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Summary: Excellent introduction to the spirituality of the Sabbath
Review: I never fully grasped the significance of Sabbath-keeping until reading this book. Heschel introduces several key ideas about the nature of time and how the Sabbath sancitfies time. I am a Christian minister and found this to be an excellent resource, so I would recommend this to anyone who is seeking to understand the important of rest and rhythm in life.
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Summary: A most informative book on Shabbat.
Review: I read this book some time ago, and was fascinated by the depth of his understanding of the Sabbath. I am a convert to Judaism, and this book was invaluable to me; especially since I was searching for a better understanding of Sabbath rest. I treasure this book because I think just one reading of it is not enough. One can reread the book and still find new (or preiously overlooked) truths.
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Summary: The relavance of Sabbath in terms of time/space/relativity
Review: In an era when the fourth commandment seems arcane, Heschel creates an acute sense of urgency towards our awareness of the Sabbath...its preciousness, its relavance. For we must choose: are we to be workaholic slaves to the Pharaoh of material aquisition, or serve precious moments of holiness, which the Sabbath provides? In a society that values things more than moments of time, Heschel shows us how the Sabbath points us to a value system in which time, when made holy, puts space/things/people in their proper perspective. Have we become deluded that time-saving devices(cars, microwaves, telephones, computers) will create new moments of time for us? The opposite has proved true. As Heschel says, "The more we think the more we realize:we cannot conquer time through space. We can only master time in time." And so he shows us that God's gift to us is not arcane, but critically important today. As the Sabbath is the central Jewish holiday, and the first of all that God created as 'holy', we take a new view of Judaisim- its main holy sites are architectural masterpieces made from time, holy days set in the cycle of a week, a season, a year. And these lessons are for every religion, for our understanding of the value of time needs to be universal, or we fall into a materialism in which there is no room for religion or spirituality. There are so many teachings from Heschel in each paragraph and his language constantly brushes the edges of poetry. "The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments. In a religious experience, for example, it is not a thing that imposes itself on man but a spiritual presence. What is retained in the soul is the moment of insight rather than the place where the act came to pass. A moment of insight is a fortune, transporting us beyond the confines of measured time. Spiritual life begins to decay when we fail to sense the grandeur of what is eternal in time" Abraham Heschel, THE SABBATH.
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Summary: Shabbat, An Island in Time
Review: In The Sabbath, Heschel lays forward the view that holiness in Judaism is not set in place or places which is common for other peoples and religions, whether they be temples, shrines, holy places but in Judaism holiness resides in time. Chief among what Heschel calls "islands in time" is the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. In so doing Heschel sets forward that time is of great importance and in that holiness resides in time and specific time like the weekly Shabbat, we need to take seriously these holy times.
We are now approaching another Shabbat and I am starting to get excited knowing that it is in this "island of time" that I experience G-d in such a powerful way. As I leave work on Friday afternoon I look at the sun barely above the horizon and I become overwhelmed and I breathe out the word "Shabbos". This is a weekly time of encountering our G-d in such a powerful way and it is a great gift that we have been given. Along with the experience of G-d and the holiness of time there is the great gift that we have been given to congregate with friends and family to celebrate together this time with G-d and one another.
G-d is so good and He is given us such a great gift and that is Shabbat.
May you know the joy that is Shabbat this week and each week as we get a forestaste of "yom shekulo shabbat" the unending Shabbat when Messiah will come.
May this be just the beginning of your readings in Heschel.
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Summary: Thank God for this book!
Review: Most of us Christians haven't got a clue about sabbaths. On Sundays, we drive to our churches in the same clothes we wear to our jobs. We stand, sit, kneel, sing, feign interest in the sermon, or pray when the program says to, all with the appropriate pious solemnity. After an hour or so of this, we go home and hurriedly get out of our "Sunday best", satisfied that we've done our duty to our Father. But thank God Abraham Heschel understood what a wonderful gift the Sabbath is and what a delight it can be. Thank God that he wrote this book, and that this book is still in print. I haven't been as blown away by anything in a long time. Buy it. You won't be the same.
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Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: Not only does this book explain why it is celebrated, it inspires you to do so. It's a bit repetetive, but always with a different spin. So explanatory, for the person who observes the sabbath and the person who is just learning about it. Something for everyone. Absolutely inspiring!!!
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Summary: A must-have classic about "sacred time"
Review: Perhaps no aspect of Jewish religious observance has been so poorly understood by the outside world as the Sabbath. Gentile expressions such as "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" have tended to give the impression that the Jewish Sabbath is something oppressive. Not so, says Rabbi Heschel. The Sabbath, when understood properly, is a gift of freedom. In this now-classic book, first published in 1951, Heschel shows how the Sabbath is a "palace in time," a carefully structured retreat from the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. The laws of the Sabbath are the spiritual architecture with which the "palace in time" is built. Once you understand the blueprint for that palace, then all of the restrictions and to-do things on the Sabbath make sense. Heschel was the first Jewish theologian (as far as I know) to explain how traditional Jews live more in sacred time than in sacred space. While other religions have devoted their energy to building physical temples and cathedrals in sacred places, Jews have erected sanctuaries in the form of sacred days. Time, like physical space, has a varied texture to it. Just as there are differences between mountains and oceans, so, too, are there are there differences between the Sabbath and the ordinary days of the week. The Sabbath is more than just a secular "day off." It's a specific creation made by God in the very dawn of Creation. The Sabbath is as real as the physical things we see and touch everyday in the natural world. But in order to experience the specialness of the Sabbath, one must step inside the structure of its special rules and observances -- to enter the "palace in time." This book is beautifully-written in poetic prose that will inspire both Jews and non-Jews. It goes in and out of print with various publsihers, so, if it is not available on Amazon right now, track down a used copy or borrow it from the library. You will be very glad you did! s
Rating:
Summary: A must-have classic about "sacred time"
Review: Perhaps no aspect of Jewish religious observance has been so poorly understood by the outside world as the Sabbath. Gentile expressions such as "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" have tended to give the impression that the Jewish Sabbath is something oppressive. Not so, says Rabbi Heschel. The Sabbath, when understood properly, is a gift of freedom. In this now-classic book, first published in 1951, Heschel shows how the Sabbath is a "palace in time," a carefully structured retreat from the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. The laws of the Sabbath are the spiritual architecture with which the "palace in time" is built. Once you understand the blueprint for that palace, then all of the restrictions and to-do things on the Sabbath make sense. Heschel was the first Jewish theologian (as far as I know) to explain how traditional Jews live more in sacred time than in sacred space. While other religions have devoted their energy to building physical temples and cathedrals in sacred places, Jews have erected sanctuaries in the form of sacred days. Time, like physical space, has a varied texture to it. Just as there are differences between mountains and oceans, so, too, are there are there differences between the Sabbath and the ordinary days of the week. The Sabbath is more than just a secular "day off." It's a specific creation made by God in the very dawn of Creation. The Sabbath is as real as the physical things we see and touch everyday in the natural world. But in order to experience the specialness of the Sabbath, one must step inside the structure of its special rules and observances -- to enter the "palace in time." This book is beautifully-written in poetic prose that will inspire both Jews and non-Jews. It goes in and out of print with various publsihers, so, if it is not available on Amazon right now, track down a used copy or borrow it from the library. You will be very glad you did! s
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Summary: Beautiful
Review: Quite simply, this is one of the most beautiful, inspiring books I have ever read. Abraham Joshua Heschel, in a very short, accessible, clear manner, spells out the meaning of the Sabbath. I have been Jewish all my life, but realize now that I never truly understood Sabbath. The lessons in this book, which takes very little time to read, come back to me now every Friday night when I sit down with my family to say Shabbat prayers. It also has changed my approach to life the rest of the week, as Mr. Heschel explains the blessing of work and rest, and the place for each in life. Followers of other religions (certainly Christians) who have a day of rest will appreciate and benefit from the message of this book as much as Jewish individuals.
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Summary: The Essential Philosphic Underpinnings of the Sabbath
Review: Rabbi Heschel begins by clearly explaining the basis of Shabbat - the island in time. Contrasting time and material posession (space), he shows the inherent joy in this most important Jewish holiday of all. It is not a Sabbath how-to book. Rather, it is for thoughful readers seeking the spiritual element in the day of rest. To them, Heschel's The Sabbath is truly an Oneg Shabbat. A must read.
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