The Queen

"The Sabbath is a mirror of the world to come."  -Zohar

Imagine inviting Queen Elizabeth to your home, and she accepts your invitation! I invited not just any queen, but The Queen, to our home last Saturday. Her Royalty's name is, Queen Shabbat. She entered our modest home for the first time, and it will not be her last. Shabbat (a/k/a Sabbath) is a weekly Holy Day, observed by many Jewish families Friday sundown (actually, it begins 8 minutes prior to sundown) through Saturday sundown (after three stars are seen in the sky).

An alternate way to look at Shabbat is as the symbolic wedding band to our "marriage" with Jesus. I like both ideas, but The Queen is my favorite. The typical Jewish greeting is, Shabbat Shalom!!

"There are two fundamental explanations for the Jews' strong feeling about the Sabbath: First, it commemorates the creation of the world, when God rested on the seventh day after creating the world in six days, and second, it is also a reminder that Jews are free to rest on the Sabbath, after having been slaves in Egypt" 1,201 Questions and Answers About Judaism and the Bible's Old Testament Book of Exodus.

Tiptoeing into the idea of Saturday Shabbats and how best to observe them, Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Because of that, my overriding mindset will be restful and sacred, but liberties will be taken according to my situation on that particular Shabbat... in other words, I will modify the guidelines that most Jews follow but not the mindset. For example, my second Shabbat was spent in an airport. I rested watching planes take off and land, chilled while sitting in airplane seat #27A, and was quiet enough to hear and delight in a toddler's sweet rendition of 𝆔Hush Little Baby Don’t You Cry.𝆔 In that Sacred moment and mindset, that song helped me keenly sense the Heavenly Father's abiding love.

Another way to explain Shabbat is, "It is not a different state of consciousness but a different climate; it is as if the appearance of all things somehow changed. The difference between the Sabbath and all other days is not to be noticed in the physical structure of things, in their spatial dimension. Things do not change on that day" (The Sabbath, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel).

Before Her Royal visit last weekend, our home was prepared to officially observe my fourth Shabbat (the first three Shabbats were like test-drives). A Friday preparation list (to help Saturday’s mindset to be more God-honoring, restful, and pleasant) included:

• House cleaning: Vacuuming, dusting, and dishwasher run and emptied
• Table & Candles: Breakfast table decor was planned and set. Electricity is not used in Orthodox Jewish homes on Shabbat, and light switches can't even be flipped (they install timers) so, lit candles are placed on the center of Jewish tables. I used battery-operated candles on our breakfast table. As a side note, is a flamingo pink? how could I not use electricity in our home on Shabbat?
• Personal hygiene: Friday evening showering
  ---------------------------
• Upcoming Fridays: Move any needed frozen breakfast items to the refrigerator on Friday evening, to reduce Saturday preparation time and energy. Anything to make Shabbat more restful.

Many Jews never consume pork or shellfish. Also, eating meat and dairy together at a meal is not kosher (Exodus 23:19 and 34:26). My breakfast menu (as kosher as I could get it) included beef Polish sausage and oatmeal topped with mango chunks and almond milk. Lunch was cheese pizza.

On weekdays, I am always trying to change things--to make things better. On Shabbat, I want to leave things alone and enjoy them as they are. It shocked me how often my mind travels to fixing something or working. I couldn't help but sweep our garage on Shabbat (intentionally approaching it as a fun, rote, mindless activity rather than as work... maybe I was fooling myself 😇). And while relaxing on our screened-in back porch, I couldn't help but note that weeds needed pulling (stop it!) and backyard improvements were needed (stop it!)

My husband and I took our regular hour-long Saturday walk. Nature was enjoyed, but our pace was a bit slower. All the while, all through the day, the essence of rest, ease, and the Sacred was embraced, which included some Bible reading and prayer. I ended the day feeling renewed. 

Lighting of the ritual Havdalah candle is a visual reminder that Shabbat rest ends and ushers in the new week. A special braided candle is used that has several wicks. Shabbat ends on Saturday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky, but I may have ended the observance earlier, with eager anticipation and excitement for weekly Shabbats. 

Shabbat is intended to require a person to use all five senses:  feel the cup, smell the spices, see the flame of the candle, hear the blessings and taste the wine (or juice).

"The Sabbath is considered the most important day in the Jewish calendar"

The Jewish Book of Why, p. 163

"If God could rest on the Sabbath,

it behooves us to do the same and thus pay tribute to him"

1,201 Questions and Answers About Judaism, p. 136

Shema

Shema is the Jewish confession of faith made up of three scriptural texts (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41), which, together with appropriate prayers, forms an integral part of the daily evening and morning services (love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) see Matthew 22:37-39.