I started writing this in my head while I was asleep overnight. Since I didn’t grab the keyboard before I headed out for worship, I pondered it some more as I drove from place to place. So then I was going to write this as soon as I landed back at home,

but instead I chose to sip from the cup of God’s refreshment. Next week I’ll drink more deeply, because I won’t be posting on Sunday. Not even writing extra on Saturday and scheduling it for Sunday, the way Sunday meals used to be made in advance and set aside.

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam / shehakol nih’yeh bid’varo

Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe / Who made all things exist through His word

By “sip from the cup,” I mean “engage in sabbath practice,” said fancy. Mostly because I wanted to, but it’s handy that one of the elements in the Jewish home ritual for Shabbat is the blessing over the cup of wine (or substitutionary beverage), which is what I quoted above. Yes. All that to tell you I am going to set Sundays apart.

You see, at some point as Friday flowed through Saturday, I realized that my old markers of my week have fallen away. Sure, I’ve more of My Sweetie’s presence on Saturdays and Sundays than on the other days, and certainly there’s the time on Sundays we spend with our congregation, but somehow I’m feeling blurred.

Similarly, I’ve mentioned a spurt of “can’t-have-its” around my writing. Can’t-wha? It’s Lawrence-family jargon. “Can’t-have-its” is the feeling one has while standing in front of the refrigerator while holding the door open, the feeling that results in internal conversations like this: “There’s leftover pizza.” “Nah, I had that yesterday.” “There are fresh apples.” “Eh, I’m not in the mood for apples.” “Peanut butter and jelly?” “Too sticky.” And so on. You’re hungry, but you ‘can’t have’ what’s in front of you. Can’t move forward, can’t go back. But what if I had a day where there was no writing? Would a little pause, a little fast, ward off that stale mood?

Last night it occurred to me that one of the blessings of Sabbath is that it is other. When honored per tradition, it is like no other day of the week. That’s why God gave it to us. So I want to see if Sabbath can be my fence around the week.

And if Sabbath is rest, and reading is Kimbol’s rest, then I might read nearly all DAY and be blessed by God’s good gifts.

Nu, why would you not try it then? I don’t know. Why wouldn’t I?