Thank you Rabbi Blake for making us stop and think a bit about Shabbat. Too often some of us are overly caught up with our day to day to realize the need for stopping. Others of us are overly concerned with whether or not we can cook or drive or turn on a light that we risk losing sight of the Shabbat forest for the trees.
In the first 3 verses of Genesis 2 from this past week's parasha, it is clear that God ceased creation on Day 7 which has become our Shabbat--a day of rest, a day of stopping. We remind ourselves of this every Friday night when we make Kiddush.
But, the concept of Shabbat for me is actually more easily seen in the imagery from Day 2. The 2nd Day witnesses God's creation of a raki'ah or a dome (Fox) or an expanse (JPS, Chabad) or a separation between the waters below and above. To me, metaphorically, we are very much in these waters of creation during the week. To my thinking, the Sabbath and its Day of rest is in itself a creation. It may be heresy to articulate it as such; but, for me, one makes a Shabbat. It is work, sometimes hard work, to create a separation or raki'ah in the continuum of work that is our lives. It is a lot more than simply lighting candles on Erev Shabbat and kicking back with one's feet up on the table.
In our modern day, it can take a lot of energy to make Shabbat. I am not just talking about the mad scurrying around that many Observant Jews do late on Friday afternoons. It takes a lot of work in today's terms to cease from work. Why? Because Shabbat not only requires a cessation from our work-work. It can require a cessation in what we do for entertainment outside of our weekday work. Add to this modern interactive technology with its almost chemical addictiveness and we have a situation in which the natural forces against making Shabbat are strong. An article in The Jewish Week from 6/22/11 related the strains of PDAs and texting on the willpower of Orthodox Jewish youth on Shabbat. And, the pull of handheld technologies certainly doesn't only afflict Orthodox youth. We need only observe the cell phones and hear the muffled baseball games playing in some secular Jewish congregations.
To me, recognizing that the making of Shabbat is hard work in and of itself is the first step to setting our Shabbat expectations realistically. How we construct our metaphoric raki'ahs or separations from the week--whether in a strict, traditional sense or whether otherwise meaningfully in a secular sense--is another matter. Rabbi Blake, your weekly facilitation and teachings in our study of Torah at WRT on Shabbat has helped tip the balance of these natural forces. It has helped many of us to joyfully create Shabbat within our Community.
Being that multi tasking working mother, a wearer of many hats based on time or day, the anticipation of a day of rest, a day of stopping, a day to observe is a gift. It is a very selfish yet unselfish gift. Telling myself that I will end the work week, I will participate in Erev Shabbat service, and I will get up and study Torah is for me a chance, a moment to be in peace. Enabling myself to be, disabling the dealer, the control freak, yup even the planner. It is not easy, it takes practice, it takes routine, it takes commitment, it takes giving yourself the time to listen, to hear, to learn, to say, to share, to pray, to walk, to stretch, to bend, to sit, to stand...to be who you are in this world given to us, created for us to ...begin...a gain...
Bereshit...In beginning God created... life began ...we need to stop and let us have the time separated from all other time to be in this place, this house, this life.
Thank you Rabbi for the reminder to stop, in peace.
I hope it's OK for a non-Jew to join the conversation. Sabbath... I know the restfulness of having a clean house, bills paid, job put out of mind. This suggests two approaches. One, working to have my life arranged to allow a peaceful Sabbath. Two, learning to take a Sabbath anyway, even in the midst of my chaotic life.
Welcome! You may or may not realize this; but, your two approaches almost perfectly describe the line of demarcation between German and Eastern European Jews... :) My family is schizo on this. Some of us are aligned very neatly with your first approach. Others of us, equally dear, enjoy the peace of Shabbat that could come with good planning while living lives of total chaos during the rest of the week.
So I am wondering, why did God not say that it was good after creating people? As we read Torah we often se what can be termed God's "faults". Vengeful, harsh, forgiving and yet at other times unforgiving, etc. Could it be that God recognized that these traits were not what he wanted his creations to possess? Therefore, he left the conclusion of whether or not the creation of people was good or not so good up to us. God is still waiting to see if we will do the right thing. You know, care for each other, nurture the planet and its human and animal inhabitants. We could go on and create a longer list but it would just be commentary. Franklin
Here's another possibly valid way of reading Chapter 1 of Bereshit.
1. God creates light and it is good (Day 1; see 1:4) 2. God creates earth & seas and it is good (Day 3; see 1:10) 3. God creates seed-bearing plants and trees and it is good (Day 3; see 1:11-13) 4. God creates the 2 great lights and it is good (Day 4; see 1:16-18) 5. God creates swarms of living creatures and winged fowl and it is good (Day 5; see 1:20-21) 6. God creates living creatures and it is good (Day 6; see 1:24-25) 7. God creates humankind & its supremacy/dominion over other plants/trees & fish/fowl/living creatures & it is EXTREMELY good (Day 6; see 1:26-31).
By this reading, humankind (at this juncture) and its positioning amongst God’s creations is not just good, but EXTREMELY good.
Of course, we have already read the rest of Torah and know of humankind’s continued challenges in meeting God’s expectations.
Another Q which presents itself from this analysis which you inspired: “So what is Day 2? Chopped liver?!”
...thinking that we possess all of the "faults", "goods", "extremely goods" and more as a way that separates us from other inhabitants of this earth. what we choose to do, how we choose to act, what we learn and do next if not so right the first time makes us strive to be the best commentary (story) in the book...the book of life...there are many chapters to books...many stories..they are all bound together?! just the newbie here..sounding off yet again. - jaira
The more one knows, the more one realizes what one doesn't know and the more intimidated one can become to try to think creatively. I find that "newbies" often think the most originally and as such can have a lot to contribute. Jaira, well said.
I think it was Rabbi Lawrence Kushner who gave a midrash on Shabbat saying that he didn't think that God thought -- come the 7th day that the world God had just created was perfected -- just that it was all good -- even very good -- and so God rested. Presumably, Kushner thought, God believed that the following week would be another week to work on creation. Kushner saw this as a model for humans. We don't have to have finished all our week's work -- just that we had done good and now it was time to rest. I heard this drosh at a time in my life when I had young children and the carpools and the errands -- marketing, dry cleaners, getting the kids new shoes, birthday party presents, etc.-- never seemed to get done and very often spilled over onto Saturday. For me Kushner's drosh gave me permission to take the day and make it materially different from other days even though in fact I had not finished my week's work. I found that with a few small changes I could either get things done in time or put them off to the next week and having Shabbat as Shabbat made me very happy. I didn't eliminate driving, I could still take the children to their rec games and watch them play, trips to the library were still part of the day, but between our Friday night dinner, Saturday morning Torah study and eliminating errands, I felt I had a day that was different from all the other days. Shabbat!
Thank you Rabbi Blake for making us stop and think a bit about Shabbat. Too often some of us are overly caught up with our day to day to realize the need for stopping. Others of us are overly concerned with whether or not we can cook or drive or turn on a light that we risk losing sight of the Shabbat forest for the trees.
ReplyDeleteIn the first 3 verses of Genesis 2 from this past week's parasha, it is clear that God ceased creation on Day 7 which has become our Shabbat--a day of rest, a day of stopping. We remind ourselves of this every Friday night when we make Kiddush.
But, the concept of Shabbat for me is actually more easily seen in the imagery from Day 2. The 2nd Day witnesses God's creation of a raki'ah or a dome (Fox) or an expanse (JPS, Chabad) or a separation between the waters below and above. To me, metaphorically, we are very much in these waters of creation during the week. To my thinking, the Sabbath and its Day of rest is in itself a creation. It may be heresy to articulate it as such; but, for me, one makes a Shabbat. It is work, sometimes hard work, to create a separation or raki'ah in the continuum of work that is our lives. It is a lot more than simply lighting candles on Erev Shabbat and kicking back with one's feet up on the table.
In our modern day, it can take a lot of energy to make Shabbat. I am not just talking about the mad scurrying around that many Observant Jews do late on Friday afternoons. It takes a lot of work in today's terms to cease from work. Why? Because Shabbat not only requires a cessation from our work-work. It can require a cessation in what we do for entertainment outside of our weekday work. Add to this modern interactive technology with its almost chemical addictiveness and we have a situation in which the natural forces against making Shabbat are strong. An article in The Jewish Week from 6/22/11 related the strains of PDAs and texting on the willpower of Orthodox Jewish youth on Shabbat. And, the pull of handheld technologies certainly doesn't only afflict Orthodox youth. We need only observe the cell phones and hear the muffled baseball games playing in some secular Jewish congregations.
To me, recognizing that the making of Shabbat is hard work in and of itself is the first step to setting our Shabbat expectations realistically. How we construct our metaphoric raki'ahs or separations from the week--whether in a strict, traditional sense or whether otherwise meaningfully in a secular sense--is another matter. Rabbi Blake, your weekly facilitation and teachings in our study of Torah at WRT on Shabbat has helped tip the balance of these natural forces. It has helped many of us to joyfully create Shabbat within our Community.
Shavua tov,
DavidS
Shabbat Shalom! Oh yes please!!!
ReplyDeleteBeing that multi tasking working mother, a wearer of many hats based on time or day, the anticipation of a day of rest, a day of stopping, a day to observe is a gift. It is a very selfish yet unselfish gift. Telling myself that I will end the work week, I will participate in Erev Shabbat service, and I will get up and study Torah is for me a chance, a moment to be in peace. Enabling myself to be, disabling the dealer, the control freak, yup even the planner. It is not easy, it takes practice, it takes routine, it takes commitment, it takes giving yourself the time to listen, to hear, to learn, to say, to share, to pray, to walk, to stretch, to bend, to sit, to stand...to be who you are in this world given to us, created for us to
...begin...a gain...
Bereshit...In beginning God created... life began ...we need to stop and let us have the time separated from all other time to be in this place, this house, this life.
Thank you Rabbi for the reminder to stop, in peace.
-jaira
I hope it's OK for a non-Jew to join the conversation. Sabbath... I know the restfulness of having a clean house, bills paid, job put out of mind. This suggests two approaches. One, working to have my life arranged to allow a peaceful Sabbath. Two, learning to take a Sabbath anyway, even in the midst of my chaotic life.
ReplyDelete--Christine
Christine,
ReplyDeleteWelcome! You may or may not realize this; but, your two approaches almost perfectly describe the line of demarcation between German and Eastern European Jews... :) My family is schizo on this. Some of us are aligned very neatly with your first approach. Others of us, equally dear, enjoy the peace of Shabbat that could come with good planning while living lives of total chaos during the rest of the week.
DavidS
So I am wondering, why did God not say that it was good after creating people? As we read Torah we often se what can be termed God's "faults". Vengeful, harsh, forgiving and yet at other times unforgiving, etc. Could it be that God recognized that these traits were not what he wanted his creations to possess? Therefore, he left the conclusion of whether or not the creation of people was good or not so good up to us. God is still waiting to see if we will do the right thing. You know, care for each other, nurture the planet and its human and animal inhabitants. We could go on and create a longer list but it would just be commentary.
ReplyDeleteFranklin
Franklin,
ReplyDeleteHere's another possibly valid way of reading Chapter 1 of Bereshit.
1. God creates light and it is good (Day 1; see 1:4)
2. God creates earth & seas and it is good (Day 3; see 1:10)
3. God creates seed-bearing plants and trees and it is good (Day 3; see 1:11-13)
4. God creates the 2 great lights and it is good (Day 4; see 1:16-18)
5. God creates swarms of living creatures and winged fowl and it is good (Day 5; see 1:20-21)
6. God creates living creatures and it is good (Day 6; see 1:24-25)
7. God creates humankind & its supremacy/dominion over other plants/trees & fish/fowl/living creatures & it is EXTREMELY good (Day 6; see 1:26-31).
By this reading, humankind (at this juncture) and its positioning amongst God’s creations is not just good, but EXTREMELY good.
Of course, we have already read the rest of Torah and know of humankind’s continued challenges in meeting God’s expectations.
Another Q which presents itself from this analysis which you inspired: “So what is Day 2? Chopped liver?!”
:)
DavidS
...thinking that we possess all of the "faults", "goods", "extremely goods" and more as a way that separates us from other inhabitants of this earth. what we choose to do, how we choose to act, what we learn and do next if not so right the first time makes us strive to be the best commentary (story) in the book...the book of life...there are many chapters to books...many stories..they are all bound together?! just the newbie here..sounding off yet again. - jaira
ReplyDeleteThe more one knows, the more one realizes what one doesn't know and the more intimidated one can become to try to think creatively. I find that "newbies" often think the most originally and as such can have a lot to contribute. Jaira, well said.
ReplyDeletesmiling at you...all you need to do is look for it...
ReplyDelete- jaira
I think it was Rabbi Lawrence Kushner who gave a midrash on Shabbat saying that he didn't think that God thought -- come the 7th day that the world God had just created was perfected -- just that it was all good -- even very good -- and so God rested. Presumably, Kushner thought, God believed that the following week would be another week to work on creation. Kushner saw this as a model for humans. We don't have to have finished all our week's work -- just that we had done good and now it was time to rest. I heard this drosh at a time in my life when I had young children and the carpools and the errands -- marketing, dry cleaners, getting the kids new shoes, birthday party presents, etc.-- never seemed to get done and very often spilled over onto Saturday. For me Kushner's drosh gave me permission to take the day and make it materially different from other days even though in fact I had not finished my week's work. I found that with a few small changes I could either get things done in time or put them off to the next week and having Shabbat as Shabbat made me very happy. I didn't eliminate driving, I could still take the children to their rec games and watch them play, trips to the library were still part of the day, but between our Friday night dinner, Saturday morning Torah study and eliminating errands, I felt I had a day that was different from all the other days. Shabbat!
ReplyDeletePhyllis Perkins