Shabbat is coming with such mixed feelings this week.
On the one hand — SHABBAT! Shabbat is a day of rest, a day of blessing, a day of holiness. Shabbat!
On the other hand — this Shabbat will be the 1st anniversary of the Newtown massacre. All those children, all those teachers, mown down because … why? We will never know why a disordered young man murdered his mother and all those people. All we know is that a year later, nothing has changed. You can still get a gun without a background check, and there’s still darn little we care to do for people in the depths of a mental health crisis, or for their families. (Yes, I know how he got the guns. I still want that loophole closed, because I want it to be more difficult for people with mental health problems and/or felony records to get guns. Nor do I plan to debate this in comments.)
And on yet another hand — this week I will have my first real Shabbat Open House, the one where I have sent an email to a few of my students and said, “let’s hang out.” I know that some are planning to come. Don’t know about the others. The idea is to just “be” from 3 until havdalah, enjoying each others’ company, playing games, maybe studying, maybe not. I’ll report back, I promise!
May your Shabbat be a Shabbat of blessing, peace, and remembrance!
Related articles
- Shabbat Isn’t Just Friday Night (coffeeshoprabbi.com)
- My Top 10 Reasons Why I Keep the Shabbat (rosarioedieleyne.wordpress.com)