We all live busy lives. We barely have times to talk to our family nevermind sit and have dinner. Everybody wants us and can call or email us on moments notice. It feels as though we are all “on call” everyday. How can Shabbat possibly fit into our lives?
We need to to start slowly and bring in one thing at a time. For my family, we decided to start many years ago by not watching TV on Saturday. We watched TV every other day. On Saturday we would find something else to do together. This was our begininning. We started keeping shabbat. Removing TV made us remember Shabbat – this is the Mitzvah.
How can you remember Shabbat? Perhaps you can come home on Friday night and say Shabbat Shalom. That would be your start. Other families we know make Friday night movie night – a time to rest and relax – a time to keep Shabbat.
Make a promise that you will try for 3 Shabbats.
Here is a quote from a book that describes living Shabbat intentionally:
“Shabbat reminds you of the need to live your life deliberately. Kavannah means to act and to live with intentionality and consciousness. Instead of going through your life on ‘automatic pilot’, you can live with awareness and intentional choice. Kavannah reminds you that you are part of the whole cosmic ‘tapestry of being’. Out of that awareness, which is the gift of Shabbat, you rediscover and live from your essence, from your wholeness.
The commandment to “keep and remember “(shamor v’ zachor) means to become conscious of the day, of G-d, and to act and refrain from acting based on that remembering. Shabbat is a commitment to recognize, honor, and deepen the inherent harmony of Creation — and as a result, to co-create that harmony and balance within your relationships, your homes, your self, and your world. “ Keep and remember” also means become conscious of who you really are and as Abraham Heschel said, “to bring together the scattered forces of the self.” Shabbat offers you an opportunity to practice living intentionally.” — by Dawn J. Lipthrott from Shabbat a Taste of Wholness
