Days can be challenging. Overwhelm and frustration can pile up, grief and despair erode comfort and hope, entropy churns on. At a certain point, as Friday afternoon approaches, there can be a rush to wrap up and a yearning for relief. This is a time-based technology of the work week. There is also the Jewish time-tradition of Shabbat that invites relief. It is a merciful offering – to rest, to put down your burdens. It is also a mighty discernment: the work is over, it cannot proceed.
וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃
On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken, ceasing on the seventh day from doing any of the work.
וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}
And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.
https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.2.3
No matter what the week or day has wrought, Shabbat is a firm reminder: Cease. Rest. This is it. There is no doubt more to do, one could remain busy for a lifetime. One way to recognize Shabbat is to remember that no time is guaranteed. You could continue busily working, but, you could also be suddenly distracted by emergency. The mere continuing existence of your loved ones and your self is precious, and Shabbat implores us to set our minds on that gift, to simply be alive.
Whatever it is you have going on, whatever station you are at in your life and weeks and days, this is it. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, and it is not for you to say whether you get to continue the work. So take a moment, take a day of moments, and savor. This is it.
This is the good life.
One stoic way to come to terms with the world’s calamities is to practice pondering how much worse one’s life could be. It is a depressing practice but offers an important kernel of truth that stoics turned into savory equanimity: in comparison, the condition of the present is precious, it is something that I could easily see myself wishing for, yearning desperately to return to even. And here it is, as solid in my hands as moments ever can be. This is it.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה, וּבָרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים. גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ, שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם, אוֹ יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם, אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ אַפִלּוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי, רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת:
Blessed are You, HaShem, our Host of Hosts, Most Sovereign of All, Who formed man with wisdom and created within him many openings and many hollow spaces. It is obvious and known before Your Seat of Honor that if even one of them would be opened, or if even one of them would be sealed, it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You even for one hour. Blessed are You, HaShem, Who heals all flesh and acts wondrously.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asher_yatzar
So I can put the work down for a day. G-d forbid some terrible misfortune – merely, one of the many hollow openings or spaces becoming closed or opened – one may not get another moment to continue the work anyway. Shabbat reminds us to honor the six days of stewardship with a day of savoring. This is it.
Shabbat literally translates from Hebrew to English as “cessation, rest”. The English “cease” has roots meaning “idle, yield”. Shalom translates to peace, hello, welcome, goodbye, and is one of the names of G-d.
Once camping I experienced contentedness
A present of flowing bliss
And not long after I was crushed by its ephemerality
So fleeting, entropy eventually implores us to need
To try
The memory persists (and repeats) as a reminder, moments are momentum
And moments are all there is
Steward,
and Savor (Shabbat Shalom!)
“Not every day can be a favorite day, but one can try to optimize one’s life for more of those favorite days.”
To celebrate and savor by
Lighting candles and welcoming with blessing a river of wax that continues for thousands of years
Blessing one’s young, the fruit of the vine, and enjoying grape juice with my beloveds
Literal breaking of fresh-baked bread, made from the favorite of recipes passed down by loved ones
Comforting, nourishing food
A day to cease and savor: This is it.