Last night we got our first full night of sleep! Okay, it was right after a drone attack, but whatever.. I slept!
Thankfully, the attacks have slackened, however, aircraft are active, explosions can still be felt, and more importantly, the kids are still at home. Personally, I think last year was worse for us, because it was constant Hezbollah attacks directed at us, compared to missile attacks which generally fly over us. However, they are expecting Hezbollah to step up their attacks within the next few days, so, I guess we'll see.
One of the main worries that Israelis have to deal with right now (thank G-d) is when to shower. Because everybody knows that Iran has three types of buttons. One button is pressed when you shower, one button is pressed when you go lay down to sleep, and one button is pressed when you put your child down for a nap. Somebody even made a website, based on all public information available, that will tell you what chance you have of an attack if you took your shower now. All you have to do is put in your location and how long you need to shower.
I took my first since erev Shabbos on Tuesday night. It told me that I had a 44 percent chance of an attack. Fifteen minutes after my shower, we got an alarm. I was quite impressed! Too bad my neighbor didn't have it, when she came to the shelter, all wet, with a thick winter coat covering her soaking hair 😊
"And you, speak to the Children of Israel, saying, 'But My Shabboses you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations to know that I am Hashem who sanctifies you" (Shemos 31: 13).
Just a small thought on this week's parsha.
We see in this pasuk how Shabbos is worded. It's not "Shabbos," it's "My Shabbos." As fancy grammar people would say, "possessive."
Most of the world, these days, have a concept of "a day of rest," obviously getting it from us. Christians have it on Sunday. Muslims have it on Friday. Americans have it on Saturday and Sunday. And the French have it every day.
But, for all of them, it's a "day of rest." A day that they do not have to go to work. A day where they can do whatever they want to do. But Shabbos for a Jew is not so. Or at least, not supposed to be so. It's Hashem's Shabbos.
Of course, it's a day of rest for us. We get to sleep a little more, we have nice meals. We spend time with the family. All in all, we are more relaxed. However, we must not lose focus that this is a time that we have to build our relationship with Hashem.
A married couple with children, is always encouraged to "get out without the kids" every once in a while. If they don't, they might end up losing on their relationship, and after the last children are married, realize that they no longer have anything in common. So too, our relationship with Hashem. Six days a week we hustle to make ends meet, take care of the children, take care of our bills, our homes, our cars, etc. And we end up losing our connection with Hashem. It's sad. But, it's also natural.
That is why we have Shabbos. It's a time to not just physically recharge, but to spiritually recharge. We can learn things that we want to learn during the week, but don't have the mindset for. We can slow down in our davening or our bentching after our meals. We can focus on the meaning of the songs that we sing.
There are many ideas that each person can develop for themselves. But the key is to remember that Shabbos is not merely a day off but it's "Hashem's Shabbos" and it's a 25-hour period where we can spend some quality time with Him.
With that, I wish you all an amazing, and quiet, Shabbos.