October 2011 Bulletin Message
by Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro

For Your Consideration
Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro

 Yom Kippur is coming, and this year it falls on a Saturday.  That means our biggest day of the Jewish year takes place on Shabbat this year.

 Four years ago when Yom Kippur and Shabbat also came together, I gave a sermon called “Next Friday Night.”  In my remarks I talked about what we all might be doing seven days later.  I suggested that, as important as Shabbat Yom Kippur was, our involvement with the next just plain Shabbat (seven days later) might be even more significant for us as Jews and human beings.  

A year later I returned to the theme of Shabbat when we gathered for Yom Kippur.  I asked you to imagine how much less frenzied our lives might be if we “pulled the plug” every seven days.  I even distributed a booklet with no fewer than 52 creative ways to reframe the celebration of Shabbat.  That sermon was called “Take Back Your Time: Rediscover Shabbat.”  

Perhaps you recall that a poster with these words stood in the Temple hallway for several months after Yom Kippur.  That Fall we also began to dedicate a sizeable amount of space on our Temple website to Shabbat.

And what has happened since then?

The slogan (Take Back Your Time:  Rediscover Shabbat) has remained on our bulletin masthead.  On a periodic basis, I’ve included reflections on Shabbat in the bulletin.  Each of these pieces has subsequently been added to the website.

And now comes Yom Kippur 2011 coinciding with Shabbat.  To be honest, it’s quite tempting to revisit Shabbat in one of my sermons this year. After all, Shabbat is probably the single most obvious and powerful focus for us if we want to enrich our lives as Jews.  Shabbat comes around every seven days.  52 times a year we are given a chance to encounter candles, wine, Torah, spirit, and refreshment.    It doesn’t get better than this!

On the other hand, I think almost every one of us already knows that a modern Shabbat does make sense in our lives.  That means that my telling you about Shabbat once more will probably not make as much of a difference as I might wish.

So, let’s make a deal.  I promise to barely breath a word about you, me, and Shabbat this Yom Kippur if you promise to check out our website on Shabbat this month.  Visit.  Read.  Consider.  Engage.  Try it out.   www.sinai-temple.org  

Remember what the 19th century teacher Ahad Ha-am said, “More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.”

And just for now, let me anticipate Friday/Saturday October 7/8 by wishing you….Shabbat Shalom.  I really mean it.

Prior Bulletin Messages from the Rabbi are available on this site.