Lisa J. Grushkow 45
we are asked to abstain from the work that we do to earn a living, and instead to reflect, to enjoy and to take a stroll through the neighborhood. We are asked to put aside those Blackberries and stop gathering information, just as the ancient Israelites stopped gathering wood. We are asked to stop running around long enough to see what God is doing.
And this most of all: In synagogue and at home, we are asked to give our kids, our spouse and our friends the undivided attention that they did not get from us the rest of the week. On Shabbat we speak to our children of their hopes and dreams. We show them that we value them for who they are and not for the grades they get or the prizes they win. During the week we pursue our goals; on Shabbat we learn simply to be.”
Yoffie insists that Reform Shabbat observance will not be“neofrumkeit” or“an endless list of Shabbat prohibitions; like Betton, Yoffie argues that“we fled that kind of Shabbat , and for good reason.” Rather, it will be creative, emphasizing the positive mitzvot over the negative ones, revisiting the definitions of work and rest, and recognizing that no approach will fit everyone. The resulting publication, Embracing Shabbat , thus offers many texts and suggestions for study, but unlike the CCAR publications, it is not a guide.
One might see Embracing Judaism as the end point; following the Reform model of informed choice, the individual studies and decides. But the“worthwhile tensions” referred to in Gates of Shabbat are prominent. In particular, what does it mean to put aside our Blackberries and stop gathering information, if Reform Shabbat observance is to be characterized by positive, and not Negative, commandments? What are we to make of the fact that groups outside the world of organized religion— most notably, Reboot and its Sabbath Manifesto 2*— are calling precisely for a