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Shabbat As Family TimeNovember 2002From the Desk of Rabbi FreelundShabbat is easy to pass by. We get busy, we make plans, our children have to be places and socialize - before you know it, the sun sets on Friday and an opportunity is missed. Don't let this happen to you! The question I often ask of children when we first talk about Jewish holidays is, "What is the most important holiday of the year?" The first answer shouted out is usually "Hanukkah!" soon followed by "Passover!" and then perhaps from one of the more reflective children "Yom Kippur!" It usually takes quite a bit of prompting to get the answer I am looking for - Shabbat. The most important holiday of the year comes every week. Perhaps it is because of its familiarity and regularity that Shabbat has fallen away from so many of our consciousnesses. In a time when so many of us could really use Shabbat, we often miss out on it. The real reason for Shabbat is right in its name: rest. Shabbat is the time we get to stop doing everything that we have been doing, lift our noses up from the grindstone, and change directions. Six days of the week are for our labors, only one to cease from them and reflect on what we have done. Shabbat is not only a time to stop. While much of tradition specifies what we shouldn't do, there is also considerable instruction as to what we should do. On Shabbat we should put on nice clothes, have a good meal with our families, light candles, say kiddush and have a nice glass of wine, and maybe even share in a few words of Torah. Not least among these positive steps we can take to share in Shabbat is the act of coming together as a community in prayer. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a place where all of these things were taken care of for us, so just once in a while we could forget about the cooking and the dishwashing? There is such a place, and its right here a Temple Emanu-El. Our Family Shabbatot are meant for your family. Once a month, all the details are taken care of: the table is set, the chicken is cooked, the challah baked, and the wine is poured. It costs nothing -all you have to do is show up. Right after dinner we have a fun, family-friendly service with participation from our Religious School students. You have a place here at our community table, and I invite you to take it. Call the Temple office at 327-4501 to let us know that you're coming on Friday, November 16th. Bring a work-free Shabbat experience to your family this month. You deserve it. |
