The Sabbath A Great Cathedral

shermancox — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:09:11 -0800

Here is an interesting quote from Heschel's book the Sabbath.

Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificient stream of a year. The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans nor the Germans were able to burn; a shrine that even apostasy cannot easily obliterate

And

"When history began, there was only one holiness in the world, holiness in time."

When God gave us the Sabbath, God gave us something that could not be taken away by others. The Sabbath is something that we can only take away from ourselves.

The Sabbath - Resting from the Thought of Labor

shermancox — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 12:14:42 -0800

Exodus 20:8 states that humanity should complete all of its labor in 6 days. "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." In The Sabbath, Jewish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel asks is it possible to do all ones work in 6 days? Heschel's interpretation is that we should rest as if all of our work is done. He goes further to state that we should rest from even the thought of labor.

Just think of the rest that one would get on the Sabbath if that one would rest from even the thought of labor. Just think of the energy one would bring to the world of work after such a rest. Just think of the spiritual heights one could reach by setting aside the thought of labor as one uses the time of the Sabbath solely for communion with God and others.

What a gift God has given to us. The Sabbath is truly not a drudgery. I Praise God for the Sabbath. I pray that God will help me to truly rest to fully enjoy the benefits of this great gift.

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The Sabbath A Great Cathedral

The Sabbath - Resting from the Thought of Labor