Rest and Comfort: Kabbalat Shabbat

On a crisp Fall day, the sky was blue.

Two airplanes sliced our world in half

And everything changed.

Everything changed and yet,

It feels the same

As now,

You know what I mean?

Frightening

Out of control
And we need to comfort ourselves.

Some find comfort in action, others in quiet contemplation.

Some find comfort in ice cream, others in exercise.
Some find comfort in denial, others in non-stop information.

All these can work for me, but not tonight.

Tonight, i declare

That everything changes.
Tonight I go towards Shabbat.

Tonight,

Instead of violence, I choose peace.

Instead of anger, I choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, I choose justice.

Instead of resentment, I choose empathy.

Instead of work, I choose rest.

Instead of ideology, I choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, I choose community.

Instead of fear, I choose endurance.
Instead of shouting, I choose prayer.

Instead of  hate, I choose Shabbat.

Blessed Yah, God of my ancestors, Inventor of Shabbat, we give thanks for this day of rest and comfort, this day that does not change but that changes everything.

Amen