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February 13, 2012
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Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
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Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
August 29, 2003
/ 1 Elul, 5763
Luminescence
By
Rabbi Avi Shafran
The beauty of “blackout” — celebrated weekly
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
Even before my office computer went momentarily berserk and then shut down, before the lights flickered and perished and a moment of eerie quiet yielded to tentative inquiries from nearby offices, I was already thinking about candles.
Not that a blackout — certainly not one like the one that zapped a good chunk of the continent — was anywhere in my mental periphery. No, I think about candles every Thursday afternoon.
That's because Thursday night is when I begin to prepare in earnest for the Jewish Sabbath. Although Shabbes doesn't arrive until about an hour before sunset Friday evening, and although the bulk of preparation for the day of rest is my wife's honor (good thing, too; she's a much more accomplished chef), there are a few things that I have the privilege to do myself. One of them is preparing the candles — or, more precisely, oil lamps and wicks — that my wife lights before Shabbes arrives. Thursday night is when I generally provide that service, rolling the wicks — one for each member of our family — and pouring the olive oil into the glass lamps.
So, when I finally arrived home Thursday evening, sopping with sweat after a miserably memorable commute (although to a wonderfully memorable welcome: the cheers of my wife and children on the deck where they stood waiting), I knew I didn't have to worry about illumination should the blackout last into the night, which of course it did. We have an ample stockpile of oil, wicks and candles (which we also use occasionally for the Sabbath) in our home. That night, there would be light.
The Jewish Sabbath itself, in fact, is a blackout of sorts. For approximately 26 hours from its beginning until Saturday night's darkness has decisively fallen, Sabbath — observant Jews forego a number of things. We don't turn lights or appliances on or off, or drive our cars. In the absence of a special enclosure — structure, we don't even carry things outside of buildings. We don't cook and don't use the phone. No lawnmowing and no workouts. Many of us shun televisions the entire week for other reasons but on the Sabbath, there's no cranking up the sound system either.
All of which, however, leaves a surprisingly full day. It's the Sabbath, after all, so there's a good amount of time in the synagogue, where prayers are said, a portion of the Torah is chanted and sermons are delivered. But Shabbes is most alive in the home, where long and festive (pre — cooked) meals are enjoyed, punctuated by song and conversation and discussion of the weekly Torah portion. Sleeping and study are mainstays of the day as well, and observant Jewish neighborhoods are cloaked on Saturdays with a spirit of calm, and peppered with neatly dressed couples, often pushing baby carriages, or groups of friends, walking to and from synagogue, to a religious lecture or study group, or just taking leisurely strolls. It is time of introspection, spiritual renewal and focus on the important things that so easily get lost in the din of workaday existence.
The myriad religious restrictions of the day need not yield great inconvenience. The judicious use of slow cookers and electric timers permits us (at least when the electrons are flowing) to enjoy hot food and bright lights. All the same, though, there are certainly challenging aspects to strict Sabbath observance.
And yet there's something paradoxically liberating in the choice to not act in such circumstances, just as, equally paradoxically, there is something illuminating in a blackout. Both situations create an awareness that we are not in charge, that there is something bigger out there to which we are beholden: in the latter case, the electric grid; in the former, G-d
Prime among larger lessons of Shabbes is the recognition that we are parts, not the masters, of Creation, guests in this world and here to earn our keep in another, more real, one, which Shabbes is said to, in a minute way, reflect.
There was much talk after the recent blackout about why it seemed to yield a kinder, gentler societal reaction, and specifically about why New York City, where I live, did not experience the widespread crime and mayhem of previous such events. My own theory about why the ambience here, and in many darkened places, seemed to almost resemble a Jewish Sabbath this time around is tied to what happened on September 11, 2001.
New Yorkers — and in fact all people, I think — live these days with a keener awareness not only of evil's existence but also of the precarious nature of life and security, and of the bountiful blessings that inhere in them. We are more open to the truth that life is meaningful and that our actions make a difference.
We more acutely sense, in other words, the luminescence of Shabbes.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in uplifting articles.
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JWR contributor Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America. Comment by clicking here.
© 2003, Am Echad Resources
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