Shabbat B/reishit [10-25-08]
Shabbat shalom! To our family this Shabbat is especially meaningful
since it represents the anniversary of the Bar M. of our our dear
Daniel and because, for Me, this day marks a Milestone Birthday.
SHABBAT B’REISHIT. celebrates the Holiness of TIME …. a perhaps
appropriate Consideration on One’s Eightieth Birthday.
The Story of Creation is one of our most well-known . The Torah
begins with God/s Creation of the world -- light, heaven and earth, the
oceans and the dry land, the heavenly bodies, plants, animals and
finally human beings -- all done in just six days. Wow! Then God
blesses the seventh day, Shabbat, the day of rest and re-Creation and
directs man to do the same. What follows in the Parshat is the familiar
story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the saga of Cain and
Abel and their sibling rivalries -- and on through ten generations --
coursing the centuries from Adam to Noah.
In preparing for my words this Shabbat, I noted that our Parshat
begins with Creation as an alteration , or modification if you will, of
Space. Stars, moons, planets, plants, animals, and, of course, man --
all are lovingly created by an all-knowing and beneficent God to
occupy Space in the Universe. But there are those, notably the
eloquent Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heshel , who have pointed out that
the Concept of Creation is one that may also be applied to the notion
of Time and to its inherent holiness. I, for one, find this expansion
intriguing.
In the Beginning, God creates the entire Universe, including Time
itself, out of nothingness. This wondrous Act of Creation is completed
and perfected in Only Six Days. Thus we have Time used as a
Vehicle to introduce plants, animals, and minerals which will all occupy
Space in the Universe. God/s Creations are holy and the Time which
He has used to Create them also becomes holy. And, of course, the
holiest segment of Time is the seventh day -- Shabbat -- on which God
rested and on which we, too, are commanded to leave matters of
Space and worldliness behind and to rejoice in the magnificence of
unencumbered Time.
Heschel has written that "We are all infatuated with the splendor of
space, with the grandeur of things of space." In our daily lives we
notice primarily what our senses can see, touch, taste, smell, and so
forth. In other words, we tend to respond to what has been created
in Space. He asserts that "we know what to do with space, but do not
know what to do about time...." He goes on to suggest that most of
us are even Afraid of Time and spend our lives in the pursuit of more
and more possessions, really just fillers of space, so that we do not
have to even consider time and its passage. He also teaches that "we
cannot conquer time through space, we can only master time in time."
Our scholars have taught us that we can participate in the Act of
Creation through our decision to live spiritually relevant lives, lives
that stand for more than the physical acquisition of Things of Space,
but which instead, celebrate the Sacred Moments of Time.
Rabbi
Azriel of Omaha/s Temple Israel, wrote in a recent issue of the Jewish
Press that we are not accustomed to seeing things
"from the aspect of eternity." We are too busy spending time hurriedly
rushing from one moment to another, failing to savor the moment we
are in. I would suggest to you that we are fortunate , indeed blessed,
to be part of a faith which enjoins us to Pause on a weekly basis and
rejoice in the Sanctification of Time. Indeed, with our cycle of
Festivals, rituals, and Holy Days, we are regularly reminded to Create
our Spirits anew by observing the Holiness of Time. Our calendars
celebrate sacred events and also designate specific periods of Time to
help us mark and heal from the inevitable sad moments in our lives.
Heschel has called time "the process of Creation" and things of
Space " the Results of Creation." He has labeled Time "eternity in
disguise."
May this time of the New Year prompt all of us to use our
time -- the minutes, hours, and days of our lives, to sense the
Presence of Holiness in our daily existence. May we use these
moments to Elevate the Ordinary -- so that we, too, may participate in
the ongoing Creation of our World.
Shabbat Shalom !
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