Judith Shulevitz

I mean, if you have a fabulous Jewish or Christian education, maybe you do know what you're supposed to feel, but you might not feel it for a long time. It might be alien to you. It's by doing that we learn. It's by doing that the meaning sort of yields itself up to us.

I mean, if you have a fabulous Jewish or Christian education, maybe you do know what you're supposed to feel, but you might not feel it for a long time. It might be alien to you. It's by doing that we learn. It's by doing that the meaning sort of yields itself up to us.

But if we have preconceived notions about what it means to go to services, what kind of person that makes you, if we have preconceived notions about how far we are from this tradition, then the words will be alien and repugnant, I think, to us. So I think the hardest thing is having patience.

But if we have preconceived notions about what it means to go to services, what kind of person that makes you, if we have preconceived notions about how far we are from this tradition, then the words will be alien and repugnant, I think, to us. So I think the hardest thing is having patience.

tolerating the alien and the somewhat alienating experience of going to a place that you're not familiar with, you feel like an outsider, you don't know the words, you don't know Hebrew, you don't know the tune of the hymns, if it's a church, and just saying, okay, this is okay. And maybe if I do it a few times, it will start to become more familiar.

tolerating the alien and the somewhat alienating experience of going to a place that you're not familiar with, you feel like an outsider, you don't know the words, you don't know Hebrew, you don't know the tune of the hymns, if it's a church, and just saying, okay, this is okay. And maybe if I do it a few times, it will start to become more familiar.

Or maybe first the social piece will come, and then I'll keep doing it, and it will start to feel more familiar. One of the things the Sabbath does is make time for study and maybe you'll learn more about what these things mean. But, you know, you're never going to get to this place of total meaning. You're never really going to get there. It's impossible.

Or maybe first the social piece will come, and then I'll keep doing it, and it will start to feel more familiar. One of the things the Sabbath does is make time for study and maybe you'll learn more about what these things mean. But, you know, you're never going to get to this place of total meaning. You're never really going to get there. It's impossible.

So the first time I ever wrote about this, the only thing that came to mind was a line from The Cat in the Hat, which is, it's fun to have fun, but you have to know how. You can't get what you need from a Sabbath if you don't prepare for it. If you want more than the normal mysticism...

So the first time I ever wrote about this, the only thing that came to mind was a line from The Cat in the Hat, which is, it's fun to have fun, but you have to know how. You can't get what you need from a Sabbath if you don't prepare for it. If you want more than the normal mysticism...

You need to elaborately prepare the meal, but you need to prepare it in advance so that you can relax and enjoy it. I mean, that's the sort of utilitarian notion of it. The more religious notion would be that you are doing it because God commanded you to do it. You don't necessarily always know why, but God commanded it. But, you know, you have to shop. You have to cook.

You need to elaborately prepare the meal, but you need to prepare it in advance so that you can relax and enjoy it. I mean, that's the sort of utilitarian notion of it. The more religious notion would be that you are doing it because God commanded you to do it. You don't necessarily always know why, but God commanded it. But, you know, you have to shop. You have to cook.

You might want to make plans with someone in advance. You invite people over. You have to make a challah. It's a Jewish Shabbat. And you have to do the preparation, which is also a preparation. You're preparing yourself to have this experience. You're not going to have the experience if you don't make it.

You might want to make plans with someone in advance. You invite people over. You have to make a challah. It's a Jewish Shabbat. And you have to do the preparation, which is also a preparation. You're preparing yourself to have this experience. You're not going to have the experience if you don't make it.

You are part of a community that's doing it, but it's not that the community gives you the meal. It's not that the community gives you the bath. So a Shabbos bath is very important. The mystics made a really big deal of this. In fact, one of the Kabbalists had a theory that your fingernails and your toenails were emanations of God.

You are part of a community that's doing it, but it's not that the community gives you the meal. It's not that the community gives you the bath. So a Shabbos bath is very important. The mystics made a really big deal of this. In fact, one of the Kabbalists had a theory that your fingernails and your toenails were emanations of God.

So you should always pair your fingernails and toenails and keep the pairings and bury them, not throw them away. But this is this idea of preparing your body, preparing your meal, preparing your home. You're supposed to clean your home. This one way in which the Puritans were very Jewish. They believed in having a full larder, taking a bath and cleaning the home before their Sabbath.

So you should always pair your fingernails and toenails and keep the pairings and bury them, not throw them away. But this is this idea of preparing your body, preparing your meal, preparing your home. You're supposed to clean your home. This one way in which the Puritans were very Jewish. They believed in having a full larder, taking a bath and cleaning the home before their Sabbath.

And they understood this idea that it's just not going to have that special quality unless you prepare for it.

And they understood this idea that it's just not going to have that special quality unless you prepare for it.