7 - Shabat Shalom

Exodus tells us that God rested on the seventh day, after creating light, all of the heavens and the earth, and all of the earth’s inhabitants over the previous six days. The Bible instructs us to let our fields lay barren each seventh year so that they may rest. God also commanded the Jews to observe the Sabbath, a practice that I have always thought is very wonderful.

Sunday begins the work week in Israel. And Saturday night, all religious Jews rush to settle any business in advance of the upcoming week. Last night, as soon as Shabbat ended and we did the Habdallah (one of my favorite Jewish rituals), guests at the Hilton flooded the front desk to check out of the hotel in advance of their Sunday departures. All day, the front desk had been empty, with just one or two Gentiles on call to answer questions or work with non-observant guests. Anticipating the end of Shabbat, come sun-down, the front desk filled with staff members, ready to attend to the rush of business that resumes for religious Jews at the end of the Sabbath.

For the 24(ish) hours prior, we experienced mostly quiet in Israel … few televisions turned on and off, the elevators ran slowly, automatically stopping at every floor (we all quickly learned that utilizing the stairs was much more compatible to our patience levels), the restaurant served only cold meals, buffet style, and day old coffees all prepared in advance of Shabbat, and even the always revolving front door to the hotel spun more slowly to reduce the risk of accidentally bumping into the glass and causing the doors to stop and then have to re-start. For an Orthodox Jew, starting something like an electric door would be work, and doing work is prohibited on the Sabbath. We didn’t drive, many observant Jews won’t talk on the phone, we didn’t do shopping, we rested. We walked on the boardwalk, we swam in the Mediterranean, we snacked, we napped. Many walked to synagogue, some for half the day. I had a reflection paper to write for class, so I didn’t entirely follow the Sabbath law, but in general, we rested.

Beginning the Sabbath was an utter treat. The RichMacNichstro’s (the Richler, MacWilliam, Nichols, and Ostro crew) were one of three-dozen families in the main dining room eating Shabbat dinner. Many of you know how much Friday night dinners mean to me (you might recall that I used Shabbat dinners as a spring board for my law school essays), and this week was no different. Kepa’s on (the men), prayer books in hand, stand behind our chairs, and wait for Puppy to begin. Va'yehi erev, va'yehi voker yom ha'shishi: Va'yechulu ha'shamayim ve'ha'aretz v'chol tzeva'am … families across the dining room sang the same songs throughout the evening … each coming into the dining room at different times and praising God. Puppy thanked God for his wife, we blessed the Challah, and then attacked the buffet, with my Kosher family-members giddy over filet mignon, which is almost impossible to find in the States.

We learned today about Rabbi Judah the Priest who, in the 2^nd Century a.d. wrote down the oral law that had been passed down to Moses 2,000 years prior. It amazes me to think that the Jewish people have been saying the same words every Friday night, all around the world, for millennium. Amid revolts, pogroms, assimilation, holocausts, slaughters, movements among continents, etc., Jews have retained ancient cultures, an ancient language, and ancient rituals. It was a beautiful scene, hearing American, French, Israeli and other Jewish visitors to Tel Aviv all saying the same prayers around their family tables. Like every Friday night dinner in my life, and there have been many, I felt privileged to be a part of the Sabbath tradition.