Shabbat and The Secret of Slowing Time

I’m going to tell you a secret about Shabbat. There are many secrets in Torah which are not supposed to be revealed to the uninitiated. It’s not because God wants to keep things from some of His children, but because it can be dangerous to know too much when we’re not yet capable of handling the information. In Kabbala, this is referred to as a shattering of vessels – when something is inserted into a container that is not capable of incorporating it, the vessel breaks. Colloquially, we see this in the expression of “a blown mind” – when we learn something “mindblowing,” the previous confines of our intellect and/or imagination are ruptured, and we must either expand our consciousness or lose our mind.

But as the messianic age approaches, secrets are being revealed to “stretch” us, so to speak, and to prepare us for the transformation that we are all soon to experience.

The mindblowing secret of shabbat is this: Time dilates on shabbat!

Time dilation is a recognized scientific fact. Einstein postulated that for one moving at the speed of light, time progresses more slowly. What Einstein did not know is one need not achieve nearly impossible velocity to experience this distention of time – s/he needs simply to enter into the time-capsule of shabbat.

Of course shabbat happens for each of us every week, whether we are conscious of it or not. But for those who are truly mindful and sensitive to shabbat – those who don their shabbat time-traveling uniforms, prepare the holy shabbat meal, ready their home with shabbat fire, and recite a welcome to the shabbat bride and the angels that descend Friday evening – time suddenly and miraculously slows, and one is freed, for 25 hours, from the tyranny of the spinning clock that whisks us at breakneck pace through our lives with little opportunity to breathe, or pause, or recognize why we are here and where we are hurrying.

This is not a joke – try it and you will see! Close your eyes when the sun sets this evening. Breathe deeply and put your daily grind and all of its urgent concerns aside until tomorrow night. You will experience time beginning to warp and melt, your senses will sharpen for everything in the present moment, your zest for life and your love for family and friends will swell, and you will feel buoyant and rejuvenated.

The author Ahad Ha-am wrote that “more than the Jews have kept shabbat, shabbat has kept the Jews.” The idea is that shabbat guards us and preserves us. But it also “keeps” us, slowing us down, extending our moments, lengthening our journey and rendering our time here far more expansive and fulfilling.

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