Monday, November 27, 2017

A comfortable Shabbat

Yes, the world has changed and the place of the Jewish people in their homeland has created a new set of circumstances. Yet what does this have to do with keeping the laws of Shabbat? I am national-religious, and for me and many others I know, our desire to observe the Sabbath is just as strong now as it was for our ancestors. Moreover, the technological innovations that are so characteristic of our times have made such observance easier and, in most cases, allowed for the integration of family, work and security in a much more palpable fashion.

http://m.jpost.com/Opinion/November-28-2017-A-comfortable-Shabbat-515349

Sunday, October 22, 2017

One Shabbat can be life-transforming

https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/one-shabbat-can-be-life-transforming-1.446232

...a strong case can be made for the argument that Shabbat observance is a positive keystone habit for life itself. It propels a greater awareness of and sensitivity towards many other values that underpin not only a positive Jewish life but positive living in general.
And here’s the really interesting bit. Traditional Shabbat observance involves many of the same activities as those identified by Duhigg as keystone habits in the context of nurturing emotional well-being and developing a positive lifestyle.

Shabbat can unite a divided nation

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jjps-goch-1025-20171020-story.html


The weekly ritual of observing Shabbat might just be the remedy that unites a divided nation.
One need not be observant to aspire to incorporate more spirituality and Jewish practices into daily life, and celebrating Shabbat together affords us that opportunity.
We traditionally light two Shabbat candles for a reason. With one candle we stand alone; with two we unite many.

Watch new rendition of 'Shabbat Hayom'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/237015

"If I only had the strength, I would go out to the market, I would stand and declare to all, that today is Shabbat. Yes, today is Shabbat, for Hashem."

The late Rabbi Yehoshua Yagel, legendary head of the Midrashiat Noam yeshiva high school in Pardes Hana, would walk around singing the song "Shabbat Hayom" at the end of the Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night prayers, mezmerizing students with his devotion. Yair Peleg pays tribute to the charismatic and G-d fearing mentor in his own rendition of the song written by the "Admor Hachalutz".

A Shabbat Dinner for Wine Country Survivors

A Shabbat Dinner for Wine Country Survivors

OCTOBER 19, 2017 With California’s wine country reeling from this week’s horrific wildfires—the most destructive of their type in California’s history—Chabad of Sonoma County is rallying the forces to bring comfort and unity to a community ravaged by disaster.


A Friday night, Shabbat dinner seemed a good idea to many of the people struggling in the face of this disaster. Dubbed “Shabbat of Comfort & Unity,” more than 200 have already RSVPd.
“We’re all going to be supporting each other and this will bring a sense of comfort,” he says. Multiple vendors are contributing to Chabad’s efforts by sponsoring goods for the dinner, which is free of charge. The Flamingo Resort Hotel in Santa Rosa has offered a venue, and other businesses are sponsoring grape juice, hummus, flowers and more. “Everyone is pitching in,” the rabbi says gratefully. “There’s a lot of special energy.”

The dinner will provide an opportunity to memorialize the people who’ve died in this tragedy and also acknowledge the generosity of those who’ve stepped up to help bring relief and aid to a traumatized community.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Refuge in Sabbath

http://redemptionsbeauty.com/2014/09/17/refuge-in-sabbath-kris-camealy/

Lately, I’ve been wondering how I managed before I began actively embracing the Sabbath. I work hard day after day, juggling kids and schooling, writing, activities, mentoring meetings, cooking, cleaning, and other various typical tasks. For years I did this seven days a week with virtually no real rest. I never thought about what Dr. Matthew Sleeth calls, “building a refuge in the Sabbath.” I knew there was work to be done and so I kept on going, day after day, ignoring the commandment to honor the Sabbath.

In observing God’s commandment to honor the Sabbath, I am discovering a deeper friendship with the Lord. I’ve come to see the time spent in retreat is not wasted, but rather, it enriches my faith and deepens my own love for God. In his book 24/6, Sleeth points out that “you need quality and quantity to make intimacy happen. Fortunately God designed our schedules to accommodate both”. Sabbath presents itself as a designated space in my busy life to move closer to God, apart from the nagging to-do’s of my usual schedule. Sabbath is where I remember that “God is the source of my life.” Sabbath reminds me that the world will spin even if I do not.

Friday, September 29, 2017

Taking Back the Sabbath

Taking Back the Sabbath

The world tells us more, more, more when what we really need is less, less, less. Take a step back from what the world is saying and you will find renewal, I promise you, I’ve experienced it. When I made the concerted effort to slow down, starting with taking back the Sabbath, I felt a deeper faith connection, refreshed and rejuvenated spiritually, mentally, and physically.
Now, if I am completely honest with you—this overwhelming sense of contentment and joy probably won’t happen after observing your first Sabbath. Nor will it happen after a few attempts at slowing down. But it does happen, with time, patience, and a determination to make the change to your lifestyle.
After several years of choosing less over more, I can confidently say that I am in a different mindset than I once was, that my default is now a much slower pace. But I won’t lie; there are times I still struggle with shutting off and removing stress. There are so many things I thoroughly love about being able to work from home, but it has been an adjustment to create boundaries that keep my work/home balance in check.
Taking back the Sabbath is one of those boundaries.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

When Yom Kippur Is On Shabbat

By Raphael Grunfeld 9 Tishri 5778 – September 28, 2017
The deeper reason for requiring us to fast on Shabbat/Yom Kippur may lie in the essential difference between Shabbat and Yom Kippur. Shabbat is God’s day of rest. Yom Kippur is our day of rest. On Shabbat we remain in this world and enjoy the earthly pleasures God created. That is how we acknowledge Him as Creator. Shabbat in this sense is a day of physical rest.
On Yom Kippur, we leave the physical world. We take a day off from the inherent tension caused by the fusion of body and soul. We become pure souls. Yom Kippur is the dress rehearsal of our own yahrzeit. We wear the shrouds in which we will ultimately face Him, and we discard the shoes we will no longer need. By neither eating nor drinking, we celebrate the day like the angels we become. If Shabbat is God’s day off and Yom Kippur is ours, on Shabbat/Yom Kippur God and His people celebrate a day off together.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

How Morley Safer’s Jewish Upbringing Inspired His Quest for Decency and Justice

By Benjamin Ivry - May 19th, 2016

The Canadian Jewish broadcast journalist Morley Safer, who died at age 84 on May 19th, 2016, was as much preoccupied with ethics and the arts as reporting during his more than a half-century with CBS News, 46 of them with the program “60 Minutes.” He told Abigail Pogrebin, author of “Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish,”: “I think that a Jewish background does give you a very, very strong sense of doing the right thing.”


When I Stopped Being Religious About Shabbat

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Four-Reasons-Shabbat-Is-Compared-to-Bride-and-a-Queen

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3753326/jewish/Four-Reasons-Shabbat-Is-Compared-to-Bride-and-a-Queen.htm

In the 16th-century Shabbat hymn “Lecha Dodi” [“Come, my beloved . . .”], we welcome the Shabbat as both a bride and queen.
This concept goes all the way back to the Talmud, where we read that Rabbi Chanina would wrap himself in his special garments on Shabbat eve and say, “Come, and we will go out to greet Shabbat the queen.” Another sage, Rabbi Yannai, would don his garment on Shabbat eve and say, “Enter, O bride. Enter, O bride.”1
So what is the Shabbat: a bride or a queen? And who is her husband?

Monday, August 14, 2017

Jazz for the Soul

http://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/jazz-for-the-soul/article_26fd5bcf-1230-5790-8581-4c3af5bf1c3e.html

TRAVERSE CITY — There are few things Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg loves more than Shabbat and smooth jazz, though he admits combining the two is a rare treat.
It has been nearly 15 years since Sleutelberg and Jeff Haas organized a series of "Jazz Shabbat" services, reharmonizing traditional Jewish prayers into jazz songs. He jumped at the chance to do it again.
The two will reunite for a Jazz Shabbat on Aug. 18 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Traverse City. Sleutelberg will lead the free Jewish prayer service while Haas playing jazz harmonies of traditional Shabbat hymns from the grand piano.
"Having an opportunity to pray and use jazz motifs to elevate the music of those prayers is exciting," Sleutelberg said. "Anyone familiar with the prayer service will still be able to chant along, but the surrounding melodies will be something very new."

Friday, June 16, 2017

Meditation Monday – Living Into The Sabbath – Godspace

Meditation Monday – Living Into The Sabbath – Godspace: "When was the last time you planned a Sabbath break? How could you incorporate this important rhythm into your life?"

There is no better place to connect to God’s rhythms than in the reclaiming of Sabbath and our God ordained need for rest and spiritual refreshment. Evidently in Jesus’ time Romans despised Jews for their day of rest. They viewed it as a sign of laziness, though some did recognize its importance as a time of refreshment for the body to provide renewed strength into the week ahead. From the Jewish perspective however, the Sabbath day is far more than a day of rest to allow our souls to process the data input of the previous week into wisdom – a view which is probably more Greek or Roman than Hebrew. For the Jews, Sabbath is fundamental to life and to both their spiritual and emotional health – it is the culmination of the week, the day that gives purpose to all other days.  

'via Blog this'

Friday, May 12, 2017

MY SHABBAT IS FOR READING

http://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/my-shabbat-for-reading
YOU CAN HAVE EXOTIC TRAVEL. MY SHABBAT IS FOR READING

Shabbat is a good frame for this sense of freedom. It both restricts and enables. There are negative and positive requirements, frequently referred to as the duality of shamor v’zachor (protect and remember). Focusing on certain activities and refraining from others establishes an accessible template dedicated to emotional and spiritual stimulation.
In this digital age, we are surrounded and even controlled by the ever-present Internet and its automated controls. We can reach out and be reached at all times. Usually that availability enhances our lives. But the tendency to be controlled by this electronic system can be overwhelming. When does work stop and privacy begin? Or does it ever stop? A total Shabbat disconnect can be a healthy, if difficult, break.
But it is in the realm of reading that I find full release. Books take me to new worlds and new visions.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

My Shabbat for Reading

http://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/my-shabbat-for-reading