We’ve made it through the marathon of fall chaggim (Hebrew for “holidays”), when we celebrated the creation of the world and considered how we wanted to return to our best selves, engaged in a day of atonement, sat in the sukkah to recall our wandering and the harvest, observed Shemini Atzeret (Hebrew for the “eighth day of assembly”), and rejoiced as we both ended and began the cycle of Torah again.

Once again, we find ourselves back at the beginning. In Beresheet (Hebrew for “in the beginning”), the world is created. We meet Adam and Eve, the first humans, and their children, Cain, Abel, and Seth. The ten generations from Adam to Noah are listed.

The first perspective on the creation story ends with, “The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. And on the seventh day God finished the work that had been done and ceased on the seventh day from all work that had been done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all work of creation that had been done.” – Genesis 2:1-3

Just as we learn that God rests, we too, have the weekly opportunity to pause. Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan (1881-1983) taught, “An artist cannot be continually wielding his brush. He must stop at times in his painting to freshen his vision of the object, the meaning of which he wishes to express on his canvas. Living is also an art….The Sabbath represents those moments when we pause in our brushwork to renew our vision of the object. Having done so we take ourselves to our painting with clarified vision and renewed energy.”

Shabbat is our weekly gift to pause, reflect, and renew our spirit. Whether it’s sitting with family and friends around the Shabbat table, taking a stroll (thankfully the weather has cooled!), reading a book in quiet, or playing that game your family has been asking for weeks – you get to choose your own Shabbat adventure. How will you make Shabbat special for you this week?