How do you create an island in time? How do you get busy people to take time out of their busy lives to live?
On a random Thursday morning, a few Jews, with the help of the Shabbat project, built a table in the middle of Tel Aviv’s busiest pedestrian walkway, Rothschild Boulevard, to teach us how. Their conclusion (viewed here): The Shabbat Table.
Shabbat is the world’s table and we are all invited. It is our island in time.
Rav Shalom Noah Berzovsky relates this idea to our parsha, Noach. He writes:
“Like Noach, we each have a flood that rages around us when everything looks bad, but there is always a Noah’s ark to save us.
When a person feels sad and low, the best advice is ‘make for yourself an ark’.
Everyone has a personal Noah’s ark that saves them from the flood.
Everyone has something inside that is purely good, a unique capacity or quality, closely guarded in the worst possible situations, that will never be surrendered. It is this special something that saves us during the most difficult times.
In our generation there are three collective Noah’s arks: the Torah, Shabbat, and Jewish unity.
These are strong forces for good that enable us to prevail over the bad that surrounds us.”
Strengthen these forces, and you strengthen your resolve to meet the challenges that await.
On November 15-16, KOT, once again, brings the three together, as we celebrate, alongside over 1 million Jews, the world-wide Shabbat Project.
Shabbat is God’s gift to us and our gift to the world.
Let’s keep it together, Let’s share it forever.
Shabbat Shalom!