New book binge

Attention, attention!!!! I think we all need to read this book!!!

(I know I do…I think it’s about to get bumped up into the category: Books-that-have-kinda-saved-my-life.)

The Sabbath World by Judith Shulevitz.

I checked it out of the library yesterday and I can barely put it down AND I think might have to buy my own copy.

I’ve always been convinced that Sabbath in some form is something Christians need to do and need to start thinking about more seriously–especially now because we are a stressed out people. It helps a bit that I was brought up in a church culture just one generation removed from some pretty hard-core Sabbath-following practices.

There’s sociology, theology, philosophy (Kierkegaard, even!), history, autobiography…Wow…

The pithy quotes are amazing:

“The Sabbath–God’s claim against our time–implies that time has an ethical dimension.”

“A full-bodied red wine is what a poet might call the objective correlative of the Sabbath…”

“The rabbis say the Sabbath is a taste of the world to come. Me, I say it’s an aftertaste of infancy.”

One Response to “New book binge”

  1. Anne Says:

    Hi Erika,
    It’s Anne here in Minneapolis. I think the concept of Sabbath is fascinating. I got a taste of Sabbath while living in Germany 1999-2002. At the time- rules have loosened somewhat- businesses closed after lunch on Saturday and the remainder of Saturday and Sunday stores were closed except gas stations, train station convenience stores, and a specially designated pharmacy. I remember totally puzzling my brother when he came to visit because we ran out of bread and were talking about going to the train station for bread. I liked having a day per week that was different.