Shabbat Shalom! Cue the theme from Twilight Zone. Grab a four-leaf clover. Watch out for black cats. It’s Friday the 13th!
Wait! Stop cowering in the corner. Put away that rabbit’s foot. You’re Jewish! Can Friday, Yom Hashishi, ever be unlucky? On Friday, we prepare to welcome Shabbat. We polish the wine cup, bake a challah, and buy flowers for the table – OR we light candles, order a pizza, and sit the whole family down at the table for the first time all week.
However we observe Shabbat, we’re acting in God’s image (B’Tselem Elohim), as we wind down six days of work and prepare for a day of rest.
On Shabbat, we recall the Midrash* that tells of Adam and Eve’s fear as they watched the sky darken on their first Erev Shabbat before leaving the Garden of Eden for the world of humankind. The Yotzer Or prayer tells of their joy as the sun rose on the very first Shabbat morning. Adam and Eve felt lucky.
On Shabbat, we express our gratitude for this wondrous world which God has created – a world created, but not completed. We re-dedicate ourselves to Tikun Olam, our sacred obligation as God’s partners to continue the work of building and repairing the world. And even though there is much to be built and repaired, we’re lucky to be fulfilling Mitzvot.
In fact, on the Jewish calendar, today is not the scary date of Friday the 13th. It is the third day of the contemplative month of Elul, a time when we assess our actions of the past year, and look to the future as the High Holidays approach. We recognize that we’ve nearly completed the cycle of another year. How lucky is that?
From the Jewish perspective, on this Friday the 13th, we’re lucky.
Shabbat Shalom. Rest and re-new.
*Source: Journeys Through the Siddur: Shabbat Morning – published by Torah Aura Publications
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