Rest in a Restless World

Last Shabbat, some twenty IJC members, old and new, gathered at a former abbey in the Flemish countryside for our community retreat, Rest in a Restless World, our third retreat at this location. As people arrived throughout Friday afternoon and early evening, there was a palpable sense of anticipation. Some came for the entire Shabbaton, others for part of the programme, and all brought with them the invisible luggage we carry through our busy lives: commitments, responsibilities, worries, hopes and expectations.

The retreat invited us to explore a deceptively simple question: what does it mean to rest?

During Erev Shabbat on Friday evening and again at Shacharot on Shabbat morning, we reflected on the Jewish understanding of rest as something far richer than simply stopping work. Torah introduces Shabbat in the story of Creation, where rest becomes part of the rhythm of the universe itself. The rabbis deepen the idea, seeing Shabbat as a taste of the world as it ought to be. Abraham Joshua Heschel famously described Shabbat as a ‘palace in time’, reminding us that Judaism asks us to sanctify time rather than give in to the ‘tyranny of things’.

We also reflected on the Exodus from Egypt. Freedom, in the Torah, is never simply freedom from. It is freedom for. Egypt – Mitzrayim in Hebrew – can be read as narrowness or constrain – ‘the narrow place’. Each generation has its own narrow places: the pressure to be constantly productive, the expectation of perpetual availability, the endless stream of emails, messages and obligations that seem to demand our attention at every hour of the day and night. Shabbat offers an antidote. For one day, we are invited to remember that our worth is not measured by our output.

The atmosphere throughout the retreat reflected that spirit. There was delicious food, good conversation and, perhaps most importantly, permission to rest without feeling guilty about it. As Friday evening drew to a close, those staying overnight gathered for drinks on the terrace, enjoying the company and conversation, and the luxury of having nowhere else they needed to be.

Saturday brought prayer, learning and community. One of the highlights was a beautiful music workshop led by Elise Cazaban (see photo). For a brief and glorious period, Elise – known to some as “Professeur Fanette” – managed to transform the International Jewish Centre into the International Jewish Choir ready to perform!

The afternoon session invited participants to reflect on a question that was at once simple and profound: What burden do you no longer need to carry? We considered the habits, fears, expectations and responsibilities that may once have served us well, yet now weigh us down. Shabbat, after all, is not only about laying down our work. Sometimes it is about laying down our burdens.

As we returned home, we carried many things with us: new friendships, renewed connections, beautiful melodies and thoughtful conversations. We also carried a challenge. In a world that constantly urges us to do more, perhaps the most radical Jewish act is sometimes to stop, breathe, and remember that we are already enough.

Rabbi Brian