Shabbat Shalom

Now I get Shabbat Shalom.

I've gotten it all my life, I just didn't know what it was. And I only got it once a year: on Christmas.

And when I'm talking about Christmas, I am not talking about the Birth of Christ. Because, really, how important is that to a six-year-old? They might parrot the rhetoric from Sunday School, which I know because I taught Sunday School, but that's not what they really care about. I mean, seriously. What does a little kid care about? Presents. Chocolate. Candy. Little toys in their stocking. Big pancakes for breakfast. It's all about the massive pile of presents under the tree.

And what is the point of those presents? Let's think about it. Some guy with a beard comes around and gives you lots of stuff that isn't just random - it's stuff that you want. And sometimes you know you want it, sometimes you don't. And it doesn't matter if Santa is real to you, or if you believe it's just your parents. In either case, it's someone giving you lots and lots of presents, for no other reason besides the fact that you are alive. You did nothing to deserve those presents. Even if you did something "bad," you're not getting coal in your stocking. Nobody is being punished. (At least in a healthy family). It's all about the reward.

So I am pretty sure, as Christians predictably lament every year, that Christmas actually has nothing whatsoever to do with Christ, other than that it happens to be a convenient time of the year to celebrate it. St. Nicholas isn't Jesus, after all, even if he was Christian. He was just a guy.

Christmas is all about the gifts. And what does this have to do with Shabbat? Well, that's what Shabbat is all about. Jewish people aren't lucky because they get eight days of Hanukkah. They're lucky because they get Shabbat every week. Well, okay, they're just lucky. But Shabbat is like a huge gift from God, every single week. Every day on a Saturday, you can wake up, and know that God pretty much loves you, and heaps thousands of inordinately wonderful gifts upon you every singe day of your life, for no particular reason other than the fact that you are alive. And it doesn't matter, actually, if you ever done anything "bad" in your life, because He doesn't really care. He wants you to try to be good, and to do good. But mostly He just wants to give you lots of presents and make you happy so he can see that little smile on your face. Because that's His reward. That's all you have to do to make God happy. Smile and be happy with the gifts you are given, because you know now that you are unconditionally loved.