Ever since Trump declared the coming Shabbat a "National Sabbath," I've seen countless reactions. It touches us — the fact that the President of the United States honors Shabbat and calls on us to observe it. Here are two particularly moving responses:
Let's start with the millions of Jews in America whose Shabbat never received such treatment. This is a great rectification. A friend of mine, an American journalist, wrote to me after Trump's declaration: "My great-grandfather came to the United States before the Holocaust and tried to keep Shabbat against all odds. There was a famous saying back then that employers would tell their Jewish workers: 'If you don't come in on Saturday, don't bother coming in at all next week.' Who could have imagined that one day the President of the United States would say exactly the opposite. All six of my great-grandfather's children left Judaism. Today, most of his great-grandchildren are not Jewish. I am the only great-grandchild who keeps Shabbat."
And *Rabbi Manis Friedman,* one of the most influential and popular rabbis in the United States today, argues that this is the deep cure for antisemitism — Judaism not as persecuted, but as illuminating. "We are not supposed to say: they hate us. We are supposed to inspire respect. To live our values in a way that causes others to be moved, impressed, and inspired. If there is persecution against us, it is because we have not yet fulfilled our purpose. The solution is not that people should stop shouting at Jews in the street — that is the minimum. We aspire to the maximum. The solution is what we saw this week — that the world should recognize the message we carry for all of humanity. That is the direction toward redemption."
So what are your plans for the coming Shabbat? How can we elevate it — for ourselves and for others?
Shabbat Shalom.
