Each year, my synagogue school class has to sing two prayers at a Friday night service, one about the requirement to celebrate Shabbat (the Sabbath), and one hoping for peace (there are many, many prayers hoping for peace, even within a single service). And each year I look at those prayers again, through the eyes of my new class, or through the lens of my ever-changing experience of my own life, and I see new things. This year, after watching dozens of Christmas movies, even before Thanksgiving, I started to think about how celebrating Shabbat is like having Christmas once a week (though when I tried this idea out on my students, they rolled their eyes and said, but we don’t get presents on Shabbat!).
Shabbat, as the day of rest each week, is, for Jews, about taking a time out to think about how your life is going, and being with family and friends, and singing familiar songs, and eating familiar foods, often to excess, and focusing on joy and connection and comfort instead of on accomplishment and being busy. And those are the goals at the heart of most of the Christmas movies I watch too – along with all of the romance and silly subplots and misunderstandings, of course. Each movie, in the end, is about the search for a version of joy and comfort and love that fits the individual characters in that story. There’s also a lot of family drama, and rigid rules to overcome, and the race to get everything done in time, and awkward socializing, and odd food you don’t really want to eat, just like on Shabbat.
It’s possible that I’m just seeing this comparison between Shabbat and Christmas as an excuse for the many many Christmas movies I watch each year, but I think it’s also the reason why I watch the movies in the first place: each one, or at least each of the good ones, is a chance for my soul to reset and refill with hope and wonder, so that I can get through the difficulties of the rest of my life.
When the kids learn the prayers in class they have to do a lot of talking, and writing and drawing, about what they want their own versions of Shabbat to be, and, inevitably at least one of my students tells me that she shouldn’t have to do the work because her family doesn’t celebrate Shabbat, because they don’t celebrate it in the traditional ways. And I tell the kids that, even though I don’t always celebrate Shabbat with all of the rituals, I’ve been able to take things from the tradition that work for me and add my own ideas in order to reach the goal of connection and rest. Shabbat is a weekly holiday of aspiration, as much as of ritual; it’s about finding a way to fill your soul so that you can get through the rest of the week feeling whole, instead of fragmented or out of whack. And really, anything you can do to fill your soul is like your own version of Shabbat. Maybe you meditate or do yoga, maybe you spend time with friends and reconnect with the version of yourself that you can’t be at school or work, or maybe you spend time reading, or talking to your family, or playing board games, or making art, so that you can take a deep breath and feel like yourself again before going back out into the world and doing what’s required of you. To which most of my students roll their eyes, of course.
But I really believe in the power of using Shabbat as a lesson for our lives as well as making it a special day of the week, and the dogs, as always, are great role models for this. For example, I think the dogs have their own mini-Shabbat each time they go outside (unless Kevin is outside, in which case Ellie runs back to our door to wait for us while Cricket plays out her romantic comedy). Even on a bad weather day (though not in the rain), the dogs sniff all of the messages from their friends and neighbors, and they listen to the sounds of the birds and trains and children and buses, and they run and play and scout out good places to pee, and then they go back inside rejuvenated and ready for their next nap. Although, I think Cricket and Ellie would agree with my students that all of this Shabbat stuff would be made much better with presents, preferably food-related. And I can’t disagree.
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rachelmankowitz 
Although the kiddos roll their eyes now, they’ll understand the importance of the Shabbat “reset” when they’re older. I’m sure they’ll be grateful for your teachings.
I hope so!
My daughter said that about Thanksgiving! And I too like the messages in the Christmas movies, except for the ones that imply good values can only be found in small towns 🙄
Good people are everywhere!
Love this sentence: “There’s also a lot of family drama, and rigid rules to overcome, and the race to get everything done in time, and awkward socializing, and odd food you don’t really want to eat, just like on Shabbat.”
It’s true!
I hear you, although I get the impression that the expectations for Christmas are a lot higher. But I think it’s an interesting parallel
I think the expectations are so high because it only happens once a year. Having a new chance every week to find peace in a new way takes a lot of pressure off, theoretically.
I come from a Christmas tradition and I like this parallel. I think you’re onto something, Rachel, at least as far as what’s really important is concerned.
Thank you!
A wonderful post, Rachel. I love what you are proposing to your students. It is all about connections and how we share our love and compassion for one another.
That’s definitely the goal! Thank you!
You are welcome. Keep up the good work!
Lovely and inspiring ❤️☮️
Thank you!
We all need to take time to reflect on our lives, our connections and our goals.
I love the idea that it’s a weekly holiday of aspiration
Me too!
I think you’re right about the similarities of Christmas and Shabbat. And I can completely relate to what you say is the purpose of Shabbat, because when I go to Sunday church services, that’s exactly what I’m looking for as well. Thanks for this insightful post!
Thank you!
Great to see you write about Shabbat, such a powerful antidote to the mad swirl of contemporary American life. Shabbat Shalom!
Shavuah Tov!
I grew up in the era of Sunday being the “day of rest”, as we are taught that, on the 7th day of creating, God rested. Stores were closed, bars were closed, many restaurants were closed, and people spent time with family and used Sunday as the “reset” button. Society demanded access to everything on Sunday that could be found on the other days of the week as it began to seemingly need more time “to do stuff”. Your students, who aren’t doing what responsible adults need to do in life, don’t yet understand the importance of resting and re-setting. I suspect they will thank you for the understanding they will get as they become adults.
Honestly, they are so overscheduled that they already crave a rest day, or four.
The dogs definitely have that cycle of rejuvenation. As usual we can learn a lot from them!
Definitely!
Beautifully said.
Thank you!
Very interesting. I never thought of comparing Shabbat to Christmas, but the way you explained it makes sense.
Thank you!
What a thoughtful blog! It rings so true to me on so many levels. Mini-shabbats are for everyone, and of course, your students are just going to roll their eyes when you try to liken Shabbat to Christmas. -) But, I always figure that in a few year’s time, one of your students will need and heed that advice when they are desperate, so the eye rolls now are well worth it. I hope that on your Christmas Movie list you have the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol. To my mind, it’s the best Christmas movie, and a great movie, period. Imagine if people really could have a change of heart like Scrooge did! What a more wonderful it would be.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Julie
I ALSO LOVE CHRISTMAS Movies – and I loved your thoughtful blog – I agree!
Thank you!