Sabbath Descends

To remind us to honor Sabbath this week, I chose this beautiful poem by the Israeli poet, Zelda. However, I am publishing this Friday at dusk as this is a Jewish poem and in honor of Shabbat, or as some of us say, Sabbath, I am posting at the beginning of the evening on Friday night to honor Zelda's tradition. If you'd like to learn more about Shabbat and the Jewish tradition, I'd encourage you to visit the resources at the end of this post.

Light a candle.
Drink wine.
Softly the Shabbat has plucked
The sinking sun.
Slowly the Shabbat descends,
The rose of heaven in her hand.

How can the Shabbat
Plant a huge and shining flower
In a blind and narrow heart?
How can the Shabbat plant the bud of angels
In a heart of raving flesh?
Can the rose of immortality grow
In an age enslaved to destruction,
An age enslaved
To death?
Light a candle!

Drink wine!
Slowly the Shabbat descends
And in her hand
The flower, and in her hand the sinking sun…
– Zelda, Israeli poet

Shalom,

Original photo by Alesa Dam, CC (BY-NC)

Poem by Zelda found at Temple Isaiah's Website

Resources on Shabbat

http://www.jewfaq.org/shabbat.htm

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/shabbat.html

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Shabbat_The_Sabbath.shtml