Not FBB, I learned little by little the beauty of the day of perfect rest. It took me a bit of time, sometimes I succeeded, sometimes yezer hara was stronger, but I will not give up my 25 hours of rest for any salary in the world. Or for any exotic destination that I can reach at a very cheap price only on Shabbat.
This is my choice and I am happy with that.
One of the reasons I love to spend Shabbat in Jerusalem is that only there I can have a full feeling of Shabbat. I love to join the groups going to the Kotel, to dress beautifully and to say Shabbat Shalom to the people on the street. You feel and see that it is a moment of celebration (if you have eyes to see, and a heart to feel, of course).
One of the most difficult challenges for an observant Jew in galut is that when you walk on Shabbat to the shul or to join your friends for a Shabbes dinner, you feel that you are out of space. People are running their cars, the shops are opened and, in general, it is business as usual. You can ignore it, but once you see that it is possible to live differently, your aliya ticket is ready.
I spent Shabbat in Tel Aviv and in other places as well and depending of the neigborhood, you still can enjoy your day of rest, but again, nothing compares with Jerusalem.
Thus, when I read about the discussion regarding the possibility of using the buses in Tel Aviv during Shabbat I had a little sad feeling. Tel Aviv is very touristic - but Jerusalem is too - and it is not easy to start at 50 or 30 or even 20 to be Shomer mitzvot and to go to the shul instead of watching your favorite show. In order to convince more people about the need of the first choice, you need a smart and well targeted communications campaign. What you offer is so precious that any effort is priceless.
No comments:
Post a Comment