Shabbat as ‘strolling light’ – Christian Today

Hebrew scholar and Jewish academic Irene Lancaster explains the Jewish perspective of the Sabbath.

‘On six days work could also be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a Shabbat Shabbaton of complete rest, a sacred occasion.’

So run the famous words of Leviticus 23:3, in our Torah reading for May 17, Emor (Leviticus 21-24). What does Shabbat, the day of rest, mean to the Jewish people?

In 1951, Rabbi Abraham Heschel wrote his famous book ‘The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man.’ To the interested reader, he explained that Shabbat is sort of a Temple in time. Jews honour time fairly than space – a perspective that’s different from many other groups and should be a difficult concept for a lot of to understand.

Recently, nonetheless, the famous medical doctor and best-selling podcaster, Rangan Chattergee, in his latest book, ‘Make Change that Lasts’, devotes almost a complete chapter to his experience of Shabbat because the guest of fellow pupils from local Manchester Grammar School. 

Here the young Rangan encountered for the primary time the Shabbat home lives of his Jewish contemporaries, where he gained an actual sense of food, family, community, argument and rest from the weekday world. Quiet, nonetheless, it wasn’t. 

He concludes that modern man is solely too busy and that we should always learn to decelerate and provides it a rest. Judaism, he thinks, is the reply to the busyness of life and he encourages us to learn from this instance.

Another descriptive master of the atmosphere surrounding Shabbat is Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa, son of the Nazir of Jerusalem, friend of Rav Kook, discussed in previous articles.

As a young man, studying at Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva School, founded by Israeli Chief Rabbi, Rav Kook, he depicts encounters on late Friday afternoon, towards dusk, with Rabbi Charlap, his teacher and mentor. This is how he describes the onset of Shabbat in the house of this great rabbi, as outlined in my English-language version of ‘Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen: Between War and Peace’: 

‘Rabbi Charlap lived in a modest home on the west side of Jerusalem and was subsequently affectionately generally known as “the Light of the West.” Every Friday he would stop writing at noon, with a view to immerse within the mikveh, don white garments, and prepare for Shabbat … It was during those very special times, just before the onset of Shabbat, that his face would really shine as a light-weight from heaven. At those times Rabbi Charlap was completely relaxed, and it was then that we could chat with him straight from the center, opening up our innermost souls to him. We loved to go to at these times, simply to imbibe the amazing ambience wherein he appeared to us as one among G-d’s very angels. At these times, too, he would answer our questions and assuage the assorted doubts that had assailed us throughout the week.’

These examples set the scene for Rabbi Cardozo’s contemporary tackle the individuality of Shabbat, wherein, in his latest book on Leviticus, he also uses light as an analogy:

‘There is probably no natural phenomenon which has fascinated human beings a lot as light. Light moves with a speed of 186,000 miles a second … Another phenomenal aspect of sunshine is that its speed can’t be influenced … But … the best miracle which light shows us … is that it “strolls.” It symbolizes rest.’ 

It continues, “For Jews, this type of ‘strolling light’ is introduced Friday afternoon, when the sun starts to set, announcing the Shabbat. This light radiates through the windows, and after sunset, its spiritual equivalent, an inner light symbolized by the Shabbat candles, takes over … This light compels us to stop working, because we experience something so amazing that it refutes ‘work’ in the traditional sense of the word … It is that this light which teaches us to abstain from driving a automotive, using our computer and our cellphones; to stop speaking about our funds … Instead of believing that abstaining from these devices is ‘quaint’, we realize that it’s ‘future fashioned … ’

As he observes, it is definitely by abstaining that we develop into capable of create and transform ourselves. In fact, he describes it as ‘the very best type of creativity’. But, as he explains, we cannot see the strolling light unless we let it in. 

He goes on to elucidate that ‘abstinence on Shabbat shouldn’t be a state of passivity’ and that it ‘requires great courage to say “No”.’ The ‘tragedy’ of recent life is that so a lot of us cannot say no because we’re ‘wedded to our addiction’ and as an alternative of us ruling over the objects in our life, are as an alternative ruled over by them. We could say ‘no’, but ‘laziness and fear’ keep us from doing so. 

Thus the ‘real victim of modernity’ shouldn’t be those that observe Shabbat however the ‘progressive’ one that doesn’t, as he writes:

‘It shouldn’t be progressiveness but spiritual narrow-mindedness that has overtaken him. He is at war with the world, not capable of escape it, and consequently has no inner rest. He must keep himself busy … And thus, many come to consider that they’re only human after they stay continually busy. 

‘They argue vehemently against the laws of Shabbat, because observing these laws would reveal their lack of inner peace … Those who observe Shabbat, then again, don’t buy groceries, answer phone calls or emails, watch television or drive. For one entire day, we don’t need these addictions.

‘Just just like the mysterious light of Shabbat, we stroll. Unlike the sprinter who runs to succeed in the finish line without taking notice of his surroundings, we see the great thing about nature around us. We observe the inner fantastic thing about our spouses and the sweetness of our youngsters …

‘Shabbat sets priorities in perspective. It objects to our way of life, protests against our indifference to the meaning of life, and rebels against our superficiality. We can only stroll with ourselves when we’ve no attachments.’

Thus Shabbat is shown by Rabbi Cardozo to be not only the bedrock of the Jewish religion, around which all the week is planned, but in addition the premier antidote to the unthinking busyness of a lot of our lives. As Rabbi Cardozo says, the strolling light of Shabbat is the art of creative abstinence.