“Do you know what the longest of The Ten Commandments is?”, Dennis asked me as I sat in his office. He answered his own question for me, “It’s the command to keep the Sabbath. Murder only get a couple of words. Idolatry only gets a handful. Look at how many words are given to taking a day off of work! I think they’re there because it’s so hard for us to do.”
Dennis planted a seed in me with that thought. Around the same time, one of my friends started blogging through a book he’s reading on Sabbath. Then, to cap things off, Postcards from Buster visited with an Orthodox Jewish family right before and right after Shabbat (no electronics, so the cameras couldn’t be on in their home).
My interest peaked, I went over to Wikipedia and looked up Shabbat, the Hebrew spelling and pronuciation of Sabbath. One of the more eye-opening details on the Wikipedia page was this:
“the Hebrew word for ‘strike‘ (as in work stoppage) is shevita, which comes from the same Hebrew root as shabbat, and has the same implication, namely that the striking workers actively abstain from work, rather than passively. … When it is understood that God ‘ceased’ from his labor rather than ‘rested’ from his labour, the usage is more consistent with the Biblical view of an omnipotent God who does not ‘rest.’“
Let me tell you why this was a big deal to discover.
One of my friends who grew up in a very conservative christian home talks with dread about how her parents made her spend Sunday (the Christian equivalent of Shabbat): she’d wake up early to go to Sunday School and Morning Services, spend the afternoon reading or taking a forced nap, and then go to Evening Services to round out her “Sabbath” day. In other words, the focus of the day was on church events and forced rest. It seems that a correct biblical view points towards a violent removal of one’s self (ceasing) from the workweek and not a violent forcing of rest and church events upon one’s self (even though Jewish men and women did try to go to Synagogue events more during Shabbat).
Enough about the theology. Let’s get into the practicality of what Carrie, the boys, and I did last Sunday night and Monday. Yes, Sunday night to Monday night. We chose that time because I’m off on Sundays and Mondays. We chose sunset-to-sunset because a traditional Hebrew day starts and ends at sunset. [Aside: David Capes, an elder at Ecclesia, pointed out the beautiful change in perspective this view causes: You begin the day with your family. You share a meal and talk about life. Then, you calm your kids and usher them into sleep. Maybe you make love to your spouse after the kids fall asleep. After the beginning of the day, you sleep until your body is ready to complete the day. You wake up and use the stored up strength God has given you to work. As the day ends, you return home to be with your family. It's an absolutely beautiful way to start and end the day, isn't it?!]
Sunday afternoon, Carrie put candles all over the living area of our house and we turned off all the lights. At sunset, I read the commandment to keep the Sabbath and lit the candles. We ate by candlelight. In the middle of the meal, I pointed out to Carrie that I was paying more attention to everyone than I normally do. She agreed with me and we noticed that the candlelight was bright enough to see our meal and each others’ faces but not bright enough to illuminate the distractions around us. Outside of Elias occasionally asking us to turn on the lights, it may be the most peaceful meal my family has ever shared.
After dinner, we sat on the floor with the kids and read them books. I played guitar for them. To end the start of our Shabbat, I read them a Psalm and we all crashed. Candlelight is like a campfire… fun to stare at and emotionally warm but not bright enough to stave off sleepiness. Unlike my normal thirty minute mental unwind, I slept almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next morning, like every morning I don’t work, we woke up to Elias announcing it was time to get up. Carrie told him that the TV didn’t work during Shabbat, so we couldn’t watch anything. I think the fact that he had our undivided attention helped to keep him from being fussy over the loss of His Precious. We still didn’t turn on any lights, any music, etc., so we had to throw the blinds wide open in order to see well. We went to my grandmother’s home and did a few odd jobs around the house for her and then came home for naps. Elias and Deacon both slept a full hour longer than normal! I fully credit a morning filled with Carrie and I’s attention plus a total absence of the TV and CD Player for that.
At sunset, we ended our first attempt at Shabbat with an ancient christian prayer as I turned on the light at Amen:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
