A Time That is All Shabbat

Yom shekulo Shabbat, a time that is all Shabbat...

That is the day we are waiting for, longing to see. I have been pondering this week that the coincidence of Shabbat and Christmas would inadvertently lead millions of people to observe some measure of Shabbat that normally do not observe it. To those of us who normally do, it would provide a rare national day of rest in the United States. Only on Christmas is there no work, no buying, no selling, with people at home with their families. The streets are quiet, the stores are closed. It is a microcosm of what we could all have every week, a treasure, a sanctuary in the fabric of time. It is one day that is somewhat like what begins every Friday in Jerusalem and ends every Saturday night. A time to reflect and heal the week's struggles and sicknesses.

A famous Jewish maxim says: "More than the Jew has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jew."

May the day come speedily, the time that is all Shabbat!