Since I became frum, I have fallen, deeply, madly in love with Shabbos. I absolutely love it. Making Shabbos, even after all this time, is a labor of love. And then, when the house in clean, the work is done, and the candles are lit, it's just fun.
Of course, Shabbos in the Aztec Palace is a little different without Builder. Not bad, just--different.
While it's true that Builder is not there to sing zemiros and learn with (and it's one of the things I miss--we'd crack the seforim every Shabbos, everything from the parsha to the daf to Pirkei Avos), Shabbos is still Shabbos. Truth be told, I kind of enjoy making Kiddush and Havdalah (and spare me--I've been drinking the Havdalah wine for weeks and have not grown a beard, so let's put that little myth to rest.) I enjoy leading my seuda'ot, just me, the Things, and AriSparkles, who has been joining us as late. Sometimes Queen Mom comes in, and it's really fun. And, while the zemiros have given way to show tunes (I'm sure ours is the only Shabbos table in Boro Park where the strains of "Stepsister's Lament" can be heard), I think the Things enjoy it more. And really, isn't that part of the point? If our children see Shabbos as something enjoyable, won't that keep it going more than the hellfire and damnation of the community?
Shabbat Shalom! If there is anything I'd like to do better as a Jew, it's a more complete Shabbat. But I'm so used to using every minute of the weekend, I'm still realizing how much work over the rest of the week it would take to get a whole 25 hours off. Do you have any tips? Some of my favorite Jewish memories as a kid was havdalah, but as an adult I don't feel like I can do that if I've been driving around doing errands, or going in to work, all Saturday.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in the last couple months I've not missed a single Sat. morning Torah study. I may have to go to work after that, but at least I'm starting on a few hours of Shabbat.
The Pirke Avot is one of my favorite Jewish texts as well, both to study and to live by.
Hilary