Shabbos Shmooze: Beginning Each Week With Its End In Mind

beginning with the end in mind...

I think it's pretty normal on Monday morning for most weekday workers and/or students to already have our eye on Friday afternoon and the freedoms of the weekend. For many Jews, there is an added element to that feeling. Preparing one's home and oneself for the Sabbath commences at the beginning of the week so that by the time sundown arrives on Friday, the holiness of Shabbat can be truly honored and enjoyed. For me, observing the laws of Shabbat is still relatively new and a work in progress. Beginning my preparations early in the week--as early as Sunday morning--helps me not only to lessen any feelings of stress on Friday, but also allows my excitement for Shabbat to remain at the forefront of my mind rather than somewhere in the background.

Rabbi Kalonymos Kalman Halevi Epstein once said:
"On Shabbat, holiness rests upon every person... However, some people sense only the smallest amount [of holiness] while others experience much more... It all depends upon the preparation of the person--how ready [s]he is for Shabbat while it is still Friday, and more so, how ready [s]he was from the first day of the week for Shabbat, bringing upon himself [or herself] the holiness of Shabbat during all of the six days of the week."
--  Ma'ar Vashemesh, Ki Tisa, taken from Oasis In Time: The Gift of Shabbat in a 24/7 World, a student textbook from the Jewish Learning Institute

My weekdays can get pretty hectic between finishing up my undergraduate degree, teaching preschool, and working on my writing. As a result, sometimes my weekday Shabbat preparations will be quite simple--like picking up a few extra items when I stop at the grocery store that will be used especially for Shabbat. Perhaps I throw in an extra load of laundry one afternoon so my tablecloth and dress clothes are clean and ready for Shabbat. Maybe I just take a break from writing for a moment to read another blog post about Shabbat or this week's parsha (Torah portion). Many of these activities seem minuscule in the midst of my busy weekdays. Sometimes I think-- I can just put this off until Thursday night or Friday afternoon. I can just save this pleasure reading for the weekend when I have more time. However, in just the past few weeks since I've added this level of mindfulness to my day to day activity, I've found myself enjoying a taste of the calm and peacefulness I feel on Shabbat right in the middle of the work week! I've also been able to enjoy Shabbat more as I don't feel nearly as rushed at the end of the week.
OK, so...regardless of whether Shabbat comes in at 3:40PM (as it does for 2 weeks each winter in Spokane, WA), or as late as 8:40PM--I always feel rushed in the last minutes before sundown. Sometimes that is a little overwhelming, but more and more, I find it exciting and recognize that restfulness will come as soon as I light the Shabbos candles. And whatever I didn't get done can and will wait until Saturday night.
Keeping the laws of Shabbat is one of the most rewarding and challenging life changes I've ever pursued. I am very excited to have recently signed up through a wonderful Jewish organization for a chavrusa, or learning partner to help me learn more about the halachos (laws) of Shabbos. Like keeping a kosher kitchen and learning to read Hebrew, keeping Shabbat is not necessarily a linear process and mistakes do happen. It has been, however, a very positive process. I am careful not to take on more than I can handle at any one time; I am forgiving when I do need to take a step back. I am also mindful of how powerful a mitzvah keeping Shabbat truly is...

U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman said the following in a course forward he wrote for the Oasis in Time class given through the Jewish Learning Institute*:

"'On Shabbat,' Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe of the Chabad movement, said 'we cease to struggle with the world, not because the task of perfecting it is on hold, but because on Shabbat, the world is perfect; we relate to what is perfect and unchanging in it.'... If [every Jew] would just stop and observe one Sabbath, and then another, in perfect unity with G-d and one another, then the world would be redeemed."

And so I leave you on this Thursday night with a wish that you all have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. For those who are observing Shabbat --in whatever way and wherever you do so--may you find it restful and meaningful. Good Shabbos, and as always, it's been great shmoozing with you.

*I had the opportunity to take this course through my local Chabad center about a year ago. This and all of the other JLI courses I've attended have been phenomenal! Check out a course near you if you are interested.