Flowers? Check.
Wine? Of course.
(I think she will love this red wine I just picked up.)
And I also got a world class beer ("Sneaky Pete" Imperial IPA if you really must know). Nothing but the best. Just the right touch for...ahem...later.
Good thing I saved the shirt I bought on Sunday for tonight. Smooth move. Oh Men's Wearhouse, you sure know how to make this boy look good.
I am going to get lucky tonight.
Sorry.
I am getting all sweaty just typing this.
Hey, Marilyn! Want to join us? I know you are into her just like I am.
Forgive us, Father.
This is all Your fault.
You made Shabbat so hot.
People wonder why I love the Shabbat so much and talk about her all the time with such passion. Truth be told, I live for Shabbat. So does Marilyn, by the way. I wake up every Friday like a teenager knowing I have a great date planned for tonight. All day, I cannot take my mind off of her.
And like love, it can be hard to describe to someone who doesn't know her, but Shabbat is wonderful.
When a person asks me: What do you actually do on Shabbat? or : Isn't it hard to keep all the "Thou Shall Nots"?, I know immediately that they haven't really experienced a Shabbat. Shabbat is not about denying oneself anything as it is about learning to live significantly. Not so much about resting but about sanctifying, not so much about "keeping" the Shabbat as it is "making" Shabbat a day unlike any other.
In words.
In meals.
In thought.
In activity.
In experience.
Maybe I should let the great Biblical commentator Nechama Leibowitz explain it. She calls the Shabbat:
"an island of holiness in a turbulent sea of worldliness."
Got to commit that phrase to memory.
We live such challenging lives. Earning a living. Struggling with schedules and deadlines. Waking up fearful of the day, going to bed dreading the next.
Shabbat provides the breathing space to remove oneself from the noise and challenge of every day affairs, a way to leave the mundane and finally give expression to our spiritual selves. Shabbat allows us to liberate the soul chained up in the dark prison of the material world and free us to take wing and soar to the Heavens.
G-d, I love Shabbat. She allows me contemplate life by peering into the Torah and seeing the world through a different lens, sing songs to my Creator and open my heart to feel the Divine Presence, enjoy the company of family and friends and remind me of the treasures I have and dare not allow daily existence to cause me to forget.
An island of holiness in a turbulent sea of worldliness.
Who needs the beach.
Tonight, I stand on the shores of Heaven. Feel a spiritual breeze and the warmth of G-d on my face. Walk on that shore with my wife, my family, my community, and with those who feel as close to Shabbat as I do.
Told you I am getting lucky tonight.
