The Sabbath, A Reform Perspective -- 3/14/52

Rabbi Sidney Ballon delivered this sermon shortly after arriving at the Nassau Community Temple in West Hempstead, Long Island, New York where he spent most of his career.[i] He offers a clear message to his new congregation about the importance of Sabbath observance. The challenge he seemed to be facing was that because Reform Judaism had eliminated some traditional observances that were deemed inessential in modern times, many concluded that other fundamental rituals and commandments were also eliminated—a common misconception. He felt it was every Jew’s moral obligation to observe the Sabbath perhaps as much for the survival of Judaism as for the personal benefits such observance might render the individual.

...it is possible to pay tribute to the Sabbath in some fitting and joyful manner if the will to do so exists, and if we are concerned with Judaism and its future we should have the will.

====================================================

Rabbi Ballon probably in the 1950s

For our Torah reading this evening[ii] we have read one of the earliest Biblical passages that deals with the Sabbath, and if you are at all observant you will have noticed that the passage ended with verses which are also used as part of the liturgy of the Sabbath evening service[iii]. I touched upon modern Sabbath observance during our discussion of religious school matters several weeks ago, but since it is the theme of the Torah portion this evening let us pursue it a bit further.

The Sabbath is the most important and perhaps the oldest religious observance in Jewish life. It is the only Jewish observance mentioned in the Ten Commandments[iv] which is one the oldest sections  of the Bible. It is the only day of the week which in the Hebrew language has a specific name. And in the section read this evening and repeated on almost all Sabbaths it is referred to as the sign of the covenant between God and Israel. In other words Sabbath observance was the distinguishing characteristic of the faithful Jew.

I believe this ancient concept of the Sabbath still applies in large measure today. The Sabbath is a sort of barometer of Jewish life. So are a number of Jewish festivals, but none so tests Jewish sensitivities as the Sabbath. When feeling for the Sabbath is strong, the Jewish spirit is also strong. When it is weak, the Jewish spirit is also weak. Judaism without the Sabbath is a contradiction in terms. The poet Bialik[v] called the Sabbath the cornerstone of Jewish life[vi] and Achad Ha-am[vii], the Hebrew writer said, something also found in our prayer book that, “Even as Israel has kept the Sabbath so the Sabbath has kept Israel.” Sabbath observance makes for Jewish survival.

We have seen this in Jewish history. Jews have suffered in so many periods. The total pressure applied to Jewish life was such as could have broken a stronger people, but Israel had a way of relieving this pressure. It was only psychological but it was effective. The change of mood and the change of pace on the Sabbath refreshed his spirit and built in him a sense of dignity, of renewed his hope and faith, in a manner which could not be destroyed. He may have lived in the ghetto bent and broken all the week but on the Sabbath he was a king who went forth to meet the Sabbath bride, and the sharp contrast with the rest of his existence strengthened him for the week to come.

There is a mistaken notion current among many Reform Jews that the Sabbath, as well as all other observances, is no longer considered very important to individual Jews and each person is free to neglect them if he is so inclined and does not thereby violate the spirit of Reform Judaism. Nothing could be further from the truth. Reform Judaism had made changes in practice but not in principle. Reform Judaism has cast aside many of the restrictions with regard to the Sabbath that it feels are impractical and meaningless in a modern world, but it has not case aside the Sabbath altogether. The original spirit of the Sabbath even with all the orthodox regulations was a joyful one. In days gone by even the restrictions were tings joyfully observed. today life has changed. These restrictions tend to have an opposite effect and do not achieve the same result as in former times and so Reform has made changes in order not to acquire for the Jewish Sabbath the bleak and dismal characteristics of a 17th century Calvinist Sunday. We do not want the Sabbath to seem forbidding and austere and so those elements which in modern times have had that effect have been eliminated but the things we can do to retain the sweet mystic quality of the Sabbath and keep its joyful religious overtones have been retained and improved upon in Reform Judaism. It is still the sign of the covenant between God and Israel and the distinguishing mark of the good Jew.

Reform Judaism still recognizes the contribution that the Sabbath can make to strengthening our family life. We Jews have had a reputation for strong home life. It is a deserved one. Jewish families which have kept close to Jewish traditions show less tendency to break than any other groups.  And the basic reason has been the religious observances in the home such as the Sabbath which have fostered a spirit of love and devotion in the home and cemented family ties. A prayer recited together with a child, a candle with religious ceremony the wine cup lifted for Kiddush[viii] all create family moods and family memories which last throughout life. The nostalgia of such memories also makes for a Jewish consciousness and a sense of Jewish identification which it is difficult to shake off. And Reform Judaism still feels that there is no better way to develop a joyful positive attitude toward Judaism in ourselves and in our children than by bringing into the home some of the rich ceremonial life which is inherent in the acknowledgement of the Sabbath.  

Reform Judaism also advocates Synagogue attendance on the Sabbath. It still feels that living as good Jews makes necessary the quiet contemplation of Jewish values and ideals, which is what we do when we gather for prayer of Friday evenings.  It helps broaden our Jewish knowledge and for many of us our only source of Jewish knowledge is what we [find] in the Synagogue. It strengthens and expresses our identification with the Jewish community and we do draw strength and comfort from each other, otherwise this congregation would never have been founded. And we particularly need the refreshing quiet of the sanctuary, as our prayer book[ix] words it, to offset some of the feverish Jewish activity of the rest of the week.

The Jewish community in this country is suffering today from “active-itis”. Organizations of all types are working at fever pitch. Committees are madly working on projects and meeting incessantly. Think of your own activities. Money for multitude of projects is being squeezed out of the public. There is no doubt that most of this is good and necessary. But sometimes we may well wonder whether we are not overdoing the mechanics of building Jewish organizations and are forgetting the primary goal of learning to live Jewishly ourselves as individuals. A synagogue cannot merely function as a money raising institution. The point of our projects and money raising must not be lost sight of. Our organizational activities have to be supplemented with periods of worship and study, and therefore Sabbath worship is essential. It helps us keep things in proper perspective. In the long run when we avail ourselves of the spiritual motivation and power that comes from the Synagogue, the organizational work will also benefit and attain higher goals.

Reform Judaism also recommends a change of mood and change of pace whenever possible on the Sabbath. Reform has chosen to ignore many of the former restrictions on Sabbath activity but it did not intend to make of the Sabbath just another day of the week. The keynote of Reform Judaism with regard to the Sabbath is change and recreation of body and spirit. In the Talmud the Rabbis suggest the worker who spends his week in physical labor should on the Sabbath engage in the study of Torah and the student who toils at his studies thru the week should on the Sabbath seek other pleasures. these Rabbis were quite liberal in their interpretation and thus present pretty much the same point of view as Reform Judaism. Let the Sabbath be a change from the daily routine.  The household activity and shopping routine of the week should be avoided. The Sabbath should be given over to things that are restful and relaxing and pleasing. There should be a touch of Jewishness in the home which ordinarily is not part of the weekday pattern.  There should be a moratorium on hustle and bustle. That is the Reform prescription for the Sabbath and each one is the best judge as to how the Sabbath may best be observed by him, if he sincerely considers the question.

It is true that Sabbath observance even in Reform manner is at a low ebb today, and various factors in the environment tend to detract us even from considering the possibility of some Sabbath observance. But it is possible to pay tribute to the Sabbath in some fitting and joyful manner if the will to do so exists and if we are concerned with Judaism and its future we should have the will. Once a beginning has been made and a habit pattern established it becomes easy from thereon.

There is a legend that two ministering angels accompany each Jew from the Synagogue on each Sabbath—one good and one bad. If the Jew comes home to a finely set Sabbath table prepared for Kiddush with Sabbath candles and there is a good Sabbath meal waiting, the good one says, “May the next Sabbath be also thus,” and the evil angel is forced to say, “Amen.” [If, on the other hand, they arrive at a home  with no Kiddush or Sabbath candles or Sabbath meal waiting, the evil angel says, “May the next Sabbath be also thus,” and the good angel is forced to say, “Amen.”] It is all a matter of some slight effort and a bit of will and we will be on our way to the fashioning of good Jewish homes which will be a source of joy and strength to us, our children, and all Israel.

---

[i] Ballon served the Nassau Community Temple from December 1951 to August 1974.

[ii] The weekly portion read in virtually all synagogues was Ki Tissa  in which God repeated the commandment regarding the sanctity of the Sabbath day. "Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you" (Exod. 31:13)

[iii] The reference is probably to the V'shomru prayer: "Thus shall the children of Israel observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant." (וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם בְּרִית עוֹלָם)

[iv] Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; 20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; 20:11 for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Jewish Publication Society

[v] Chayim Nachman Bialik (1873 –1934), was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry and came to be recognized as Israel's national poet.

[vi] “Sabbath is the cornerstone of Judaism, and it is not without cause that it is called the ‘sign of the covenant’ between God and the Children of Israel. In the Sabbath are enfolded many national and social concepts. If in the Ten Commandments is enfolded the whole Torah, then in the Sabbath are probably enfolded all the Ten Commandments.”

[vii] Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (1856 - 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name, Ahad Ha'am, was a Hebrew essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zionist thinkers.

[viii] Kiddush, literally, "sanctification," is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

[ix] The Union Prayer Book, 1937 edition, published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States was in use by Nassau Community Temple at this time.