There is a sign in the center of town that is changed each week with the times that Shabbat begins and ends. Shabbat… G-D rested on the seventh day, and He has commanded the children of Israel to do the same. Something that was unheard of in those days — take a day off from your work? In fact, don’t even cook or go out of your house. To some, that sounds appealing. To others, it sound obscured. But never the less, that is what G-D commanded the children of Israel to do.

In Sderot and in much of Israel, by two o’clock on Friday afternoon, things start winding down, shops close and the anticipation of Shabbat starts growing. The meals for Shabbat are being prepared, the house cleaned, the table set. By candle lighting time, everything is ready and the men are walking to the Knesset to pray.

Twenty four hours without my computer? No T.V? You want me to walk and not drive today? Turn off my cell phone? Yea, in fact, stay in your pajamas if you like… all day! And do what?… Well, for starters, you can spend some time reading your Tanakh or your Bible; maybe spend some time thanking G-D for the past week and your family. Maybe have a real heart felt Father and son or Father and daughter talk with your heavenly Father. How about some quality time with your spouse and your kids? When was the last time you all sat and played a game together, or all sat down at the table and had a meal together?

For most of us, Saturday is a “catch-up” day and that is too bad. G-D intended it to be a day of rest. We are so busy running here and going there, we don’t have time to stop. If we took that day and made it special … maybe, just maybe, we would not need a “catch-up” day after all.
Just a thought.