With Halloween approaching this weekend, this week’s Daily Kavanot will share some meaningful tales of ghosts and spirits from Jewish tradition.
The Babylonian Talmud (Ketubot 103A) shares the story of Rabbi Judah the Prince, who, upon his deathbed, instructed his children to honor their mother, to set his lamp, bed, and table in their usual place, and to keep his servants, who would serve him in death just as they did in life. These arrangements were essential because, every Friday night, the ghost of Rabbi Judah the Prince returned to his home to celebrate Shabbat.
One Friday evening, however, a neighbor knocked at the door, and the maid scolded the visitor, “Be quiet, for Rabbi Judah the Prince is sitting at his table.” After the rabbi heard his maid reveal his presence to the neighbor, he never returned home, lest he make a public insult to the earlier sages, who could not visit their families following their death.
What I find most beautiful in this passage is that the ghost of Rabbi Judah the Prince returns only for the simple pleasure of Shabbat dinner alongside his family. Despite his stature in the worlds of Jewish politics and study, what calls his spirit most is a simple meal with his loved ones, reminding us that the most precious moments in our lives are not difficult to find, should we make the time and space for them.
—Rabbi Joh Knobel