Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

The American Jewish writer Abigail Pogrebin wrote an article admitting that, despite attending services regularly for 8 years she was struggling to find in the observance of Shabbat the “supposed tranquility and blissful disconnection of Shabbat, what Abraham Joshua Heschel called, “the palace in time”. She says she can’t seem to pull off Shabbat. Yet by the conclusion of the article, she acknowledges “moments of luminosity”. She enumerates these times: “I’ve come to anticipate Friday nights in a way that surprises me. The 6 pm service at my synagogue shimmers like a lighthouse at the end of each week – a religious deceleration. I love watching the candles lit by multiple generations on the bimah. I review the week in depth during the silent prayer, in a way I previously couldn’t justify. I listen to Hashkiveinu – Guard us from harmful things” – and feel protected. I close my eyes during the Shema. I finally know the Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, by heart. I pray for the sick, and focus, as I never used to, on the weekly tally of struggle and loss. I take a “gratitude inventory” when we sing the shehechiyanu blessing, and welcome the chance to thank G-d, communally, for bringing us to this moment.”