| On the Sabbath in Jerusalem, it ceases to sound
and feel like a city. In
the quiet twilight we walked to the synagogue, Kol Ha Ni Shama, then just
being built, and walked home again afterwards. Sitting among
rabbis-in-training, I lit the Shabbat candles and said the brucha. Jay
and Dennis urged us to say the sheheckianu and told us something they had
learned about the prayer. It is traditionally said on holidays and
occasions to thank God for giving us life, sustaining us, and helping us
to reach this joyous occasion. But a teacher of theirs urged them to say
it on more than just the usual times, like Hanukkah or a Bat Mitzvah. We
should say it at special times: when friends gather to share the Sabbath,
or when going to pick up a loved one at the airport. The sheheckianu is
a way of emphasizing what is significant in life, making holy that which
makes us happy. Baruch atah adonai . . . |
| LOVE |