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| Praised are Your O Lord our
God King of the universe Who differentiates between
the sacred and the secular. |
Barukh ata adonai eloheinu melekh haolam
hamavdil bein kodesh lechol |
Page 299 in Siddur Sim Shalom
This bracha is recited at the conclusion of Shabbat.
Joined with a bracha over wine, a bracha over spices and a bracha
over a candle these brachot make up the ceremony known as Havdalah.
In this bracha we acknowledge the gift God has given us to understand
the subtle changes in the rhythm of time. This bracha in its entirety
speaks of the differences that exist in the world without making
a value judgment about either category. The bracha speaks of the
difference between holy and profane, between light and darkness,
between the people of Israel and the people of other nations and
the difference between six days of the week and the Sabbath.
We understand through analogy that each of these
pairs of opposites requires its mate in order to show its unique
significance. It is through celebrating both sides that we truly
appreciate their value. The Torah reminds us "six days you must
work and on the seventh you must rest." The first part of the
verse instructs us that we must work. We must be productive members
of society. As well, we must find time to rest. There can be no
work without rest and there can be no true rest without work.
The same argument can be applied to each of the selections, reminding
us, for example, that we need light and darkness.
Some of the difference that exist in the world are
organic. We have no choice about them, while others are mere constructs
of our intelligence. One could argue that when a person wakes
up on a Saturday morning there is nothing physically different
about that day then Monday. There is nothing different about these
days yet we behave differently. We separate out specific days
for specific activities in the hopes that that approach will elevate
our human experience. Just as God commanded Adam, the first man
to control the earth, so too God instructs us to control time
through the observance of a day of rest. It is easy in our gardens
to see the difference between a tomato plant and lettuce, the
difficulty comes in knowing and therefore acting differently on
Shabbat as opposed to Tuesday or Wednesday.
One of the fundamental understandings of Judaism comes from our
ability to categorize the world. We separate what we can eat from
what we cannot. We are commanded to engage in certain activities
while others are off limits. We celebrate specific days while
others can go unnoticed. This exercise in compartmentalizing the
world both in the abstract and in the concrete raises our spiritual
lives while we grow in appreciation of the variations in this
world. The closer we look the greater our understanding of the
miraculous nature our existence.
We all know the difference between right and wrong.
The bottom line is though we would like to believe the world is
filled with compromises and gray areas of moral persuasion, we
know that is really more rare than we admit. We can immediately
determine the correct and proper path to choose. We know what
is moral and what is immoral and we must have the conviction to
carry that out. Shabbat give us the opportunity to gain some perspective.
It gives us time to think without having to do anything. Havdala
is the transitional moment that readies us to take action.
Copyright © 2001 Rabbi
Yohanan Stein. All rights reserved.
New Jersey Region United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism
PO Box 390; 1025 St. Georges
Ave
Linden, NJ 07036-0390
Phone: 908-925-USCJ (8725)
/ Fax: 908-486-USCJ (8725)
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Copyright © 2000 -
2003 New Jersey USCJ. All rights reserved.
Last Updated: July 2003
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