By Cantor Emma Lutz
A quote from Leslie Weatherhead, excerpted from one of my favorite siddurim (prayer books), Gates of Prayer:
“I have always found prayer difficult. So often it seems like a fruitless game of hide-and-seek where we seek and God hides…Yet I cannot leave prayer alone for long. My need drives me to God. And I have a feeling that God has God’s own reasons for hiding God’s self, and that finally all my seeking will prove infinitely worthwhile. And I am not sure what I mean by ‘finding.’ Some days [Sabbaths] my very seeking seems a kind of ‘finding.’ And of course, if ‘finding’ means the end of ‘seeking,’ it were better to go on seeking.”
Every week we fall into routines: carpools, endless emails, meal preparation, the bittersweet rhythm of our working lives. Shabbat provides us with an opportunity to hit reset on this pattern of work and obligation, to re-commit ourselves to a deep search for meaning and to gift ourselves an opportunity for renewal. Prayer—although often challenging and mysterious—can be a gateway to this resetting of ourselves, and in truth, it is the spiritual Shabbat seeking Weatherhead speaks of that offers us the most meaningful means of restoring and refilling ourselves each and every week.
This Shabbat, invite yourself to press pause on your weekly rhythm and to make space for seeking. Create time for family, for our community, for prayer, for yourself. Discover (or rediscover) experiences that are calming and meaningful to you, ones that will give you the energy and spiritual sustenance to get through the week: prayer, stretching, singing, journaling, reading a good book, spending quality time with your children or grandchildren, exploring a new corner of the city. Come study Torah at 9am on Shabbat morning, attend Shabbat services on Friday at 6:15pm, or try a new Shabbat experience, our Re:Shabbat service at 7:30pm this Friday.
May this and every Shabbat be a time for seeking God, for finding our most authentic selves, and for a creating a restorative, peaceful recess in our busy and rich lives.