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have a problem sleeping. To
be more precise, I have a
problem sleeping past 6 in the
morning.
No matter if it's the weekend and
I've stayed up until 3 in the morning
the night before or if it's a much
needed vacation day when I don't
have anything planned, when the
sun rises, so do I.
This is not something I'm proud
of — like a rigorous training sched-
ule I have self-imposed in order to
run a
marathon
someday. It is
simply a child-
hood habit
that I am
unable to
break.
It started in
the spring of
my 10th year,
when my
AMY HIRSHBERG father decided
I was officially
LEDERMAN
old enough to
Special to
become
a "full
the Jewish News
working mem-
ber" of our
family. For him, this meant that I
was the primary subject of a 6 a.m.
wake up call that could be heard in
the next county.
For me, it meant the end of any
hope of sleeping in and a list of
chores that had to be done before
noon.
The net result of this early morn-
ing ritual was twofold. First, it
turned me into a morning person.
You know the type: cheerful and dis-
gustingly perky after having accom-
plished a half-day's work before most
people have even brushed their
teeth.
Second, it taught me Dad's
Number One Life Lesson: To live is
to work. (Not to be confused with
Mom's Number One Life Lesson: To
live is to worry.)
Don't get me wrong. Getting up
early definitely had its advantages —
Amy Lederman is an attorney Jewish
educator and freelance writer in Tucson,
Ariz. Her husband is former Detroiter Dr.
Ray Lederman.
like being the first one in our family
to claim the prize' in the Frosted
Flakes box and having grown-up
conversations with my Dad about
things like mortgages' and snow
blowers. Yet the afterglow of these
small victories did not outweigh the
long-term adverse effect of equating
rest with something you earn only
after all of your chores are done.
Over the years, the fallacy of this
equation has become painfully clear
to me for the simple reason that get-
ting all of my chores done is as
probable as putting an octopus to
bed. As soon as I have finished
wrestling three arms into submis-
sion, two more jump out demand-
ing my attention.
Regardless of the number of meals
I cook, how much mail I open or
how many hours I spend preparing
to teach a class, there is always one
more phone call to return or one
more load of wash that remains
undone.
There is something, however,
that has helped me begin to turn
down the volume on my work
channel. Contrary to what you
might think, it is not intensive
psychotherapy or even a generous
dose of Zoloft. What has helped
me begin to reframe my orienta-
tion towards work is much sim-
pler and less expensive tlian either
of those alternatives. I have begun
to learn the value of not being
productive through the experience
of Shabbat.
The Jewish Sabbath is intended to
be a weekly reminder of how rich
our lives can be when we relinquish
control over the things we dominate
during the week. It is meant to free
us from the pressures and burden of
work and enables us to renew our-
selves through weekly relaxation and
spiritual rest and renewal.
Shabbat is an invitation to enjoy
time with family and friends, to
share a good meal, to pray with our
community, to finally read the last
chapter of the book you put down
weeks ago for lack of time. It estab-
lishes a specific time each week dur-
ing which we are entitled and
required to stop and reflect rather
than to do and create.
I still fight against my octopus
and the pull of its arms as it draws
me closer to the myriad of tasks that
remained unfinished. But I am
grateful for the wisdom of a tradi-
tion that recognizes how essential it
is to rest and for the sanctuary in
time that Shabbat provides. ❑