We do not celebrate ShabbatShabbat is the Sabbath day, the Day of Rest, and is observed from Friday night through Saturday night. Is set aside from the rest of the week both in honor of the fact that God rested on the seventh day after creating the world. On Shabbat, many Jews observe prohibitions from various activities designated as work. Shabbat is traditionally observed with festive meals, wine, challah, prayers, the reading and studying of Torah, conjugal relations, family time, and time with friends.,
We receive it.
As it was that very first time,
HaShemLit. The Name, referring to the ineffable name of God; used as a substitute for any of the more sacred names of God when not speaking in prayer. Particularly used in conversation. 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 TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general. 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 OlamLit. Repair of the world According to Jewish mysticism, the world is in a broken state. Humanity's job is to join God, as God's partners, in its repair..
We can truly embrace Shabbat
By becoming more humane,
Learning to appreciate our differences,
And honoring our promise to The One.
