The month of sabbatical has ended. I wrote, read, exercised, and cooked. Among the lessons gleaned during this precious time, one of the greatest was felt the very last day. While it took a good week to get used to being on sabbatical, quieting the relentless questions and worries in my mind, it took almost no time to jump back into work. A light switch immediately turned back on.
We are living in environments in which productivity, exertion, and movement connote success. If we’re not emailing, calling, or creating, we must not be doing anything of value. However, even this one month of respite reminded me of the importance of restoration and rejuvenation: Planned moments to give ourselves room to think, breathe, reevaluate, reflect, and reprioritize—not only as gifts to ourselves but as gifts to those around us.
The Talmud (Beitzah 16a) reminds us that human beings change with the onset of Shabbat, our weekly mini sabbatical. When Shabbat begins, we are given an additional soul and when Shabbat concludes, the soul is taken away. The extra soul is akin to an extra battery. Shabbat, the designated time to cease from “doing,” is meant as a recharge, sacred hours in which the extra soul calms the body, stills the mind, and readies us for what we might face in the week to come. When the soul is taken away, we walk into time a bit more refreshed, motivated, and inspired.
We cannot ignore the extra soul God offers each week. I return to my professional responsibilities with a widened understanding that rest is not frivolous. Rest is essential for progress and growth.
Each Shabbat, God’s holy, soulful gift is our reminder to look at everything we’ve done, breathe, and know that with a little grace and recharge, we have so much more to offer, so much more to do.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Nicole Guzik is senior rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik or on Instagram @rabbiguzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.
