SHABBAT | REFLECTIONS

Our Congregation Reflects on Shabbat

Shabbat is central to Judaism. It is the climax of our creation story. God creates the world in six days, and on the seventh day God rests. Why rest? Isn’t God omnipotent? And wasn’t the creation just a series of “Let There Be” moments? Actually, the allegory of God resting on the seventh day is an instruction for us to do likewise. And it is far more than taking a day off from work. Especially in a 24/7 society such as ours, it is important for all of us to share our day off, to align ourselves, to make it a day in which we share our time transcending everyday work. It is a holy day - Exodus recites that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, VaY’Kadesh Oto - from the word Kadosh - meaning sacred.

Exodus says, and we recite in the Kiddush, that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because on the seventh day God “Shavat VaYinafash.” These are two concepts central to Shabbat. Shavat means “physically rested.” Yinafash means “was spiritually restored.” Shabbat is both a physical and emotional respite from our daily tribulations, from the seemingly overwhelming hassles of daily life. It is the opportunity to step back and see the bigger picture, to remember that there is a bigger picture. To ask ourselves about our purpose. Not the little, daily purpose; the bigger purpose. It is a chance to adjust our telescopes, calibrate our compasses, tune our instruments.
Shabbat is also the focus of the fourth Commandment which appears twice in the Torah. In Exodus the Commandment reads Zachor et Yom Hashabbat L’Kadsho - remember the Shabbat and sanctify it. In Deuteronomy the fourth Commandment reads Shamor et Yom Hashabbat L’Kadsho - keep or observe the Shabbat and sanctify it. Observe refers to the rituals of Shabbat. Remember refers to the memories of our ancestors and their ways, often under great duress, of celebrating this holy day.

We sanctify the Shabbat by raising a cup of wine as we recite the Kiddush. On Friday evening the blessing reads: Bless you, God, who sanctifies the Shabbat - M’Kadesh HaShabbat. Kiddush is not merely a recitation, it is a ceremony. We are all familiar with ceremonies –– Pledge of Allegiance in home room, National Anthem at ball games. Their purpose is to align us, have us do the same thing, say the same words in unison, harmonize our thoughts, focus our attention. The Kiddush ceremony focuses us on the four elements of the sanctity of Shabbat: rest, spiritual restoration, observing its rituals, and remembering.

--Mel Klein


Mel Klein is a writer and producer with a background in
entertainment law.

Shabbos in Europe in the 1930s

My first recollections of Shabbos are from my youth in Rodam, Poland where I lived until I was 15 years old. For the women, preparations started on Thursday. For me, the beginning of the Shabbos (that’s how we pronounced it) started with preparations on Friday afternoon. All the stores closed early - whether you were religious or not, your business had to be closed for Shabbos. In the afternoon, before Shabbos my father and my grandfather, who was a rabbi, took my brothers and me to the mikvah.

Shabbos was a very special holiday in every Jewish home. We prepared for the sabbath by setting out our finest table cloths, finest silver candelabras and beautiful china. On Friday evening the whole family gathered around the table. My mother lit the candles with the girls. Then we all walked to Shul together.

After coming home from Shul, we had a Shabbos Goy come in to turn on the lights and light the stove, since Jews could not do these on Shabbos. Then we sat down around the beautiful table and my grandfather proceeded to say the Kiddush and make the Hamotzi, and dinner was served. First we had homemade fish, then chicken soup with noodles, followed by meat and chicken. For dessert we had fruit compote, then hot tea served in glasses. There were always homemade pastries. After the Shabbos dinner we always sang z’miros and said the prayers after eating.

Shabbos morning we dressed in our finest clothes and walked back to Shul. After the services, my father always brought home guests to share the Shabbos meal. On Friday the women took their cholent in a pot to the bakery where it sat in the oven overnight. At noon on Shabbos, the Shabbos Goy picked it up and delivered it to our home. We made the daytime Kiddush and ate a lunch of fish, chopped liver, cholent, tea and cakes.

After lunch the family sat around the table singing z’miros until it was time to return to Shul for mincha. This is how I remember Shabbos as a boy in Rodam.

- - Jack Repp

The Last Jew in Alvarado

I only know three facts about Mr. Tobolowsky: his last name, his religion and his business. Still, I think about him a lot. In the 1920s, he ran Tobolowsky’s General Store on the north side of the Alvarado town square. Alvarado is a small town an hour south of Dallas. Before I moved there in July 2005, Mr. Tobolowsky was probably the last Jew who called Alvarado home.

Mr. Tobolowsky is one of thousands of Jews who lived and worked in small town America before World War II. If he immigrated to the states, he probably brought an extra suitcase of traditions with him. Even if he came to town as a secular Jew, he certainly understood that he would never fully fit in.

That’s because Alvarado is a Sunday-Sabbath town, and Mr. Tobolowsky’s Sabbath came on Saturday. So does mine. For the year I lived and worked in Alvarado, Judaism confronted me daily. Most people assumed I belonged to the large Seventh Day Adventist community seven miles South in Keene. Others thought of Jews the same way they thought of Romans: rarely and as something that existed only in antiquity. It took that extreme to really understand Shabbos.

Growing up at Temple Emanu-El, my mother used Shabbos as a breather for the week. As God had used the day to rest and recount, we required everyone at the Shabbos table to play “Best and Worst.” What were the high and low points of the week? And what were you looking forward to in the weeks to come? The rest of the day had no defined religious structure. At the strict orthodox high school I attended, Shabbos came with magnetic intensity. The strictest interpretation of Jewish law allows for such a narrow range of proper activity that there is a saying that no one is learned enough to follow all the commandments. Packed so dense with meals and prayers, Saturday spilled over on either side. We were let out of school early on Friday to prepare and started school late on Sunday to recuperate.

Although each story expresses an extreme version, both are the same story: Jews among Jews. Being a Jew among gentiles, though, means having to carve out Shabbos and its rituals for yourself. There is a Hebrew phrase Sh’viti Adonai L’Negdi Tamid, meaning “I place God before me always.” There is a mental parking space reserved for the most important cargo, and this four-word phrase recommends God. Making that reservation changes the view of the world. It is like colored lenses.

Holiness comes from reservation and separation. We separate the day from the week, and we reserve it for certain activities. The steps needed to make that separation are different for everyone.

On the most formal Shabbos, I head over to Whole Foods for the best-looking piece of fish. We bless the candles, the wine and the Challah, and we talk about the week. On the most laid-back Shabbos, I spend the day cleaning out the garage Either way, Saturday is never simply another day of the week. It is always Shabbos. Once you understand that the day has been set aside, it becomes impossible to forget. I’m sure Mr. Tobolowsky never forgot Saturday was Shabbos. I can never forget either. It is before me always.

--Eric Lidji
Eric Lidji is an alumnus of the Temple Emanu-El
Pre-School and currently is a writer living in Alaska.

Temple Emanu-El | 8500 Hillcrest Road | Dallas, TX 75225 | Tel. 214.706.0000 | Fax 214.706.0025 | Map & Directions