Sabbath Days
When I was a kid everything, and I mean everything, was closed on Sunday. Now without getting into the question of why we don't do that anymore ($$$$$), I want to explore the idea of setting aside a day, or at least part of the day for absolutely nothing.
Wait... not nothing, actually setting aside a day for what matters.
Sabbath days have been with us since the beginning. In the Bible, of course, God rested on the seventh day (a questionable enterprise considering all he had created; who's gonna manage that stuff? No time for a day off God; but I digress...). But well before that God, history records that ancient societies have been resting purposefully often to honor their deity since people formed community.
In certain cultures, Jewish for instance, Sabbath is taken seriously, as in no-excuses seriously. I've written before on this blog how Chain Potok, he of The Chosen, Gift of Asher Lev and countless other classics, is my favorite author of fiction. Potok got me from the start for some reason though he writes about a world so far from my world-Hasidic Judaism-that he is an unlikely choice to be a favorite author of a 65 year old German/Italian/American from Ossining New York.
But what Potok writes about is way more than orthodox Judaism. Because for Potok's characters, for the people that populate his novels, God is in all things (to use a Jesuit phrase; ah, you are learning so much from this post). To orthodox Jews God is present in everything, every decision, every action. He's not just to be praised and worshipped and followed on Friday night and Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, but at all times and in all things.
That's why orthodox Jews, following the 600+ laws passed down by Moses and the prophets don't even turn on a light on the Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). Because God said you are to do 'no work' on the Sabbath. This is interpreted as no, as in no... nothing, nada, nothing.
While this might seem extreme, and clearly having someone else come in to turn on your stove, for the food you prepared before the Sabbath started, can seem extreme, the purpose behind the action is not. This is following God's law. The concept is to take at least this one day, one full 24 hours, to just be. (By the way, the person hired to do this work was called the Shabbos goy; Shabbos because he did it on the Sabbath, goy because he was a non-Jew. There is some debate today whether the term goy is pejorative. References in a google search indicate it has something to do with how it is used and tone of voice etc. I seem to remember my best friend when we were in high school announcing to his mother "the goy is leaving mom," as I left the house. I didn't' feel offended...)
Lao Tzu (another I have written about) called this Wu Wei... loosely translated as 'non-doing.'. He wrote in the Tao te Ch'ing, of the importance of stopping everything-thought, action, worry, joy-to exist in the moment, the present, as a way to experience the transcendent (and live, for that matter... see post below).
I spend a part of every day in Wu Wei/Sabbath. It's usually first thing in the morning when I meditate and do my 'prayers' but often can happen during the day (see Two Times a Day for Peace post). The point is I try to stop and just be, to be in the present, to try to flush out all the junk in my head and be open to the world around me at least a couple times a day.
Some years ago my girlfriend and I talked about taking one full day for Sabbath. As 21st century Americans we talked a good game about not being addicted to our electronics, but truth was we were, and in many ways still are.
How great would it be, we said, to tell everyone that from sundown Saturday through sundown Sunday we weren't going to be reachable, the phone would be off, the TV would remain shut down. We would spend that 24 hours on stuff that matters like good coffee in the morning, a powerwalk and lunch at the dining room table with food we had prepared the day before. We would read in the afternoon, maybe go for another walk before the day ended. In short be with each other in a meaningful way not letting the stuff of everyday life intrude.
While we don't do it together anymore, I do accomplish this kind of day most Sundays. To be frank it starts Sunday morning, not Saturday night, but nevertheless my Sabbath days are spent at church in the morning, sometimes in service to the homeless in DC in the afternoon followed by lunch with my friend, and then before the fire with a glass of wine and a good book in the evening. I've gotten good at saying no too. Lots of stuff happens on Sunday afternoons; I try to stay away from it.
I can't tell you what this single quiet day does for me. It sets me up for the new week, certainly, recharges the batteries to use an overused cliché. But more than that the day itself is powerful. I find myself aware of what is going on in every regard. When I make my coffee I'm actually making my coffee. When I go for my walk I see things I never saw before, I experience the steps, my feet hitting the ground, the cold air on my face. When I serve someone who needs a meal, I see them, offer more than just the food, offer me. Because I'm truly present.
It's hard to explain but in simple terms I would say 'Sabbath works.'
In the Two Times a Day for Peace post I talked about how much more peaceful the world would be if everyone just stopped a couple of times each day and sat quietly without doing anything. A lot more people would get into a lot less trouble, probably.
Wonder how we can get all of the politicians to stop twice a day... or maybe just stop for good...
Wait... not nothing, actually setting aside a day for what matters.
Sabbath days have been with us since the beginning. In the Bible, of course, God rested on the seventh day (a questionable enterprise considering all he had created; who's gonna manage that stuff? No time for a day off God; but I digress...). But well before that God, history records that ancient societies have been resting purposefully often to honor their deity since people formed community.
In certain cultures, Jewish for instance, Sabbath is taken seriously, as in no-excuses seriously. I've written before on this blog how Chain Potok, he of The Chosen, Gift of Asher Lev and countless other classics, is my favorite author of fiction. Potok got me from the start for some reason though he writes about a world so far from my world-Hasidic Judaism-that he is an unlikely choice to be a favorite author of a 65 year old German/Italian/American from Ossining New York.
But what Potok writes about is way more than orthodox Judaism. Because for Potok's characters, for the people that populate his novels, God is in all things (to use a Jesuit phrase; ah, you are learning so much from this post). To orthodox Jews God is present in everything, every decision, every action. He's not just to be praised and worshipped and followed on Friday night and Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, but at all times and in all things.
That's why orthodox Jews, following the 600+ laws passed down by Moses and the prophets don't even turn on a light on the Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). Because God said you are to do 'no work' on the Sabbath. This is interpreted as no, as in no... nothing, nada, nothing.
While this might seem extreme, and clearly having someone else come in to turn on your stove, for the food you prepared before the Sabbath started, can seem extreme, the purpose behind the action is not. This is following God's law. The concept is to take at least this one day, one full 24 hours, to just be. (By the way, the person hired to do this work was called the Shabbos goy; Shabbos because he did it on the Sabbath, goy because he was a non-Jew. There is some debate today whether the term goy is pejorative. References in a google search indicate it has something to do with how it is used and tone of voice etc. I seem to remember my best friend when we were in high school announcing to his mother "the goy is leaving mom," as I left the house. I didn't' feel offended...)
Lao Tzu (another I have written about) called this Wu Wei... loosely translated as 'non-doing.'. He wrote in the Tao te Ch'ing, of the importance of stopping everything-thought, action, worry, joy-to exist in the moment, the present, as a way to experience the transcendent (and live, for that matter... see post below).
I spend a part of every day in Wu Wei/Sabbath. It's usually first thing in the morning when I meditate and do my 'prayers' but often can happen during the day (see Two Times a Day for Peace post). The point is I try to stop and just be, to be in the present, to try to flush out all the junk in my head and be open to the world around me at least a couple times a day.
Some years ago my girlfriend and I talked about taking one full day for Sabbath. As 21st century Americans we talked a good game about not being addicted to our electronics, but truth was we were, and in many ways still are.
How great would it be, we said, to tell everyone that from sundown Saturday through sundown Sunday we weren't going to be reachable, the phone would be off, the TV would remain shut down. We would spend that 24 hours on stuff that matters like good coffee in the morning, a powerwalk and lunch at the dining room table with food we had prepared the day before. We would read in the afternoon, maybe go for another walk before the day ended. In short be with each other in a meaningful way not letting the stuff of everyday life intrude.
While we don't do it together anymore, I do accomplish this kind of day most Sundays. To be frank it starts Sunday morning, not Saturday night, but nevertheless my Sabbath days are spent at church in the morning, sometimes in service to the homeless in DC in the afternoon followed by lunch with my friend, and then before the fire with a glass of wine and a good book in the evening. I've gotten good at saying no too. Lots of stuff happens on Sunday afternoons; I try to stay away from it.
I can't tell you what this single quiet day does for me. It sets me up for the new week, certainly, recharges the batteries to use an overused cliché. But more than that the day itself is powerful. I find myself aware of what is going on in every regard. When I make my coffee I'm actually making my coffee. When I go for my walk I see things I never saw before, I experience the steps, my feet hitting the ground, the cold air on my face. When I serve someone who needs a meal, I see them, offer more than just the food, offer me. Because I'm truly present.
It's hard to explain but in simple terms I would say 'Sabbath works.'
In the Two Times a Day for Peace post I talked about how much more peaceful the world would be if everyone just stopped a couple of times each day and sat quietly without doing anything. A lot more people would get into a lot less trouble, probably.
Wonder how we can get all of the politicians to stop twice a day... or maybe just stop for good...
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