Judith Shulevitz

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here.

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here.

I would argue that they're trying to create meaning. I think of all the rules around the Sabbath sort of telling you to stop doing things, which are the should nots, as creating a kind of frame. If you think of it in space rather than in time, or you think of a frame in time rather than in space, or you could think of it as a proscenium around a stage.

I would argue that they're trying to create meaning. I think of all the rules around the Sabbath sort of telling you to stop doing things, which are the should nots, as creating a kind of frame. If you think of it in space rather than in time, or you think of a frame in time rather than in space, or you could think of it as a proscenium around a stage.

Or you could think of it as a break after a line of poetry. These are things that create meaning. They sort of bound time and say, this is going to be special. Now we're going to make something extraordinary out of the ordinary. Because the ordinary stuff of the Sabbath isn't that extraordinary, right? You're supposed to have a meal. The Jewish Sabbath has a big Friday night meal.

Or you could think of it as a break after a line of poetry. These are things that create meaning. They sort of bound time and say, this is going to be special. Now we're going to make something extraordinary out of the ordinary. Because the ordinary stuff of the Sabbath isn't that extraordinary, right? You're supposed to have a meal. The Jewish Sabbath has a big Friday night meal.

Sometimes it's a big lunch after synagogue. The Christian Sabbath had a big old Sunday lunch. The Black Church is famous for its fabulous lunches. Could be a dinner party, right? But it's something else, right? You are supposed to come together. You know, in a Christian idiom, I'd say you're supposed to break bread. So you're supposed to be collective.

Sometimes it's a big lunch after synagogue. The Christian Sabbath had a big old Sunday lunch. The Black Church is famous for its fabulous lunches. Could be a dinner party, right? But it's something else, right? You are supposed to come together. You know, in a Christian idiom, I'd say you're supposed to break bread. So you're supposed to be collective.

You are supposed to let your mind wander, wool gather, have a moment of just letting go. Not all the time, some of the time. But these are the positive things that the frame gives a special gloss to the way it does a work of art. It says this space here, it's meaning. Makes sense of it.

You are supposed to let your mind wander, wool gather, have a moment of just letting go. Not all the time, some of the time. But these are the positive things that the frame gives a special gloss to the way it does a work of art. It says this space here, it's meaning. Makes sense of it.

So there's a lot of different ways of thinking about that. The typical rabbinic way of explaining that is that there are these set of rules, set of a kind of work that you don't do because that kind of work is acting on the world. And the Sabbath is a time when you're supposed to stop acting on the world. You're supposed to stop doing things to make things.

So there's a lot of different ways of thinking about that. The typical rabbinic way of explaining that is that there are these set of rules, set of a kind of work that you don't do because that kind of work is acting on the world. And the Sabbath is a time when you're supposed to stop acting on the world. You're supposed to stop doing things to make things.

You're supposed to let the world rest as well as you. So this is the sort of environmental dimension of the Sabbath. But pre the environmental movement, there was a great rabbi in Germany, and he said, what is there to safeguard the world from man? And that's the Sabbath.

You're supposed to let the world rest as well as you. So this is the sort of environmental dimension of the Sabbath. But pre the environmental movement, there was a great rabbi in Germany, and he said, what is there to safeguard the world from man? And that's the Sabbath.

So these rules, you could almost say these rules are to safeguard the world from man, but also to safeguard you from being an eternal slave. Today, we would say of the clock. In the deep past, we might have said from the struggle to survive. Another way of thinking of the rules is as a giant neutral non-compete clause or a solution to the problem of collective action.

So these rules, you could almost say these rules are to safeguard the world from man, but also to safeguard you from being an eternal slave. Today, we would say of the clock. In the deep past, we might have said from the struggle to survive. Another way of thinking of the rules is as a giant neutral non-compete clause or a solution to the problem of collective action.

So let's take it in the modern world. If I run a store and everyone else is going to keep their store open on Saturday or on Sunday, it's very hard for me to shut my store down. I'm not going to be able to compete. I'm going to lose business to someone else. But if everyone's shutting their store down, then I'm cool, I'm good.

So let's take it in the modern world. If I run a store and everyone else is going to keep their store open on Saturday or on Sunday, it's very hard for me to shut my store down. I'm not going to be able to compete. I'm going to lose business to someone else. But if everyone's shutting their store down, then I'm cool, I'm good.

I can just go do my thing, whatever it is, go to church or stay home with my stack of books or just hang out with my family, whatever it is. So those are some of the things that I think the rules are meant to create or prevent.

I can just go do my thing, whatever it is, go to church or stay home with my stack of books or just hang out with my family, whatever it is. So those are some of the things that I think the rules are meant to create or prevent.