Live the Trinity

Sabbath (or) Holy Questions, part XXII

Richard M. Wright

The School of Shammai say, They may not sell to a non-Jew, or help him to load up or assist to load him unless there be time for him to reach a place near by; but the School of Hillel permit it (emphasis added). – Mishnah Shabbat 1:7

A well asked question (almost?) answers itself. – Wright’s Second Principle of Epistemology

Part of the genius of Jewish rabbinic tradition is that “tradition” – properly understood – is not (so much) content as it is process. The process by which the Jewish teachers figure out how to apply Torah on different matters in different situations. Last Sunday during Evensong I shared the Eastern Orthodox idea that tradition – properly understood – is not the content of revelation so much as the light by which truth is revealed (citing the famous American theologian George Florovsky). (Orthodox teaching is that the primary mover in this process is the Holy Spirit working in the worshiping community.) The result is what can be called content – specific ideas about what the Christian church believes and does. But that content has a certain fluid character. Truth is always the same – but how we understand and express truth may change from generation to generation. Beautiful. But also scary.

So as the Christian movement (re)discovers a theopraxis* of Sabbath the (re)new(ed) tradition will also have a certain fluid character. Hence holy questions.

Let me share several questions that have arisen within my family and with friends and colleagues concerning the what and how of Sabbath keeping.

One important principle – in my opinion and I rather like my opinion – of Sabbath keeping is spending time with family and friends. That being the case…

Can/should we then go eat at a restaurant together? Go to the movies together? Because another important principle is to avoid commercial activity – especially when that activity depends upon other people who are having to work during Sabbath (such as at the restaurant or at the theater).

Similarly it is appropriate to rent a video and watch it with friends or family? Not only does this potentially involve commercial activity (what if you rent before Sabbath or use something like Netflix) but you also get into the problem area of watching that big stupid screen.

Take that a step further. Should one play video or computer games on Sabbath? I will argue in a future article that an important part of practicing Sabbath is unplugging for one day. Television off. Ignore your Blackberry. Stay off the Internet. For many playing video/computer games is play – but it also kills interaction with family. (I am a chief offender and hypocrite. There are three people who live with me that will attest to this.) And does that mean Wii is Sabbath friendly?

Is it appropriate to play sports on Sabbath? I suspect that for many parents taking your child to a Sunday afternoon game can feel sometimes like work rather than fun. And yet for some people playing sports is very much how they have fun, relax, and play – also important principles for practicing Sabbath.

What about gardening? yard work? cooking? knitting? Again – avoiding work (which can be defined more fully) is probably the first and most important principle of Sabbath. (See Mishnah Sabbath 7:2 – “The main labors prohibited on the Sabbath are forty less one.” And gardening, cooking, sewing are specifically mentioned here and throughout the tractate.) But for some people such activities are a joy – not work. I love taking care of my plants. And sometimes I enjoy cooking. I was quite the international chef in graduate school. Polynesian chicken anyone?

This is just a sampling. Brothers and sisters – let us begin this process together. Why should the rabbis have all the fun?