We do not celebrate Shabbat,
We receive it.
As it was that very first time,
HaShem has blessed us with a holy day
We open our hearts, our minds, our beings,
To accept the gift that is Shabbat.
It is a covenant between our people and our Creator;
We keep Shabbat and Shabbat keeps us.
It is a day of returning to our roots,
For reconnecting with our Source.
A time to pray, and to study,
To learn, and to rest.
Each week on this holy day
We turn our vision inward.
We seek out the still, small, voice,
Which is HaShem calling to us.
The Torah speaks of the heaven and the earth,
The sky and the land.
Yet the Eternal lives in none of these places…
Gd, lives within each of us.
And so on each Shabbat
As we welcome the Shechina’s return,
We are asked to contemplate righteousness,
To see that we have failed to behave righteously.
We remember the words of Rav Hillel who said:
“That which Is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow!
That is the whole Torah; the rest is interpretation.”
On this and every Shabbat,
Let us all go forth in to the world
Speaking truth, doing good,
And practicing Tikkun Olam.
We can truly embrace Shabbat
By becoming more humane,
Learning to appreciate our differences,
And honoring our promise to The One.
