Daddy!” Eli called from the back seat. “You didn’t stop at the stop sign!”
“Sure I did,” I said.
“No, you didn’t. You were still going two miles an hour.”
Eli was right. Yes, I was on a quiet road. But still—I hadn’t come to a full stop.
I’ve been thinking about that moment ever since. What does it take for us to stop completely? Not just slow down. Not just reduce the noise. But actually, intentionally stop.
Shabbat gives us that chance every single week. Some of us pause for the full 25 hours. Others pause to light candles, to connect with someone they love, or to offer a prayer. However we do it, Shabbat invites us to pull our lives to a gentle, holy halt.
Stopping can feel awkward, even uncomfortable. But our souls crave it. Releasing what we’ve been carrying—if only for a moment—is profoundly freeing.
So yes, I’ve been thinking about stopping. And today, when I came to a full and true stop at that same stop sign, I took a deep breath… just long enough for the car behind me to blare its horn.
Sigh. We need to stop. But we’re not meant to stay there forever. Stopping is our moment in time to refresh, reset, and breathe—so that when we move forward again, we do so with clarity and intention.
With love and Shalom,
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro
