And the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, "Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord who sanctify you....."
In Abrahamic religions, the shabbat/sabbath is a day of rest and worship. For Jews, the commandment for keeping shabbat a day of rest is repeated many times in the Tanakh. For Christians, it is stressed in Exodus 31:12-17. Christians interpret it as a general day of rest-- free from work. Jewish law is much more prescriptive, identifying 39 activities prohibited on Shabbat: planting, reaping, writing, tearing, igniting a fire, and applying the finishing touch-- to name a few (more here).
Wherever we find ourselves on the continuum of orthodoxy and fundamentalism to non-believing, for sure we all need time to nurture the soul-- that nebulous, incorporeal realm of the self. In the western world, gone is the common day of rest. However, consider scheduling a day of rest, when you don't leave your house, don't create or make anything; when you reflect, appreciate, express gratitude, and goal set... even if the day of rest is not a Saturday or Sunday. Today, we are resting-- sitting and admiring the above view of fall foliage in Greensboro-- and expressing gratitude for your visiting our blog.
Comments