Soul Sabbatical – the Question?!
Re the Torah Portion of Behar / Bechukosai : Vayikra: 25,20
Rabbi Mordechai Z. Hecht
FACT
I’m coming on to 7 years here in my position as Rabbi at Anshe Sholom Chabad JCC and more than 8 years as Founder of Chabad of the Gardens- Forest Hills.
Over the years I have experienced great days, wondrous experiences and spectacular times. Alongside all that came great challenges and up-hill daily life-battles and some awesome trenches of life, even failures of sorts – which in turn turned out to be blessings.
QUESTION
Following my own personal signs, I recently felt, as my “contract” allows, for me to take a sabbatical, if at all possible, and I wondered shall I do it. But more so, is it the Jewish way of life?
HYPOTEHSIS
Is it possible that just as the week has biblically sourced Sabbatical and as the field has a 7th lunar year sabbatical, perhaps the Human being also needs a Sabbatical, naturally. Perhaps, some of the benefits may include time to rejew-vinate, reenergize and take time for personal growth, character development broadened wholesome furthering of education and deepening of wisdom. To relieve some of the day to day pressures and to spend more time with family and introspection?
Perhaps, over time we don’t feeling so strong. Our spirits are more likely to complain these days. Our bodies are only human, and can get a little bit more than just tired. Can it be when our perspective is cloudy, from many years of living through various seasons, and when signals suggest It has been overloaded for too long – is it then time for a human Sabbatical?
FURTHERMORE
Often, we give and give and give and then wonder why we become grumpy or short in patience at times. Is it possible that G-d has put rhythms into our lives to remind us just how much we need our bodies to go completely away from the stress of the day in order to cope with the demands of life.
Now I know that as long as we are alive, our soul is pumping Divine energy into our bodies which are limited to the time G-d allows on earth, and surely we don’t want to waste that time, but is a Human personal Sabbatical a waste of time? Is the weekly Shabbat a waste of time? So why should that annular Sabbatical be a waste for a human being?
On the other hand the day itself has a cycle of rest, night time is rest time over day, which is work time. And the Week has a cycle, rest day verses work day. The year has additional Holidays which are rest times as well, maybe just maybe the body and soul also have a rhythm, a cycle they too must follow to assure maximum performance throughout the totality of life.
Shabbos was also instigated by God to remind us to stop, to put aside work, to put aside the frenzy, to rest and cultivate peace and to restore energy and stamina.
In our 24/7 world, with “false lights” to keep us up and working all hours of the day, 24 hours of internet, emails, all the texting, networking, 24 hours of tv, cars with lights that can travel all hours, coffee, no dose and etc., rooms to clean, piles to organize, meetings to conduct, groceries to shop for, family to care for, we lose the concept of rest and refreshing.
No wonder there are so many stress diseases–heart, obesity, thyroid problems, nervous disorders, depression, mental disorders, and emotional disorders, never mind acne and stomach crunches. We are busy all the time, guilty for all we do not get done and wearing ourselves out.
Could it just be that there really needs to be a Soul-Body relationship Sabbatical in our life time?! I am not proposing a cease to our human lives or a cease to our spiritual one’s either– just a change. A makeover, a remodeling, a differential sequence of eventuating greater actions.