delighting in Shabbat through special food, clothes, and use of time.” Washofsky acknowledges that“the idea of mitzvah, of commandment, is deeply problematic in Jewish theology,” but at the same time,“no matter how“Reform” our Judaism , it would be Jewishly unthinkable without the mitzvot of Shabbat .’ He draws on the earlier works, especially Gates of the Seasons and Gates of Shabbat , to outline what contemporary Reform Jewish Shabbat observance might look like. Washofsky concludes:
What unifies these alternatives is the conception that Shabbat is a day that is not to be treated like any other. It is not merely a day off: it is rather an expanse of time that is holy, different in quality and essence from all other days, consecrated both to God and to us for the purpose of our fulfillment as Jews.’
Finally, in 2007 came the URJ’s Embracing Shabbat Initiative, based on Rabbi Eric Yoffie ’s biennial sermon. This initiative was primarily focused on Shabbat synagogue observance, and in particular Shabbat morning services. But Yoffie also spoke to the place of Shabbat in the practice of individual Jews:
But most important of all, Reform Jews are considering Shabbat because they need Shabbat . In our 24/7 culture, the boundary between work time and leisure time has been swept away, and the results are devastating. Do we really want to live in a world where we make love in half the time and cook every meal in the microwave? When work expands to fill all our evenings and weekends, everything suffers, including our health. But families take the worst hit. The average parent spends twice as long dealing with email as playing with his children.
For our stressed-out, sleep-deprived families, the Torah ’s mandate to rest looks relevant and sensible. Our tradition does not instruct us to stop working altogether on Shabbat ; after all, it takes a certain amount of effort to study, pray and go to synagogue. But