Shabbat Shalom

It is a rainy, cold day. The first one to feel like fall. Cold enough to keep me from walking during a a brief hour of sunshine. I haven't done anything special today, at least not that I think of as a true mitzvah. I have another condolence note to write but don't feel like it. And I just remembered that I am still out of shabbat candles so tea candles it will be again. I did offer to give a talk on LaShon Hara for our monthly women's Rosh Hodesh group, haven't heard back on that.

I did a little searching hoping to find inspiration. I did find this from an Interfaith website: jewish Spirituality Guide.

"One way Jews have classified the commandments is by breaking them down into two groups: mitzvot bein adam l'makom, commandments governing the relationship between the person and God, and mitzvot bein adam l'havero, commandments governing the relationship between human beings. Ritual actions like prayer, affixing a mezuzah to the doorpost and keeping kosher are all examples of the mitzvot between the individual and God. Donating to charity, providing for the needs of a wedding and comforting mourners are examples of mitzvot between people. Both kinds of mitzvot can be opportunities for spiritual experience.

The concept of beautifying a commandment, hiddur mitzvah, elevates every mitzvah to another level. If you are making blessings on Shabbat and you use a beautiful Kiddush cup or a challah cover that your children made in preschool, you know what I mean. It's a special thing, to feel connected to one another through ritual objects when we act out these rituals that are between us and God."

So as the sun sets on the mountains, and it is just me, alone in my home and nest. I will say a silent thank-you to G_d for the pink clouds on the horizon and the red roses splayed in a vase on my dining room table and for the every day miracle of being here, all the imperfection surrounded by beauty.

9/23/2011 Shabbat

This is my first shabbat since starting to write about mitzvot, and my first thought is I've got this one covered as I am going to temple tonight. It is the 90th birthday of a congregant and her twin sister...how cool is that, plus the cookies will be awesome. Also today is Selichot, which until a few seconds ago I didn't know how to spell or that it was the recitation of repentance prayers....ok so maybe not such a party, but clearly a good thing to do and get my mind in line for the big holidays coming up. I have also decided to have a sort of real shabbat at home, the sort of coming from eating leftovers, not having challah or kosher wine, driving to temple, using lights, cooking, cleaning or whatever. I am 100% Jewish but my practice is more like 10%. So a few small steps, plan to polish the silver candlesticks I got from my grandmother who did celebrate shabbat every week, probably even when she was hiding from the Nazis and even when they were new immigrants with next to nothing. Growing up it was all the beautiful silver in her cabinet that entranced me, kiddush cups, candlesticks and spice boxes. I know now that adding beauty to the rituals is a mitzvah in itself (although I can't find it in the list of 613 commandments of which there is a long list of sexual no-nos such as sleeping with your sister which I would have hoped was a no brainer). So despite all the other circumstances, the things I lack, the empty house, the not so traditional leftovers, I will spend a few minutes polishing candles and putting flowers on the dining room table say the blessings and then go to temple, ready to repent, repent, repent.