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FROM RABBI ROBINSON
So let’s talk shabbes.
“Whoa, whoa rabbi,” I can hear you say. “Shabbat? Listen, I get home from work after six, my spouse after me. The kids have a game and a concert on Friday. Next Friday they’re off to the movies and a friend’s house, while I’m traveling for work, then we’re at the Shore. Do I look like someone with time for candlesticks, chicken, challah and white tablecloths?”
Well, rabbi says relax. And while we’re at it, put aside the Fiddler on the Roof image.
Believe me, I know. Our lives are incredibly busy. We meet ourselves coming and going, and by the time we get to a point in our schedules (and our lives) when we can make Shabbat, the idea of it just seems exhausting. The notion of Shabbat can seem like a luxury beyond the value of a gallon of gas. A friend who just moved to Maryland (and who many of you know) recounted his Saturday morning (still Shabbat!) schedule to me recently: four sporting events for two kids all before lunch. Life, as the commercial says, comes at us fast.
All the more reason to have Shabbat. Shabbat doesn’t come just to make our lives more complicated nor so we can add to our Jewish guilt—“one more thing I forgot to do!” Shabbat is our chance to take a deep breath when all we get are shallow ones, to reoxygenate our Jewish souls, to gather strength before hitting that treadmill again.
So, it’s Friday night. Takeout or drivethrough before the whirlwind begins? That’s okay: make the blessings anyway (yes, even though the food isn’t Kosher. God won’t ask). You’re at the beach? Say the blessings over tea candles, or the stars in the sky. Marisa and I say our blessings with our son in his highchair or (more often) in his Exersaucer, and we say them even when we’re having leftovers. Talk with each other about the week. Ask the kids—heck, ask yourself—if there’s something from this past week they’re really proud of: a good question in class, a chance to do something good for someone, a problem they resolved on their own. And share blessings over your children. Maybe they’re getting ready for the game, maybe they’re about to borrow the car keys, or their ride is here. Take the time to bless them and remind yourself what it’s all about, anyway.
Some of us are lucky enough to play Golda every week (or any week), to set a table of silver and head off to synagogue when dessert is done. For the rest of us, Shabbat should be no less special even if we’re keeping it in the car, on vacation, or with the kids about to hit the road. Try to make Shabbat this month, every week, any way you can. Experiment, practice, and see if it doesn’t give you the chance to breathe you need. Life does come at you fast—take the chance to slow it down just a little bit, and get a little Shabbat Shalom.
For more ideas on how to keep Shabbat on the go, go to www.urj.org/shabbat. For printable and audio versions of the Shabbat Blessings, go to http://urj.org/shabbat/blessings/ .
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