Hebraic Activism: Shabbat

Rabbi Dr Judith Rosen-Berry, lecture at Leo Baeck College, London (9/23/13):

The role of the Jewish people and Jewish teachings in this world is being the historical deconstructors of oppressive meta-narratives.

Eric Fromm, To Have or To Be? (p.16):

There is a fundamental difference “between a society centered around persons and one centered around things”.

Eric Fromm, The Art of Loving (p.95):

Modern man has transformed himself into a commodity; he experiences his life energy as an investment with which he should make the highest profit, considering his position and the situation on the personality market. He is alienated from himself, from his fellow men and from nature. His main aim is profitable exchange of his skills, knowledge, and of himself, his "personality package" with others who are equally intent on a fair and profitable exchange. Life has no goal except the one to move, no principle except the one of fair exchange, no satisfaction except the one to consume.

Eric Fromm, The Sane Society (p.360):

In spite of increasing production and comfort, man loses more and more the sense of self, feels that his life is meaningless, even though such a feeling is largely unconscious.

R. Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.128-29):

Paradoxically, Judaism affirms both the dream and the reality, both the perfect, redeemed world to be brought into being by human effort, and the imperfect, unredeemed world of today...This means, first, to accept the world, affirm its sanctity, participate in it fully, and enjoy it. At the same time, the divine ideal prods the people to fundamental criticism of society's status quo. By living in the world while at the same time offering a testimony of hope to redeem it, the Jews have become prophets of permanent dissent, demanding a messianic perfection and insisting that it is not yet here. In the rabbinic, halachic, style, this permanent revolution moves in ceaseless steps toward justice, acting in the best way possible in each moment until the final goal is achieved.

R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Lonely Man of Faith (p.51):

The Halakhah consider[s] the steady oscillating of the man of faith between majesty and covenant not as a dialectical, but rather as a complementary movement….The Halakhah has a monistic approach to reality and has unreservedly rejected any kind of dualism. The Halakhah believes that there is only one world – not devisable into secular and hallowed sectors….Accordingly, the task of covenantal man is to be engaged not in dialectical surging forward and retreating, but in uniting the two communities into one community where man is both the creating free agent, and the obedient servant of God.

R. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, (pp.22-23).

Menuha which we usually render with "rest" means here much more than withdrawal from labor and exertion, more than freedom from toil, strain, or activity of any kind...To the biblical mind menuha is the same as happiness...and stillness, as peace and harmony.

R. Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.131):

The world is flawed and full of suffering. To enter into the Shabbat spirit wholeheartedly, then, one must play with reality.

'As Though All My Work is Done', based on R. Nahman of Bratzlav's Likutei Tefilot 2:13 (from The Sabbath Soul by Eitan Fishbane):

Master of the world, let me merit the joy and freedom of the holy Shabbat, and let me nullify the enslavement of the days of the week. I pray that my mind will be completely settled, without any confusion at all - and that on the holy Sabbath no thoughts of labor and business, nor any worry or trouble, will enter my mind. Rather it will be in my eyes as though all my work is done. Then I will have truly attained the rest and pleasure and joy of the holy Shabbat.

The Pinnacle of the Week

R. Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.158):

The language of Jewish faith is primarily action, that is, by symbolic statements.

R. Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.130):

The power of this rhythm of redemption is that it allows the fullest participation in the world as it is while giving recurrent fulfillment to the ultimate dreams of perfection.

R. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, (p.83):

Judaism tries to foster the vision of life as a pilgrimage to the seventh day...It seeks to displace the coveted things in space for coveting the things in time, teaching man to covet the seventh day all days of the week.

R. Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.129):

There is no work to do, no deprivation. On Shabbat, there is neither anxiety nor bad news. Since such a world does not yet exist in space, it is first created in time.”

R. Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.158):

For the purpose of Shabbat, an ideal world has to be created, in part with props and in part by use of the imagination. It is a little bit like having a Broadway opening every week. All the family have assigned parts. Each person is his or her own producer. It takes preparation, memorizing the script, and ensemble playing to carry it off successfully. The test of success is that the players develop the willingness to keep doing it and that the family and the others who are the audience get the message.

Eric Fromm, The Sane Society (p.348):

A relatively primitive village in which there are still real feasts, common artistic shared expressions, and no literacy at all – is more advanced culturally and more healthy mentally than our educated, newspaper-reading radio-listening culture.

But what about fixing the world?

R. Avi Weiss, 'The Eruv: A Microcosm of the Shabbat Spirit' (pp. 40-46):

The carrying of objects, money, books – so crucial to commercial and human needs – is symbolic of one’s inability to open up completely. An object carried can be seen as a barrier between people. On Shabbat, the human being is enjoined from carrying in order to be able to relate to others as he or she is.

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In this setting, people are in a better position to express and discover the true nature of their characters and the personalities of their neighbors. All human beings created in the image of God possess infinite value. In the humdrum of weekly pursuits, these values are often overlooked as people lack the time to concentrate on the goodness inherent within themselves and others. On Shabbat, masks are removed: the real persona emerge.

Gorenberg, Gershom, “I Don't Text on Shabbas” in The Daily Beast (6/17/2013):

In the 21st century, you also have to turn off the touchscreen to become human. [Shabbat] provide[s] an opening, a doorway. In a world of people hidden behind screens, a doorway is a gift.

Rav Yitz/Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way (p.128-43)

Even as this enclave of perfection is carved out in the realm of time, the world goes on as usual in the realm of surrounding space. This is why Shabbat needs a community to be credible.

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This partial consummation takes the frustration quotient out of the dream. It makes the dream too real to dismiss, too ecstatic to set aside even for the delights of the status quo. Yet Shabbat also allows the joy and affirmation of life-as-it-is to be full-hearted. It gives the revolutionary a sunniness that comes from joy realized; this mellows the puritanical fervor of the radical mission. Similarly, it injects a subversive, heady taste of what could be, even in those who are the beneficiaries of the status quo. It is a rhythm that gives strength to carry on the long-term calling of trying to realize the impossible dream. The vision, realized in such moments along the way, gives the strength to walk indefinitely through the unending corridors of history.

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Faith is the commitment to live a life that is growing, to be so nurtured by chessed and the taste of Shabbat as to go out and transform the world.

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By providing a sacred ground for existence, Shabbat enhances the sanctity of life.

John-Paul Flintoff, 'Eight Reasons People Don't Get Involved', The Guardian 9/25/14

A few years ago, I became very worried about the planet and decided to Do Something. But what? I found some experts, and asked them. One was Dr David Fleming, who had invented a clever mechanism to incentivise individuals – and entire nations – to save energy. What, in his opinion, was the most important thing anybody could do to tackle the twin threats of climate change and resource shortages?

“Join the local choir,” he said.

At first, I admit, I found his answer annoying. Was he being cute?

Not at all. The most important thing, when trying to Do Something, the late Dr Fleming explained, was to build a sense of community. It’s hard for individuals working alone to achieve much. Joining the local choir would give me a way to help build a stronger community, while also (as a happy bonus) providing an opportunity do something enjoyable. If I didn’t like singing, he added, I could join a local football team. And when I have a network, I can start working with them.

Another expert I interviewed was Alasdair McIntosh, a Scottish campaigner and author of Soil and Soul. In his book, McIntosh – who comes from a strongly Christian tradition – talks a great deal about the idea of loving your neighbour. I was curious why he put so much stress on this. “Because you can stand in the street with your megaphone campaigning,” he said, “but why should anybody listen to you if you are not a good neighbour?”