The Process Begins: Historical Approaches to Shabbat

This winter Kol Tzedek is drafting its Shabbat vision and policy statement, and we will use this blog to record key aspects of the texts, discussions and meetings contributing to the policy's development. The Shabbat Study group began in January with three sessions led by Rabbi Lauren concerning historical Shabbat practice. In the first class we focused on Biblical representations of Shabbat, mostly in Genesis and Exodus, noting the Torah's emphasis on Shabbat as a celebration of creation and also redemption. In the second class we learned about the Rabbinic transformation of Shabbat and thought about the prohibitions against thirty-nine kinds of labor. In the third class we turned our attention to medieval Kabbalist traditions. We also discussed the twentieth century text The Sabbath by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. We were particularly interested in Heschel's description of Judaism as a "religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time" and how we might incorporate some of the book's ideas as we move forward with our own visioning process.

Now a smaller group of members is continuing to study historical and contemporary approaches to Shabbat as we start to draft a vision statement for Shabbat at Kol Tzedek.

Contemporary Shabbat Memoir

Here is the link to the article that we read for our Shabbat Study Group from the "contemporary civilization"-- this is a memoir from a Reconstructionist rabbi about his ever evolving Shabbat practice. While we didn't have as much to go into this in depth, I wanted the group to read this so we each could think about our own journey with Shabbat, where it comes from, where it might go, how it could change. We are all on a journey and as contemporary people living in our secular world, we may struggle with how to balance our desire to have a Shabbat life with other needs like work, family. This article can also help us reconstruct for ourselves a meaningful Shabbat. for some of us that may look a bit more traditional; for others, going to a jazz concert or watching a movie is very "shabbosdick" if done lichvod Shabbat, in honor of Shabbat.

Rabbinic Principles of Shabbat from Study Session 2

After studying rabbinic texts, both midrashic and halachic (legal), we discussed the concepts that the rabbis introduced and reinforced about Shabbat. They were:

Shabbat as a metaphor (specifically as bride and queen)
Shabbat is rooted in individual and community
Shabbat needs people to observe it
People are creator/co-creators in process of Shabbat
Shabbat “works” if we do it!
Shabbat demands that "WE make it special”
Shabbat is to be honored by what we do; the way we do things can be "lichvod Shabbat" – for the honor of Shabbat
Intention is vital to Shabbat life
Shabbat is celebrated through body and soul (food and sex are as important as prayer and study)
Shabbat is joyful
Shabbat involves a partnership with the Divine
Despite the importance of Shabbat, human life supersedes Shabbat (the concept of pikuah nefesh—you are obligated to break Shabbat laws in order to save someone's life)
“Melacha” = Creative Rest; Harmony between human and nature; link to creation

Biblical Shabbat Concepts and Values

After our very productive and insightful first session, we understood some of the core values and principles of Shabbat in the Bible. Our list of these things included:

Core Principles:
Shabbat is an act that invites us to emulate God (As God rested, so do we rest)
Shabbat is observed both because of the Creation story (Bereishit/Genesis) and the Redemption story (Because we were freed in Egypt)
We are to "observe" (shamor) and "zachor" (remember) -- we talked a bit about what that means
Shabbat allows us to be set apart and to set things apart for kedusha, holiness
Shabbat is an invitation to make rest holy, to appreciate things as they are

Core Values:
Oneg Shabbat -- Delight in Shabbat
Shavat Vayinafash-- Shabbat is a time to be "resouled"
Community
Respect for others (allowing the stranger and servants to rest)
Commitment/Covenant

We talked about how the biblical period had very different rules that we think of. There are few to speak of and the consequences are extreme. Warning: DO NOT GATHER WOOD ON SHABBAT!!!! Shabbat "looked" very different than we think about it today.