirit of gratitude,whether there is much food or little, the meal is satisfying.
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The Sabbath-A Day of Gratefulness With all your offerings you must offer salt( Leviticus 2:13)
It is the custom on the Sabbath to add salt to the challah when having each of the three Sabbath repasts. Salt, the symbol of preservation, suggests the eternity of the covenant and the special relationship between God and those who celebrate the Sabbath as a day of holiness and gratefulness to the Source off all things. Curiously, the Hebrew word for salt is ,melach and by re-arranging the three letters you arrive at the Hebrew word for bread,,lechem, or to do battle.(Other re-arrangements of the letters constitute other words of signicant meaning--to have compassion;-to forgive,the act of dancing;-to dream)
A wonderfu Hindu storty about salt. An apprentice of an aging Hindu master could not stop complaining.One morning the master sent his disciple for some salt.When he returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it. How does it taste? the master asked. Bitter, spit the apprentice. The master then asked the student to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake.The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the young man swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old master said.: Now drink from the lake. As the water dripped down the disciples chin, the master asked: How does it taste? Fresh, remarked the apprentice. Do you taste the salt? asked the master. No, said the young man. The master taught: The pain of life is pure salt.The amount of pain in life remains the same.But the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in.When you are in pain, the only thing to do is to enlarge your sense of things...Stop being a glass. Become a lake Perhaps the custom of adding salt to challah reminds us of Sabbaths song of gratefulness, a song that resides in our soulful capacity to praise and to thank, no matter what our pain.Gratefulness can be as large and refreshing as a lake.
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Why are you bowed down, why do you moan? Wake up! Wake up! For your light has come, Arise and shine; Awaken! Awaken! Utter a song. Instead of sadness and shame, there is joy and light; in place of not enough there is more than enough. So complete is the Sabbath that there is literally no room for sorrow in our hearts. Jewish law itself dictates that when a loved one dies, no public mourning rites are observed on the Sabbath day. 38 All is gratefulness, with consternation and worry edged out of our consciousness. Evening time is a time of uncertainty, fear. Darkness brings dread and our evening weekday prayers petition God for protection and safety. But insecurity is alien on Shabbat, a day of utter condence and trust. During the prayer for evenings peace-hashkivainu - -we do not recite the weekday-closing blessing of: Blessed are Youforever the Protector of Israel. Rather, the closing blessing elicits the hope for and awareness of, peace - -shalom: Who spreads His Sukkah of peace over us. Curiously, the image of the sukkah, a simple hut, evokes an association to all that is frail and vulnerable, without the alleged security that comes from our reliance on dwellings made of steel, brick and stone. The sukkah suggests exposure, to the sky and the elements around us, to the natural world. If anything, the sukkah allows us to intimately sense G o ds handiwork, the creation celebrated on the Sabbath, a gift of the loftiest importance. A highlight of the evening service is a citation from the Torah that conveys the Sabbaths spiritual signicance, its reection of the uniqueness of our relationship to God.
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You sanctied the Sabbath day for the sake of Your Name.
For the sake of Gods reputation as the ultimate and most generous of Givers do we sanctify the Sabbath. This day has no other purpose but to present our pleasure and appreciation. Upon closer examination, however, we do need to petition, to pray for something on the Sabbath. Its not health or wealth, not happiness, power or fame. We pray for that which is so very difcult to attain, a spiritual posture that is sometimes so daunting it often remains beyond our reach. After all, to gripe, to demand, to feel entitled, to envy and compete all come pretty naturally. But gratitude is different. Thus even on the Sabbath we have to ask for divine guidance in our attempt to acquire a heart of gratefulness. As a result we have the core prayer of the Sabbath:
Accept our rest, sanctify us with Your mitzvoth, allow us a portion
of Your Torah; permit us to experience the fullness of your freely given goodness and love; grant us the joy of knowing Your kindness and compassion.
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By the words of the righteous, You are praised; By the tongue of the faithful, You are acclaimed; By the heart of the saintly, are You hallowed. This brief paragraph of praise, prior to the formal beginning of prayer ushered in by the Barchu --can be understood in a straightforward way, namely, those who praise God are naturally and expectedly to be considered as upright, righteous, faithful and saintly. Those who do not meet these
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permeates the experience of the day. A little before the Barchu, the Sabbaths morning service is particularly enriched by the dramatic declaration of the aliveness of all things in Nature. The animus and energy of being alive is the source of Gods untold praises. Nishmat kol Hai -- the breath, the soul, the life force of all living things in the world-tevoreich et sheemcha adonai elohaynu- - Praises Your name, Lord our God. This prayer conveys the spiritual reality that every species that lives represents membership in the universal chorus of song and praise, from the lyrical language of humans to the muted movement of millions of minuscule creatures and forms of
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The Sabbath-A Day of Gratefulness Mizmor Shir Le-Yom Ha-Shabbat A Song for the Sabbath Day
Each day of the week has a chosen psalm, one associated with the nature and purpose of that day, a psalm that was recited in the ancient world as an addendum to animal offerings. The Sabbath too has its particular psalm. At rst glance there seems to be no direct kinship to the qualities of the Sabbath that would justify its selection for this special day. In fact, the words of this psalm could easily and appropriately be recited any time during the week.43 Why are they relegated to Shabbat with an introduction that reads: A song for Shabbat. A closer examination reveals the reason. The superscription of the psalm-, mizmor shir is generally translated as a psalmsong.Each of the two words refers to song in some way.It is as if the author were saying-Song song to the Sabbath! In other words, the Sabbath itself is a source of song and prai s e,a reality in time that reects and resonates with unmitigated gratefulness and thanks. It is good to acclaim the Lord, to sing Your praise, exalted God. Is this not the emotional underpinning of the Sabbath? When Genesis tells us that God rested, we are rst informed that all that He had made was very good-tov meod.-(- Genesis1: 31). The opening word of the Sabbath psalm is: Tov --it is good, to acclaim etc. Is not the Sabbath an opportune time to acknowledge the goodness of the world, creation and nature by e x periencing how good it is and expressing praise and gratefulness for all this goodness? Furthermore, the psalm resonates with the commandment -Remember the Sabbath dayfor in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth as it continues with: Your works O Lord make me glad, I sing with joy of Your creation.
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-offering or gift. To rest spiritually is a gift not only to God but also to us. When
the heart is lled with the serenity that seeps through our beings when we are fully grateful for our lives, we discover the d ivinity of Sabbath time and realize that our tranquility is tied to the Source of all things.
The other rationale provided by the Torah for the celebration of the Shabbat is related to the experience of the Exodus from Egypt. The fourth commandment indicates this rationale explicitly: Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God freed you from there(Deut. 5:15). It is evident that the opportunity to rest is a Godgiven one that must be made available to all, your male and female slave may rest as you do.(Deut.5: 14). In contrast to Egypt mitzrayim- -the place of slavery, of constriction and narrowness-from the Hebrew meitzarim - ,the Torah insists on the Sabbath as a day of physical rest and liberation, a day when we are granted the opportunity of exercising our minds and hearts with great expansiveness and imagination. Beyond the gift of physical rest, the Sabba t h has the powerful potential for enhancing the process of spiritual redemption as well. Slavery has many forms. We can be physically free, yet psychologically and spiritually nd ourselves in fetters of the soul. I believe that the phenomenon of spiritual enslavement is not uncommon in contemporary society. Heschel captured the mood of today when he described our age as one gripped by the nervousness and fury of acquisitiveness. The spiritual slave is one controlled by cravings, addicted to the need to have more. The illusion that more will make one happy is the intoxicating instruction of our consumer driven culture. In a million forms, calling us from billboards, magazines, television, radio, newspapers, movies, web sites, and telemarketers, every single message without exception is this: You are not enough. You do not have enough.47
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How to begin?
The Sabbath has been observed and celebrated for millennia. Customs, rituals and practices abound. Yet, each generation adds its insights, experiences and unique creativity to the enrichment of this day. Allow me to suggest just one way by which to infuse your Shabbat with the attitude of gratitude. At the Shabbat table, or anywhere else on the Sabbath day, review in your mind the previous week, one experience, one event, one happening, one attainment, one idea or insight, one person, for which or for whom you are particularly grateful at this Shabbat moment. Share this with others or have them share it with you. In this way, we dwell at least for a moment, on one gift for which we may be thankful, a feeling of gratefulness that has the power to heal, to cleanse and to purify our hearts to serve You in faithfulness.
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Epilogue:
We have been taught:All blessings from above and from below depend on the seventh day...all the six days of the week derive their blessings from the Sabbath.. 53
Perhaps the incomparable words of our rebbe, Abraham Joshua Heschel, explains this text best: On the Sabbath it is given us to share in the holiness that is the heart of time. Even when the soul is seared, even when no prayer can come out of our tightened throats, the clean, silent rest of the Sabbath leads us to a realm of endless peace, or to the beginning of an awareness of what eternity means....Eternity utters a day. 54
Sabbath.
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Endnotes (continued)
45. HESCHEL, The Sabbath, p.83 46. Sabbath-Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, Bantam Books, 1999 47. Siddur Otzar Hatfilah, commentary of Iyun Tefilah, vol.1,1915, NY, p.384.referring to the rest of love and generosity the author points out that this rest is not designed to renew our physical strength which is needed after physical work and effort, but rest for its own sake i.e. rest or tranquility that is saturated with the love of God and the kindness of a pure heart. (My trans.) 48. MULLER, Sabbath, p.135 49. Ecclesiastes Rabbah, chpt.4,5. 50. RUMI, Jellalludin, The Essential Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks.HarperCollins Press, 1997 51. The Sabbath, p.53 52. Jer. Tal. Shabbat 15a 53. HESCHEL,The Sabbath, p.14. 54. Zohar, parshat Yitro, p.88a 55. HESCHEL,The Sabbath,p.101
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