Welcome to Week 3! So far we've lit candles and blessed wine and now it's time to EAT!
How many of us simply eat to live? I (Rabbi Ariann) know I don't. I eat to celebrate, to mourn, to enjoy company, to fill space, and yes, of course, to live. The Sabbath meal has traditionally included all of the elements of "joyful" eating our tradition could think up: wine, meat, and bread. All of these elements were expensive and "special," and therefore a sign that Shabbat was really a central value of the Jewish home. Stories abound of miraculous appearances of the Prophet Elijah bringing a Sabbath meal to an impoverished home, always just in the nick of time. The goal of Shabbat food was not simply to feed a hungry belly, but to step beyond the barest needs of eating to survive, and experiencing the possibilities of actual "calling Shabbat a day of delight" (in the words of Isaiah). For the rabbis, that meant having the nicest food available.
What does it mean to have the "nicest" food now? Your favorite dessert? The exorbitantly priced gluten-free treat you never buy for yourself? Your favorite fruit you avoid because it's shipped all the way from New Zealand? Just a simple challah, with a simple soup and a simple salad? The food you can get on the table without experiencing performance anxiety?
Perhaps you have to exclude wine or bread from your meal to preserve your health, or choose to exclude meat. Or perhaps you get to have all of these things any day of the week and it's hard to recreate the delight an impoverished home could experience in a simple loaf of bread. But perhaps with the kavanah that Shabbat is a "taste" of the world to come, even the most mundane things can be newly delightful.
We hope you'll join us for a simple Shabbat supper before services on February 3rd.We'll share the blessings we've practiced over the past few weeks and break bread together, have a Soulful Shabbat service featuring our BK Band, and have moments along the way to share blessings again even if you missed dinner. If you are so moved to make our Shabbat truly a delight, please contribute to our oneg Shabbat (post-service dessert) by bringing a baked good from home with an ingredient list (please no nuts). Gluten-free and other allergy-aware desserts are especially welcome and will be served on a separate table.
