Someone recently passed this article on to me from the New York Times written by Judith Shulevitz. It wasn't until I finished the article that I realized the author was the same woman whose book I just finished on sabbath: The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time.
The book did a good job of talking about histories of Sabbath in both the Jewish and Christian traditions as well as lesser known groups such as the Hutterites or Sabbatarians; she also draws from Abraham Heschel who I've mentioned in previous posts. Her mix of history and personal writing was a little scattered for me, she never really seemed to say anything at the end of the day. She claims Sabbath is a completely dead practice, and I would also challenge her on this point. I liked her article better.
She begins by asking the reader how you would recreate the Sabbath, and then describes a few fellow New Yorkers who do so.
I like the intentional taking of time set aside and time with family that the therapist from Brooklyn Heights is careful about. I like that she is not threatened as a confident capable professional woman who also affirms the masculinity of her husband through a traditional family blessing. Since when have you seen someone so comfortable in the particularity of gender roles?
I have a harder time separating my theology from Sabbath as does the Israeli novelist. Why call it Sabbath then? Why not just have personal time that you take to set aside each week. Perhaps it is his Jewish heritage that provides meaning for him, but even that heritage was a focus on time rather than a practice as he claims. He doesn't like the rules, but the rules come from defining Sabbath as practice rather than as time.
Finally, the professor asks my favorite question. Most people who are trying to reclaim Sabbath, do so alone, often during moments during their week when they can fit it in. Sabbath is about time first, not just "time when you can fit it in." And she asks about how we can move away from the individual spirituality of Sabbath back into a communal framework.
Check it out:
Creating Sabbath Peace Amid the Noise
...and let me know how you would/do (re)claim Sabbath today.
Note: Why is an article on Sabbath in the "Fashion & Style" section, and then listed under "cultural studies"? Is this perhaps another cultural critique on our anxiety about taking time out? Will we go out of style? Be in bad fashion?