“Rest will simply make us more human.” –Tricia Hersey, American poet and performer
Every week, I meet with twelve and thirteen year old students as they prepare for their b’nai mitzvah, and I am continually shocked at how overscheduled they are. Even if they enjoy every single activity, ranging from sports to robotics to creative thinking projects to dance and performing arts, it is hard to imagine being a young person with every hour of the day filled to the brim with class, homework, and extracurricular activities. Our kids, and frankly, all of us could use a breather!
This week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel, begins with a reminder from Moses about the importance of creating time for rest. The word וַיַּקְהֵל vayakhel means “to gather,” and Moses does just that; he gathers the People of Israel together so that no man, woman, or child will miss his reiteration of God’s commandment to observe Shabbat, to create a practice of rest. Moses doesn’t gather the community to discuss or reinforce any of the other Ten Commandments–it is Shabbat that takes precedence here. In short, he infers that we cannot commit to any of the sacred work of our tradition–the work that our People are uniquely appointed to do–if we don’t create time for sufficient rest.
How can you make a commitment to Shabbat this coming Friday and Saturday, knowing that this week’s Torah reading insists upon this quietude? And if it’s not possible to carve out time for quality rest, can you make time for a sweet Shabbat ritual that helps you slow down? When Friday or Saturday schedules appear too full, what can you cut back on? When can you make time for idle moments that feel like Shabbat throughout the week?
Rest is available to us, it is commanded of us, and it will nurture our minds, bodies, and souls when we take a break.
–Cantor Emma Lutz