CATALOG Preparing for Shabbat

Siegel, Richard

CATALOG Preparing for Shabbat Richard Siegel Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God: you...

...This is a radically different pace...
...It will be as strong, powerful, and intense as its counterpart...
...It is a time, not a space, and so it cannot be grasped, only apprehended, experientially and individually...
...I'm catering a wedding feast and there are a million more important things to do...
...8. Choose some special music...
...Change every piece of clothing...
...The intensity of the effort required, however, is generally commensurate to the intensity of your need for Shabbat...
...For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day...
...If, after this time, you are not thoroughly pleased with Shabbat, go back to doing what you were doing before...
...However, I cannot resist just one advance recommendation...
...Set up your identifications and satisfy them...
...Whether it be a house, apartment, room, closet, or desk top, establishing order where there was disorder is extremely satisfying and mentally relaxing...
...When greeting people on Shabbat...
...no rock, and no 1812 Overture...
...Try to remember at least one event each day...
...Consider the power of Shabbat, however...
...For me, chicken on Friday night is Shabbasdig, spaghetti is not...
...Doing Shabbat alone is like opening a gift alone...
...Try to do as much work in half a day as you would normally do in a full day...
...Buy cat food so you won't have to go out and buy it later...
...In this contrast lies its essence, its beauty, and its difficulty...
...Athletes do not walk onto the field and begin competition immediately...
...Your own form of preparation may differ from my suggestions...
...Similarly, we cannot drive through rush hour, run through the doorway, and say, "Shabbat Shalom...
...3. Take off early, and devote the rest of the afternoon to special pre-Shabbat tasks...
...Each person will respond to it in his own way...
...Shabbasdig" is anything that furthers your access into Shabbat...
...If you are expecting it, you may find it even before it begins...
...Though it is only one day, it can balance the other six...
...Simply try to remember the week...
...Singers do not walk from the street onto the stage and begin to sing...
...Shabbat Shalom...
...This serves several purposes: It alleviates guilt at leaving work early, it emphasizes the difference between the work week and the Shabbat, and it exhausts the body and the mind so that you will welcome, even yearn for, the release and relaxation that Shabbat offers...
...2. Work hard on Friday...
...We can "remember" it and "keep it holy" — or forget our role as celebrants on this day, remembering only that we have come to identify ourselves as teachers, students, butchers, and bakers...
...Sweet wine is, dry French is not...
...On the day of such an event, anticipation is appropriate...
...If you are not expecting Shabbat to happen, it never will...
...The degree of formality is not important...
...6. Shower or bathe twice — once to wash and once for the sake of Shabbat, to immerse in "living waters" and emerge pure...
...There are times when we are not receptive to it, either because our ravishing of the world is so pleasurable that we are loath to put it aside, or because our involvements are so intricate or urgent that we are loath to suspend them...
...If you are like most people who have tried it, you won't go back...
...Future articles will deal with the rhythms and rituals of the day...
...say either "Gut Shabbos" or "Shabbat Shalom" - not "hello," "good-by," "good morning," "good night," or any other salutation — and mean it as a sincere wish, as a sigh of pleasure, as a wonderful secret to be shared...
...I can make the introductions, but the relationship is up to you...
...you should explore and experiment, keeping two essential ingredients in mind: 1. Determine for yourself what is Shabbasdig and what is not...
...A few things to keep in mind, though, before getting into Shabbat: This column derives its title - and its editor - from THE JEWISH CATALOG, the best-selling guide to Jewish living published by the Jewish Publication Society illustration/Michael Muchnik 1. As the saying goes, "Once is not enough...
...Buy some wine...
...Every action and every thought on Friday should be directed toward the coming event — the arrival of the bride betrothed to God...
...The surprise of understanding the power of Shabbat will not come for several weeks...
...Prepare the Shabbat meals...
...7. Dress anew...
...Do not use this time to evaluate your own actions or the actions of other people...
...To feel humble because we live according to God's gifts is also Shabbasdig...
...Put on special clothes either never worn before or worn only on Shabbat...
...2. Do not do it alone...
...2. Anticipate the day...
...therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it...
...Sometimes, Shabbat is difficult to observe — even unbearable...
...Bach, perhaps, or Gregorian chants Chassidic music is ideal...
...But it comes, offering us the opportunity to rise above everyday whims and compulsions...
...However, this one day stands apart from the other six...
...Give yourself a two-month trial...
...It is important to begin the celebration of Shabbat having lived a full and conscious week...
...Furthermore, it builds anticipation for the arrival of a special guest...
...To feel magnanimous is to feel Shab-basdig...
...Shabbat is the complement...
...Either bake or buy two challahs...
...In the later stages of preparation, this music will help slow the pace and elevate the soul...
...Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements...
...No one can adequately describe what Shabbat is...
...Besides being a part of the transition, this semi-fast also serves to develop a hearty appetite for the first Shabbat meal...
...5. Clean something...
...PREPARATION_ 1. Do everything "for the sake of Shabbat...
...4. Now begin your spiritual and emotional preparations...
...it does so not as a negation but as a complement...
...The six days of the week control our lives not only with their preponderant number of hours, but also because we drive ourselves, each day, to be productive, busy, and involved with the world...
...The meditation to aid this anticipation is to keep in mind, throughout Friday, "for the sake of Shabbat," "for the honor of Shabbat," "in the name of Shabbat...
...Having prepared, you will be ready to celebrate Shabbat...
...Giving charity produces both emotions at once...
...It requires transition — physically and mentally...
...But having made the effort, it is equally difficult to return to the week, often as unbearable...
...A review of the week may be an arduous task...
...indeed, it is part of the joy...
...How do you want to appear before the Sabbath Queen, the Bride...
...3. Intend to do it...
...Make sure that your candlesticks are polished and that you have candles for them...
...Exodus 20:8-11) It may be difficult to remember Shabbat — and even more difficult to keep it holy — that is, separate...
...9. Set aside some money for tz'dakah, in honor of Shabbat...
...Anticipation lends a quality of magic to time...
...White pants and a white shirt, or, perhaps, a flowing caftan, are both quite "in" right now...
...Anticipate it during the course of the week, particularly on Friday...
...Finally, immediately before Shabbat, set aside 15 to 30 minutes to review the week from the preceding Saturday night to Friday morning...
...Eat very little during the day...
...Whether or not it comes off as expected depends on other factors, to be discussed in subsequent articles...
...In other words, make sure all the necessary physical tasks are accomplished...
...It may well be unfair to conclude here, with the entrance of the Sabbath Bride...
...When those false hunger pains say "I want a doughnut" at 3 p.m., tell them, "I don't have time...
...After a week of waiting, and a day of intense preparation, word is received that Shabbat is coming: "The voice of my beloved — behold, it approaches...
...Pay bills so you won't have to worry about them...
...To overcome the difficulties requires discipline and energy...

Vol. 1 • January 1976 • No. 6


 
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