KI TISA 5784

Set Sail on Your Luxury Cruise

I grew up not knowing that Shabbos could be a special day. My mother—a 3^rd generation American—received no Jewish education, and my father, who came to America as an infant from the Ukraine, was born into a family of Yiddishe secularists. We were 3-day-a-year Jews—Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. My mother would light Shabbos candles as her mother taught her, but then serve a treif dinner. It was only after Bar Mitzvah, as I began to really learn about Judaism, that Shabbos became important to me.

Later, in college, while discussing Shabbos with some of my non-religious Jewish friends, one of them asked, “With all the competition getting into good graduate schools, how can you afford to take off 24 hours a week, especially during mid-terms and finals?” The truth was, how could I afford NOT to!

We are in the middle of 5 Torah portions concerning the building of the Mishkan—the portable Temple used after the Exodus until a permanent one could be built in the Promised Land. Twice Shabbat is mentioned: at the end of the instructions for building the Mishkan and at the beginning of construction. Question: What does Shabbat have to do with the building of the Mishkan? Answer: Even the holiest of work—the building of the Mishkan—must stop on Shabbat. But why? Let me share 2 approaches.

The 1^st comes from my colleague and friend, Rabbi Baruch Melman who is a bit of a mystic and suggests something so profound: “Shabbos is by definition a déjà view experience for the soul.” [Repeat] Kabbalah teaches that our souls existed before we were born in the world of the souls with Gd. There we felt a closeness and a oneness with Gd like nowhere else.

Observing Shabbos gives us a familiar glimpse of that amazing and wonderful experience. By observing Shabbos, we put aside the cares and needs of our mundane world and focus on getting closer to Gd and the people we care about. We come to shul, we have Shabbos meals, make Kiddush, sing zemirot, learn and share Torah. We share our enthusiasm and our thoughts; we share our dreams and our souls. All this creates the possibility of a closeness and oneness with Gd that is simply not available on the other days of the week. And that would not happen if we didn’t stop on Shabbat, even the mo holy work.

The 2^nd approach is from Rabbi Yaakov Wolff (www.TheIsraelBible.com). In today’s Torah portion we find the 1^st of the 2 commands to keep Shabbat just after the instructions to build the Mishkan. You all know it—sing it with me (Ex. 31:16): V’shamru v’ney Yisrael et haShabbat. (The Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbat). It concludes: Ki sheyshet yamim asa Hashem et haShamayim v’et Haaretz, uvayom haSh’vi-i Shavat vayinafash (for in 6 days, Gd made heaven and earth, and on the 7^th day He rested and was refreshed).

This translation follows the obvious meaning of the verse—and that is that it took Gd 6 days to create the world, followed by Shabbat when Gd rested. But, suggests Rabbi Wolff, there is another way to look at this verse: Understood literally, the verse—Ki sheyshet yamim asa Hashem et haShamayim v’et Haaretz—could also mean, “Gd created heaven and earth for 6 days,” meaning Gd made a world that could last only for 6 days. The 6 days were then followed by Shabbat and the cycle would begin all over again with Gd creating the world again for 6 days.

Why would Gd set the week up like this? With all our achievements in this world, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters—family, community, and getting closer to Gd. Shabbat makes us stop and refocus on what’s really important. Refraining from work doesn’t just allow us increased leisure, it creates a space to stay connected to what truly matters. So, Gd designed a system in which the world gets a fresh start every 7^th day.

Once while interviewing a young woman who came before the Bet Din as the final step in her conversion process, I asked her, “What was her favorite Jewish holy day?” Without hesitation, she said “Shabbos!” One of the other rabbis then asked her to compare Shabbat to some physical thing, in order draw out more of her feelings. She thought for a moment and said, “Shabbat is like a cruise vacation.” What a wonderful analogy! But it also sounded familiar. I searched my files and I found this piece by Rabbi Bradley Artson (Jewish Spectator Fall 1993):

         Imagine taking a 24‑hour cruise each week. Once on board, there are no chores, because it isn’t possible to bring any work on board. There are no ringing phones, no blaring announcements, no driving congested freeways or deadlines. All meals have already been prepared and will be served with elegance. Whatever the passengers desire has already been placed on the ship before the cruise embarked.

         The vessel sets sail as the travelers gather to sing, to savor a candlelight dinner, embellished with red wine and a bread so rich it tastes like cake. Surrounded by family and friends, with nowhere to rush off to afterwards, each traveler can slowly relish the sumptuous dinner in peace.

         The next morning, as was true the night before, there are no chores, no tasks, no deadlines. So everyone spends time fruitfully by gathering with other passengers by talking about matters large and small—the questions and interests that tend to get lost in the shuffle of daily life … There are people enjoying walks around the deck or playing favorite games together.

         After enjoying another elegant meal at lunch the passengers stroll to their cabins for a nap, or, perhaps, to read simply for pleasure. At the end of the cruise, as the ship approaches its berth, everyone gathers on deck to hold a candle-lighting ceremony to mark the end of a restful, lovely time.

         Each week, the entire Jewish People whoever and wherever they are, are invited to sail on just such a voyage. The luxury liner, Shabbat, provides for the needs of its passengers--offering a period free from concerns, free from stress, and free from the mundane demands of career, achievement and of doing.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to take such a cruise every week? You can, and Gd’s Shechina, His Divine Presence will visit with you as you do. So, ask yourself: How much is Shabbos part of your life? Is it really a 7^th? Our Sages suggest that the command V’shamru, “observe Shabbat,” really means that Shabbos should be even more. It means we need to observe Shabbos every day. Now how is that possible? Make Shabbos the center of your life and every day, think about how to make the next Shabbos special and begin preparing for it—buying Shabbos food, inviting Shabbos guests, buying Shabbos clothes, setting aside special time for those we love, preparing a Dvar Torah to share. Shabbos must be more than a day off with no paying bills, no email, no texting, no WhatsApp, no twitter and no Instagram.

My friends the problem is that our lives and our nature conspire against us. How many times you’ve begun a diet…or resolved to get in shape…or to read more…or to stay in better touch with a friend or relative and it never happened? Make Shabbos a regular commitment, and it will transform your life. If you keep Shabbos as just a goal, you’ll only feel guilty.

Shabbos, as the Friday evening Kiddush states, is a zeycher litziyat Mitzrayim (a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt) to teach us that a human being must not be a slave. On Shabbat we free ourselves to be more than what we do, be it a businessman, a professional or a blue colored worker. We free ourselves to be what we really are—a holy soul and an image of Gd.

Shabbos can be a time spent basking in the Shechina—the Presence of Gd along with the love of life and family. And you can extend that time to sanctify your whole life as well as you live your life around Shabbos. Our Luxury Cruise Liner Shabbat awaits only our desire to set sail. Amen!