Evergreen

We achieve nobility and holiness through practicing self-restraint.

The commandment to be holy permeates every other commandment, fills in gaps between commandments, and infuses every human action.

Getting ready for the arrival of the Sabbath Queen.

Shabbat observed at home is a day immersed in an atmosphere of rest, relaxation, and rejoicing.

The problem is not that Shabbat is irrelevant, but that it is too relevant.

Contemporary Jews have adapted traditional Shabbat practices in non-traditional and sometimes surprising ways.

In modern times, non-Orthodox Jews have largely abandoned Shabbat observance, despite many innovations intended to encourage it.

The masters of Kabbalah explained all of the elements of the Sabbath rituals as a consistent thematic drama of the reunion of the Shekhinah the Sabbath bride, with her mate--and in so doing exerted considerable influence on the shape of those rituals.

The Rabbis used requirements and prohibitions to shape a Shabbat experience in which creative activity is set aside to make time for matters of the spirit. Second of two parts.