Recovering The Lost Benefit Of Sabbath

The observance of Sabbath is particularly strict in the orthodox Jewish tradition. The Sabbath has been practiced in the Christian tradition also, but in a less strict sense. With the passage of time the idea of setting aside time for rest has been lost for many of us. Here is a way of bringing the benefit of this ancient practice to a modern people. Background music is "A Pure Embrace by Music of Wisdom

Transcript

Dear friends,

Many people,

Especially anyone brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradition,

Will be familiar with the idea of Sabbath.

The keeping of the Sabbath arises from the following words which appear in the book of Genesis.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing,

So on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

The observance is particularly strict in the Orthodox Jewish tradition,

Where any manual work whatsoever is considered a breach of the command to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest.

The Sabbath has been practiced in the Christian tradition also but in a less strict sense.

With the passage of time,

The idea of setting aside time for rest in this way has been lost for the vast majority of us.

Even the most casual glance at our way of life today shows that people are rarely at rest unless they are actually asleep.

The song New York,

New York released by Frank Sinatra in 1980 refers to New York as the city that never sleeps.

New York is far from the only restless place in our ever more frantic world.

Now it's clearly impossible,

Not to mention undesirable,

For anyone to try to bring our modern world together to observe a day of rest.

Is there even one of us who would wish to see all about us coming to a complete standstill?

But it doesn't have to be a case of all or nothing.

It's not necessary that the world be totally still before any of us enjoy the last benefit of the Sabbath.

It should be possible,

And it is desirable,

For each of us to establish a Sabbath spirit of our own on a day and at a time that suits ourselves.

Our bodies and our minds can be restored if we learn to regularly come to a standstill and allow ourselves to simply be.

With that in mind maybe we could practice stillness for just a minute right here and right now.

So close your eyes.

Give yourself a break.

Take in a deep breath.

Hold for a second or two and then let it out with a big sigh.

Don't you feel a little more relaxed?

So let's enjoy that feeling again.

A big breath in.

Again gratefully holding for a second or two.

And release some more tension as you let the breath out with a big sigh.

And now the promised 60 seconds of silence.

Know where to go,

Nothing to do,

Just a little music to help you on your way.

Welcome back.

I hope you're feeling a little more relaxed now.

So what might we do to rediscover the benefits of Sabbath?

The first point to make is that it will be counterproductive to consider this idea as set in stone.

Yet another task for the to-do list.

Another something to make us feel bad if we don't succeed.

This is not what we're aiming for here.

But how about one day a week when we will not automatically check social media?

One day a week when we will buy nothing at all?

What about one day a week when we will deliberately set aside an hour or two for prayer or reflection?

One day a week where we might each make three phone calls to people who would appreciate a call?

Or a day when we take a gentle walk in nature and notice the beauty of the world about us?

And I'm sure every one of us can add to this list of desirable actions.

These are approaches that we can forget to do as we fall into the habit of treating each day as the same as the last.

Just another day.

What a pity to see the sun shining down and we failing to open our eyes to see the wonder of it all.

We miss the opportunity for desirable actions as our lives fall through the black hole that is a life lived without allowing time for quiet reflection.

This is not a set of suggestions all of them to be followed on the same day.

Just pick one for this week and one for next.

The idea is to provide ourselves with an opportunity,

Hopefully once a week,

To step off the train treadmill of the ordinary and escape the drudgery of the routine.

Think of how good it would be,

Even once a week,

To turn off the autopilot switch and to allow space for our spirits to operate freely.

Now the best laid plans can come up against the brick wall of reality and I'm sure you've all seen that happen time and time again.

So what if something happens,

Some demand is placed upon us,

Some opportunity to perform a good deed,

A call to lend a helping hand.

Then of course we abandon the plan,

We do the good deed and we come back to our Sabbath plan another time.

The Sabbath reminds us to make time for being rather than doing.

And to reflect and give thanks for all the many benefits that we enjoy even in our most difficult times.

The Sabbath is a gift that comes to us from the Judeo-Christian tradition but it can be adapted to benefit people of many different traditions in a very different world from the world in which the commandment was issued for the first time.

So may you be well.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you make space in your life for the doing of nothing.

This will not be an empty space but a container for your hopes.

A space where awareness and gratitude live,

Where imagination runs free.

A space where your life can find its meaning.

May this be so for you and for me.

Namaste.

Reviews

Timely advice to hear on the day of rest; thank you Tony for the reminder that we are human beings, not human ‘doings’ 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Today is the Sabbath and so I am grateful for stopping to just be in this moment.Thank you for the reminder..which I need on a loop!

Beautiful and inspiring, oh ye what a restless world .. thank u 🙏🏻

At one point in my life, I participated in candle-lighting on Sabbath eve and experienced the peace and beauty of a day of rest. Thank you for the gentle reminder to create my own sweet rituals for this.

I especially appreciated your beautiful blessing at the end of the meditation.
“…May it be so for you and for me.”

Very peaceful to remember that one day a week is for rest.

I found the suggestions to set aside time at least one day a week to just be something to consider. I remember older members of my parish telling me about the blue laws. Nothing was open before noon on Sunday, because people were in church. In Germany when I was an exchange student in the early 1990’s nothing retail or cultural was open on Sunday. I would have liked museums or similar cultural sites to be open during inclement winter weather. The day was meant to be spent in church and then with family, difficult to do the being with family when in a different country. In better weather I took walks along pedestrian trails. It was an adjustment from a country that didn’t really acknowledge a day of rest anymore.

Thank you for the gentle and creative reminder of finding rest in our busy life Namaste

So beautiful and helpful.
❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏❤️

Dear Tony so wonderful and soothing to hear your lovely message. God bless you! 🙏🏾🙏🙏🏻👼🏾👼👼🏻✝️🛐🕊

What a lovely reminder Tony. Wish I didn’t have to work Sundays but for now, I do.
Hope you are doing much better. Thinking of you all in the group.
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Good morning Tony! This meditation brings back so many memories of growing up. Sunday was definitely a family day and being together.
Then as I grew up it’s was lost in the busyness of getting chores done for the following work week. Now as I’m older I’ve gone back to the days where I have slowed down the pace. I enjoy each day without rushing but Sunday is when we put down the projects we’re working on, and take time off. I walk daily but I’ll pull out a book, or sit and knit or work on a puzzle which are quite and peaceful and relaxing for me.
Thank you for this reminder. We all need to take that one day(Sunday) and just relax. Especially now during the Holidays when things can get overwhelming.
🙏🏻💕

I especially liked: May you make space in your life for the doing of nothing.
Sincere thanks Tony.

I’m making an effort to have “me” time; “simply be” time every day. Especially now with the holidays approaching. A walk or reading for pleasure makes a difference. Thanks as always Tony 🙏🏻🌺

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Thank you so much Tony. This meditation is so lovely. It took me right back to the days when Sunday was that special day especially when I was a child. I have no siblings so Sunday was a day for mum, dad and Senga. I still treat it as my day of rest and look forward to it.
May you be well, may you be happy and may you have peace. 💖😊🕊🙏

Thank you 🙏 for the reminder to put aside time to rest and be still.

Thank you Tony! Very good insights 🙏 💕 I plan to listen to this track regularly to remind myself of it 😉

How good it was to reflect on a tradition so many of us have sadly lost. How good it felt to reflect on feasible alternatives on this regular Tuesday. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

Amazing thank you 🙏