In this week’s Parsha, Moses speaks to the children of Israel about the impending redemption which is about to begin “but they did not hearken to Moses because of [their] shortness of breath/spirit and because of [their] hard labor.” (Exodus 6:9)
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, author of The Path of the Just, relates this to our very own human experience:
“And here truly is one of the stratagems of the evil inclination and its deviousness – to burden people with so much work (and so many distractions, I might add) that they do not have any time to catch their breath, to look around and see where they are going.”
How can we catch our breath and get undistracted? Since we’ve been little, we’ve been taught to “Stop and smell the roses.” The lesson is that to be able to smell the roses, we need to stop otherwise the roses… like life… can just pass us by
The Jewish people have known this secret for thousands of years.
We have a name for it- shabbat.
In last week’s Parsha, the Torah describes Moses leaving the palace after which he saw the suffering of the Jews. What suffering did he see? The midrash (Shmot Rabbah 5:17) describes that “He saw that they did not have rest. Therefore, he went and said to Pharaoh, “One who has a slave, if he does not rest one day a week, he will die! While your slaves, if you don’t allow them rest one day a week , they will die!”
He said to them, “Go and do for them as you are saying.” Moses went and established the Sabbath day for them to rest. ”
What did they do on Shabbat? They opened the scrolls that their ancestors left them describing God’s promise to our forefathers to redeem the Jews and that they were destined to enter the Land of Israel. The midrash actually describes that they felt renewed, or better yet: reJEWvenated.
They remembered that they have a purpose and there’s a purpose in history and God has a plan for them.
When MLK Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he said:
“I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind…
This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. … When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.”
And in his last speech, he said:
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve got some difficult days ahead.
But it really doesn’t matter to with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life–longevity has its place.
But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.
And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land.
I may not get there with you.
But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.
The Jews saw the light. They saw the promised land. They were reminded that the darkness in their tunnel will give way to light… it leads somewhere.
Don’t we all need those reminders sometimes.
Rabbi sacks says that today, we run in order to stand still. And in the end, we forgot how to stop, how to rest.
But… Life has a purpose and God has a plan, and I am an integral part of that story. And you are an integral part of that story.
So Hashem says to Moses, I have a great gift in my treasure trove, I’d like you to give it to… bni bechori, my firstborn… the Jewish people. It’s name is Shabbat. If you guard it, it will help you remember who you are, what’s most valuable I life and what you are here for!
Shabbat Shalom!
Virtual Classes and Davening
Thursday at 4:30 pm – Judaism’s Life Changing Ideas
Friday Kabbalat Shabbat at 4:10 pm (Candle Lighting: 4:41 pm)
Saturday Havdallah at 6:00 (Shabbat out 5:55)
Sunday at 10 am- Contemporary Issues from a Jewish Lens- Exploring Modern Orthodoxy
Tuesday at 1 pm- Parsha Class