As always, this is a fluid group - just drop in!Our next gathering will be
Tuesday, July 11, 6:30 PM to eat, 7PM conversation begins
O’Malley’s Pub and Restaurant
5228 Hollyridge Dr, Raleigh
Look for us at the long table in the room on the left.
July focus for our discussion: This month's discussion is sparked by Mike's comment about time and Shabbat (see below). I also found a one page essay on Sabbath in which Rabbi Heschel* expands on the idea of time and Shabbat.
"The meaning of Shabbat is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things in space; on Shabbat we try to become attuned to the holiness of time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of Creation to the mystery of Creation, from the world of Creation to the creation of the world." Abraham Joshua Heschel* as quoted in the Reform Siddur, Mishkan T'Filah. Originally found in Heschel's 1951 book, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man
Here's the July question: If you were to write a spiritual autobiography** of time/Shabbat, what events/people/places have shaped your understanding? Have you found those to be a healthy/loving influence on your life?
*Rabbi Heschel marched alongside MLK back in the civil rights era.
**Spiritual autobiographies help us think about experiences/people/places that have shaped how we understand or tend to react to something and give us a chance to consider if our conclusions and practices are healthy or loving. Churches encourage people to write spiritual autobiographies of race, of money, of church, of God.