I don’t know who came up with that expression, “not a day off, but a day on”, but it really is appropriate. As Thursday comes around, it is time for me to go shopping and to get ready for Shabbat. I did not keep Shabbat all of my life; it has only been in the last few years that I discovered what a private oasis it is, and how the air even feels different on this day. It is interesting to step back in time and remember what it felt like to stop picking up the phone on Saturday for the first time, or to avoid reaching for a pen the entire day. At first people asked me, “How can you live with so many restrictions?” But avoiding these “forbidden activities” did not seem like a deprivation. After all, who am I to think that I can’t leave the world alone for the day? And guess what? Everything was still there when I “got back” from the oasis of Shabbat.
I did not jump in, full speed ahead, to full Shabbat observance. I don’t think anyone does. I started by lighting Shabbat candles and making a special meal on Friday night. Then I learned some of the laws of Shabbat and became taking them on gradually. With every new observance, even if it included a refraining from beloved activity (like listening to the radio), I felt a kind of liberation in giving it up. I realized how dependent I was on these things, and by giving them up once a week, I had a new taste of freedom.
Shabbat is a great time for families. I know how often my son has to compete for my attention with phone calls, e-mails and whatever is in the oven. On Shabbat, I have none of these things to distract me, and can give him some hours of full attention. Shabbat is quintessential family time, and it is for this reason that many families want to begin observing Shabbat for the first time.