Shabbat

-Dr. Mel Waldman

December 5, 2010

How beautiful it is

to rest,

to

separate

from ordinary time,

to enter

holy time,

how beautiful it is

to celebrate

Shabbat.

How soothing it is

to be

in this

mysterious universe,

freed

from earthly demands

and

released from the burden

of

work;

how sweet it is

to bask

in our

sacred existence,

to

merge with neshamah y’tayrah,

our higher soul,

to

welcome

Shabbat

and

Shechinah,

the Sabbath Queen,

Divine Presence;

and

bless

the candles, wine,

and

two loaves

of

challah,

and

eat

the

Shabbat meals;

inhaling

beauty and being,

without

becoming,

without

doing,

without

acting on the universe;

how soothing and beautiful

it is

to

celebrate Shabbat.

How beautiful

is

Havdalah,

the

separation,

when we say goodbye

to

Shabbat;

we fill a cup of wine

and

light the havdalah candle;

we smell

sweet spices

in

spice boxes;

we say the blessings

over

wine, spices, and the havdalah candle

and

with the havdalah blessing,

we separate

holy time from ordinary time;

and we say goodbye

to

Shabbat.

Copyright Dr. Mel Waldman/The New Vilna Review 2010.

Dr. Mel Waldman, a psychologist, is also a poet and writer whose stories and poems have appeared in dozens of magazines including HARDBOILED DETECTIVE, ESPIONAGE, THE SAINT, POETICA, and AUDIENCE. He is a past winner of the literary GRADIVA AWARD in Psychoanalysis and was nominated for a PUSHCART PRIZE in literature.  He is the author of 11 books including I AM A JEW, a collection of essays, memoir, short stories, poems, and plays about his exploration of his Jewish identity published by World Audience.  Recently, he became the Director of the Williamsburg Clinic of the Interborough Developmental and Consultation Center, one of four Brooklyn mental health clinics of IDCC, as well as a school based program, serving a diverse client population that includes the Orthodox and Modern Orthodox Jewish community.