Our Non-Jewish Guest’s Thought re Shabbat
This Friday we hosted a lovely group of non-Jewish tourists from England.
They arrived before Shabbat started, so while my husband welcomed them I was still rushing around flavoring the soup and tearing tinfoil and turning on the Shabbat lamp by my bed.
And then, about half an hour after our guests had arrived, I lit candles and felt Shabbat wash over me. Like the peace a woman feels when hours of labor and contractions end abruptly and she holds her beautiful, long-awaited baby in her arms.
Relieved, I exited the kitchen and when I plopped myself down at the table a woman in the group said to me, “I know how you feel, what it’s like making a big festive meal like this. I do it every year for Christmas! It’s a lot of work!”
Most of us live in communities where every family makes Shabbat every week. But please don’t forget what an accomplishment this is. And how amazing we Jewish Moms for making this happen Every. Single.Week.
So true. The pre-Thanksgiving issues of women’s magazines used to make me laugh at the hysteria surrounding preparations for one meal (that had no restrictions on how you could cook and heat the food).
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