My son has fallen in love with baseball. He played on a team for the first time this fall. He loved it so much that he decided not to play soccer but to do fall baseball. Baseball sounded good because it was local and soccer required traveling up to 2 hours away.
This baseball idea is all fine but they do not give a schedule ahead of time. There is no way of knowing when the games will be. So guess when they are playing. Yep, 9 AM on Saturday.
Here is my dilema. We are not halachic Jews and we do not follow the word of our rabbi. However, we do observe Shabbat starting on Friday night through Saturday night. They way we approach Shabbat is that we do not do anything related to our work during the week. Shabbat is for rest and renewal. That means we focus on family, reading, playing outside, inviting friends over and enjoying the aspects of life we do not get to do while working during the week. The things that we consider part of the work week are the TV, computer, electronic games, and shopping.
What do we do with baseball? Is baseball OK? If baseball is what is not? Is the issue Shabbat or that my Saturday schedule is being changed?
If I am raising Jewish children with the love and passion of Judaism how do I teach the importance of Shabbat? Is it by telling them what they cannot do? I hope not. But at some point I will have to say no. What is my line? Where am I comfortable?
- Going to a friends house – well yes if they are playing outside
- Going to the mall - well here seems to be the line
- Going to the movies - this seems to step over it
- Going to a friends to play video games – no
- Going to grandparents where they watch TV – yes, it’s their grandparents
- Going out to a party on Friday night – is one night different then everynight?
My children are still young so this is on the edge of theoretical, however the baseball thing is real. I do not think I have a problem with baseball but I am still wrestling with it.
What do you do? Are you a halachic Jew? Does having a rule book simplify things? Are you practicing Jew? How do you do Shabbat with your children? What would you do in this case?
cross-posted on Blog Midrash
rachel said,
June 26, 2009 at 11:20 am
Oh what a dilemma! I don’t have children but I have had to wrestle with similar issues relating to things I normally did and enjoyed ‘before’. I hope someone with more knowledge can come along to give some advice…
Love the new blog-style, by the way!
Shabbat Shalom
rachel
mTp said,
June 30, 2009 at 8:07 am
I was hoping more people would have ideas have how they approach this. Perhaps the title is not direct enough. Anyway, as my children get older I expect that this will become more and more a wrestle. Sometimes I think it is much easier either to not bother or be a halachic Jew. In the former you just go with the flow and do as the Jones’ do. In the latter the rules are all defined. Sitting in the assimilated world but not joining in on everything means there are lots of wrestles. There are lots of choices and things to think about. At least I do have Judaism to guide me with its wisdom.
jewwishes said,
June 30, 2009 at 10:25 pm
It is a dilemma, and one that needs defining for your particular family. To be a Jew is to wrestle, in more ways than one can imagine.
Baseball…such a wonderful sport, good for the mind and emotions, and good for discipline in a team environment. It is an outdoors/outside sport! It is an activity that brings a sense of rest, in the fact that you are involved in doing something good for the mind and spirit, and doing something you don’t do during the normal week. It is a renewing act. And, for me, renewal and rest is what the Sabbath is about. Rest can take on the form of baseball, in the sense it brings inner comfort.
That is my opinion.
Lorri
mTp said,
July 1, 2009 at 11:16 am
I like your approach. I think it is similar to how I approach Shabbat. Rest and renewal is what the intention of Shabbat should be. I will keep wrestling – maybe that is what called me to Judaism ;>
rachel said,
July 2, 2009 at 10:13 am
Aha! yes, I think Lorri has hit on something there. Rest and renewal to me may not be the same as it would to you (or it might be very similar, but different around the edges). Some Shabbats, my idea of rest involves lounging around and reading, but the reading material wil be quite mentally demanding. Other Shabbats, I may throw myself on my bike and speed off into the distance, but my mind may not be working very hard at all…!
jewwishes said,
July 13, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Rachel: Yes, I agree with you…what is considered rest and renewal for some, might be considered tediousness, work, or a chore for others. I feel the same way about jogging, as you do about biking…it is renewing and restful for me. It releases the inner tensions of the physical and the mind, allowing me to concentrate on the spiritual.
Yes, Mike, R&R is what Shabbat should be, in my opinion. You, seem to be constantly wrestling with R&R, and there is nothing wrong with that, either. It’s the Jewish way…wrestle and question.
~~Lorri