Shabbat

Shabbat Shalom

I'm afraid that my knowledge of Jewish traditions is pretty minute. Hopefully I will do a good job of explaining

Shabbat is the Jewish holy day, or days rather at the end of the week. It celebrates the day of rest, the seventh day after God created the Earth and the Heavens in six days. For secular Jews it’s a time to relax and reflect on the week and spend time with family in friends. For more devout Jews there is a set of rules to follow for Shabbat. As it is the day of rest, it's forbidden to work or partake in creative tasks. There is a list of about 30 or so creative tasks that should be avoided over Shabbat in order to achieve true rest.

While it was great to have Shabbat dinner at the Hostel last week, I felt like I was getting a very genuine Shabbat experience, but I did this past weekend. I was invited by one of my co-workers to come for Shabbat dinner and despite the fact that the family is very secular, I decided to follow the 30 rules for a day and do my best to "keep" Shabbat. It turned out to be a very relaxing day, all though at times it was a little tedious. From sun up till sun down I didn't write, cook, "sow or reap." It was nice to have time to myself and think.

My co-workers family can trace its roots back to Jewish traditions in the former Yugoslavia and Austria. Both sets of ancestors arrived in the British Mandate in the 1930s, escaping the violence and the holocaust that would claim most of their families back in Europe. They've been established in Israel now for two and half generations.  My co-workers husband is a professor of physics, there adult son who joined us is an industrial designer and their daughter will be beginning university in the fall.

It was soo good to eat with people again! Dinner at the volunteers compound is pretty quiet which is strange for me. At home and at University, dinner is for cooking together and eating together, so I was very grateful to have been invited over and very grateful for the spread, which is laid out in front of me; holloum cheese, olives, a quiche, crepes and latkes decorate the table.

We talk a lot about heritage, what it means to be an Israeli, the right to return and what that means for the Palestinians. For this family, like many of the families I have met, it's about living together. It's only when we live at the expense and demise of others that it is unacceptable.  

I tell them about Canada, my heritage, where my family came from. It's interesting to get there take on Canada. I think that I might have scared their kids away from visiting though, too cold. They are astonished that Canmore still gets snow even at this time of year.