Have you ever had a perfect day?
I think I came as close as I ever have this past Shabbat. Linda and I went to the children’s service at Temple Sinai on Friday night, sat with friends and met some people who may be new friends. Went home tired, and slept the sleep of the worn out. Rose Saturday morning, had breakfast, went back to shul for services: a bar mitzvah of a young man I didn’t know, with an aliyah honoring the 30th wedding anniversary of our close friends, Dawn and Mark. Afterwards, lunch with more friends, and a long slow June afternoon at home. Heaven!
A bar mitzvah, you say? Of a young man you didn’t know? Yes: for those of you who avoid bnei mitzvah services, a point to ponder: sometimes the 13 year olds approach a Torah portion in new and exciting ways, precisely because they haven’t been reading the same words over and over for 50 years. And yes, sometimes they don’t. But Torah is always good, and my mind is free to pursue the portion wherever it is led.
But more than anything, it was the slow time of the whole 24 hour period, the songs at night, the long service in the morning when my brain was set loose to freewheel through prayer and inspiration, the affection of friends, the sense of there being “enough” in this moment, that made the day for me.
This is Shabbat. This is my treasure as a Jew.
