Many people think that Shabbat is only about prohibitions: you can’t work, you can’t use technology, you can’t even write or turn on the light. But this is only the outward appearance.
In fact, Shabbat is not about what is not allowed, but about what is possible and worthwhile. It is a day of opportunity, deep rest, sincere communication and renewal.
Nothing distracts you on the Sabbath. The phone doesn’t ring. Work chats are silent. There is no fuss. And now there is space: for family, for conversations, for silence, for yourself.
I love Shabbat because of the leisurely walks, the delicious food prepared in advance, the opportunity to meet friends in the synagogue or to host guests at my home. We talk, laugh, share stories and meanings. It is not a “lost” day – it is a day that you get back to yourself.
There is time to sleep. There is time to just lie down with a book. It’s time to think about something more than the daily grind. It is on Shabbat that new ideas often come to us – when the brain, freed from noise, begins to sound in a new way.
Shabbat is about depth. About how a stop can be a start. It is about silence, which speaks more than a thousand words.
Isn’t it cool?
