I love Friday night!

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Parshat Bo
January 18, 2012

Good evening,
It is so nice to see you here on a Shabbat evening.  For me, Friday night is one of my favorite times.  While for me, the most stressful part of my week can be Shabbat, Friday night is a time when our gears shift.  We change from the hustle and bustle of the week to a different avir, a different atmosphere.  On Friday night, we come together as a family.  We light candles.  We drink wine.  We, hopefully, enjoy dinner together.  We bless our children and our spouses.  In creating this time together, we pause from our hectic lives to acknowledge our gratitude.  

No matter how stressful, no matter how sick we get, no matter what challenges we are dealing with on a regular basis, we are lucky.  We live, as Jews, in America, in the 21st century.  There is no time like the present.  We have more opportunities, benefits, mitzvot as American Jews or Jewish Americans than anywhere else.  While we haven’t seen a Jewish president, we have seen candidates for VP and many high offices, some of whom have also demonstrated that they could be observant of the Sabbath AND serve the country.

So this Shabbat and every Shabbat is a time for thanks.  It is a time to remember that even Gd, who can do anything at anytime, rested.  Did Gd rest because Gd needed rest, NO!?  Gd rested to demonstrate to us that we, human beings need a break now and then.  Gd rested to demonstrate to us that no matter our situation, we can and should take some time, to power down, see our family and enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Shabbat is also a time for education.  We can read Jewish texts or secular texts.  We can discuss issues of today or yesterday.  We can look at the world around us and consider the blessings of this world.  

In this week’s parsha, Bo, we read about the preparations for leaving Egypt.
Chapter 12
24 "You shall observe this as an institution for all time, for you and for your descendants. 25 And when you enter the land that the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this rite?' 27 you shall say, 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.'"

From the very beginning of our traditions, education has been central.  Why do you think that Jews have been so successful in this world?  Given the opportunity, education, secular and religious has been a central value for most Jews.  We have said to our children, ask questions, think about the world around you.  Do not accept the status quo, but challenge it, change it, imagine what the world could look like with your stamp on it!  In our Torah, when talking about the rituals of Passover, the Torah says “When your children ask you. . .”  This is a big assumption.  While it seems that children naturally ask questions, this skill must be cultivated.  Children must be challenged, encouraged, excited to ask questions.  This takes parental interest and involvement.

This is what I pray I will be capable of with my daughter.  I pray that when she asks, I will say, “Let’s look it up together” rather than, “shush, I’m busy.”  I pray that I will investigate the world more through her eyes.  I pray that I will make Shabbat a special time for her, so that she always looks forward to it.

I pray the same for you.  Tonight was not exactly what we had planned.  Next month we will have dinner, but it is important for things not to work out sometimes.  We cannot appreciate what does work without the occasional reminder that not everything works.  Imperfection helps us appreciate when things do work out.  Tonight was a lovely evening.  It is nice to see you here and I pray we will have many, many more Friday nights together.  If you would like to do this more than once a month, please tell me, so we can make it happen!
Shabbat Shalom.