Judith Shulevitz

My book was written in part to look at the Sabbath from the point of view not of a great prophet, which Abraham Joshua Heschel absolutely was, a great rabbi, a great prophet, a great master of poetry and theology, but from the perspective of an ignorant, flawed human being, right? And the great lesson I learned from writing this book was I don't have to yell at myself for not doing it.

My book was written in part to look at the Sabbath from the point of view not of a great prophet, which Abraham Joshua Heschel absolutely was, a great rabbi, a great prophet, a great master of poetry and theology, but from the perspective of an ignorant, flawed human being, right? And the great lesson I learned from writing this book was I don't have to yell at myself for not doing it.

I can't do it until I become part of a community that does it. that makes rest something pleasurable, that makes it festive. So one of the ways I like to define Shabbat or the Sabbath, really, because this is true of the Christian Sabbath and the civic Sabbath as well, is that it's a four-step program for creating community and social cohesion, right?

I can't do it until I become part of a community that does it. that makes rest something pleasurable, that makes it festive. So one of the ways I like to define Shabbat or the Sabbath, really, because this is true of the Christian Sabbath and the civic Sabbath as well, is that it's a four-step program for creating community and social cohesion, right?

So the four steps would be write laws to limit work time, make sure the schedules are coordinated, make it a regular habit so that it becomes a regular norm, and then The fourth is really the most important. Make it festive. Make it fun. Fill it with things. Fill it with meals. Fill it with long walks.

So the four steps would be write laws to limit work time, make sure the schedules are coordinated, make it a regular habit so that it becomes a regular norm, and then The fourth is really the most important. Make it festive. Make it fun. Fill it with things. Fill it with meals. Fill it with long walks.

Fill it with what they call Shabbos Shluff, which is a Shabbos nap, sometimes with mandated sexual activity if you're married. That's the Jewish Shabbat. The Puritan Sabbath, which is another one we think of maybe not so pleasurable, but they found what they were doing to be pleasurable, which is sort of attempting to reenact a biblical Sabbath.

Fill it with what they call Shabbos Shluff, which is a Shabbos nap, sometimes with mandated sexual activity if you're married. That's the Jewish Shabbat. The Puritan Sabbath, which is another one we think of maybe not so pleasurable, but they found what they were doing to be pleasurable, which is sort of attempting to reenact a biblical Sabbath.

And always, always, always being together because you just can't do this by yourself. Like I said, in part, it's like a mutual non-compete clause. So if other people are running around you being crazy, there's nothing restful about that. You need the atmosphere of repose.

And always, always, always being together because you just can't do this by yourself. Like I said, in part, it's like a mutual non-compete clause. So if other people are running around you being crazy, there's nothing restful about that. You need the atmosphere of repose.

Time... It's an architecture, as Heschel says, and it shapes what we do with our lives. So you have a family. Each member of it probably does something else. One of your children goes to school. One of them seems like maybe doesn't. I've heard you talk about your family.

Time... It's an architecture, as Heschel says, and it shapes what we do with our lives. So you have a family. Each member of it probably does something else. One of your children goes to school. One of them seems like maybe doesn't. I've heard you talk about your family.

Your wife does one thing. You do another thing. Your friends do yet more different things. So if there isn't a rhythm to the week, If there isn't time set aside for everyone to stop working, everyone in your family, everyone in your friend group, everyone on your block, right? So this is positing this sort of fantasy of a society that is totally homogeneous.

Your wife does one thing. You do another thing. Your friends do yet more different things. So if there isn't a rhythm to the week, If there isn't time set aside for everyone to stop working, everyone in your family, everyone in your friend group, everyone on your block, right? So this is positing this sort of fantasy of a society that is totally homogeneous.

But if there isn't a general atmosphere of stopping, then there won't be a feeling of repose or menucha. There will be a kind of a loneliness and you're sort of looking around and everyone else is running around. So it is the social structure of time. So when I talk about the Sabbath, I say it's not just non-work or non-productivity. It's absolutely collective non-work and non-productivity.

But if there isn't a general atmosphere of stopping, then there won't be a feeling of repose or menucha. There will be a kind of a loneliness and you're sort of looking around and everyone else is running around. So it is the social structure of time. So when I talk about the Sabbath, I say it's not just non-work or non-productivity. It's absolutely collective non-work and non-productivity.

Because I simply cannot stress this enough. If it's not happening collectively, it's not going to happen.

Because I simply cannot stress this enough. If it's not happening collectively, it's not going to happen.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.