Shabbat is a time of peace and transcendence. It’s a time when the profanity of the week evaporates and palpable holiness envelopes the day. One who is sensitive can sense that time is fundamentally different on Shabbat. It might operate according to the same speed as the weekday, but it has an entirely different character. That blessed 25-hour period is suffused with the beauty of sanctity. It is an island of holiness in the space of time. The presence of G-d reigns and one who observes the day basks in His light.
I spent this past Shabbat at my parent’s home, located in a largely secular area. Their neighbors decided to throw a raucous party, with the crassest music blaring. Besides the fact it was disturbing, it pierced the aura of sanctity that marks the day. I could have been frustrated, but the party had another component to it. Amidst the music, I heard the ceaseless conversations of people. It seemed to be a lively party where people were enjoying themselves.
To hear people connecting, enjoying, speaking – doing what humans do – made me happy. The jarring music was drowned out by the laughter of people. I like people. I like people a lot, actually. And to hear them having a good time endowed my Shabbat with a different type of beauty.
An unconventional sanctity, indeed.
2022