January 11, 2009 at 8:59 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: blessing, G-d
Whoever derives benefit from this world without saying a blessing is regarded as if he steals from G-d … by Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa
This hurts. It is a very pointed statement. It seems so relevant.
What do you think? Do you say enough blessings? How many blessings do you say? How many are enough? Do you feel like you are stealing from G-d?
June 2, 2008 at 5:15 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: blessing, candles, Shabbat, time
My weeks are long. I put 100% into my week. I have a wife and 2 children. I work full time, have a side project and am taking Meah (Jewish studies classes). 100s of emails, tons of calls and meetings galore, the week is hectic. When Friday comes I am ready.
I have always enjoyed the end of the week. In recent years, with the children, the change to the weekend never seemed to come. Before children we would have a relaxing Friday night and sleep in on Saturday and make a lazy weekend of it. With children the wake up call still is around 6:30 maybe 7. Shortly after they want to go downstairs and have breakfast. There went the hanging out in bed.
We started a new tradition in our house more than a year ago that I never understood. It seemed so old and religious. Now we do it every Friday night. We have a Shabbat dinner. We start off with lighting the candles, giving blessing over the wine and another over the Challah (or another yummy bread).
I never realized the power of lighting those candles and saying the blessings. Then one weekend after several weeks of doing Shabbat we were not able to do the new routine. The weekend was a flurry. I went to work and did not know what hit me. I did not feel like I left.
Lighting the candles and saying the blessings are a physical marker. They define the space between the week and weekend. It is fabulous. The brain registers this and a marker is placed. Now the weekend can begin.
Try it. Do Shabbat dinner for 3 weeks. Get past the awkward beginning. Enjoy the marker in time. Enjoy your weekend.
