It is no exaggeration to say that we are living in perilous times. As we consider our world today, there are so many things to make us fearful, angry, or upset. All around us, there are threats to security, acts of antisemitism, and countless other anxiety-producing events and occurrences. Sadly, this is not new to us.

It is a time for a call to action. None of us knows how it ends. What we do know is that we are not powerless to act. Our voices, our values, and our votes all matter. Whether we are in unprecedented times or if this is all familiar to us is not the question. As Jews, we have faced unimaginable horrors. At the same time, we now have privileges and advantages that would have been unimaginable to our ancestors.

Rabbi Joachim Prinz was a rabbi in Berlin, Nazi Germany. He escaped to the United States and became a staunch advocate of civil rights. He spoke at the March on Washington in 1963. Among his words was the reminder to love your neighbor as yourself. “Neighbor,” he said, “is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of man’s dignity and integrity.”

We can march and vote and speak up. Over time, we have learned to cope, to mourn, and to fight. We need to do that as a community. We also need to be kind to ourselves and rest. If you have been struggling to read the news or to look to the future, we would like to invite you to welcome Shabbat with us. Friday night is not just the end of the week; it is the start of the holiest time we have.

We welcome Shabbat to remind ourselves to rest. Whether we are tired from working or fighting or weary from despair, Shabbat can be a comfort. Shabbat is a time when slowing down or stopping completely is the order of the day. Certainly, we can take Shabbat at home or alone, but to do it with others is something truly wonderful. Songs sound better when there is a chorus of voices (and not just because it drowns out my mistakes). Prayers are more heartfelt when we stand (or watch) alongside others who share the same hopes. And it helps to not feel so alone.

Even in difficult and dark times, you are not alone. You have a community filled with people who care about the world, the future, and, most importantly, care about you. If you are a regular Shabbat service-goer, you know how this can be. If it has been a while, maybe now is the time to come back. If it is not your practice, perhaps this is a time to give it a try. The more of us there are, the more we can share.

The writer Ahad Ha’am famously noted, “More than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jewish people.” We are fortunate to be able to gather. We are so lucky to have access to a sanctuary and one another. Let us come together for Shabbat, for rest, for peace. Shabbat is our taste of Paradise, the ideal world. It is, as Heschel wrote, “an island in time,” away from our worries and troubles. So let us take Shabbat. And then when the new week comes, we resume the work of building the world as it should be.

Yours,
Rabbis Benjamin and Sara Zober