The Pause that Re-nefeshes*

The cease
 
Makes Shabbat holy
 
In resting,
God re-nefeshes Godself
 
And commands us to do the same
As a sign
Of our covenant.
 
After every creation, a moment,
An acknowledgement of completion.
A breath in which to say
“it is (very) good.”
 
We toil for six days
 
But the rest
 
Is God
 

*The phrase re-nefesh (to “re-ensoul”) was brilliantly coined in Alan Lew’s This is Real and you are Completely Unprepared.

 

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