Review of The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

When I was a Lutheran pastor, I started a congregation in Lexington, Kentucky, Word of Hope Lutheran Church.  Before we had a building of our own, we held services on Sunday mornings in a landscaping firm’s office.  Sunday evenings, a local Roman Catholic parish let us use their sanctuary for a second service.   I quickly learned that for some of our congregant’s time was more important than space.  They would come every Sunday morning to the “transformed” landscaping office for Mass.  Space didn’t matter.  It was time that mattered.  For others they would come every Sunday to the traditional space of the church even though the time was not what they were accustomed to.   For them space was more significant than time.
The truth is both are consequential.  Time and space.  Both have sacredness about them.  But the older I get time is becoming more precious than space.  Space is replaceable, even sacred space, i.e. the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  Time, of course, is not.   Once this moment passes, it is irretrievable. 
In his book, The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel, deals with both, time and space, but what impressed me the most was his reflections on the significance of time over space and how the Sabbath, whether that be from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday or on Sunday or significant time one sets aside for oneself to just savor “being” for that moment, can be a glimpse of the eternal.  And who of us could not use a bit of that inserted into the chaos that too often characterizes our everyday existence?  Even in these times when we are sheltering in place and keeping safe spaces?  Who of us does not need to be reminded from time to time that this moment right now is all that we really have and is therefore that which IS most precious for us?  And do we miss that, the shear gift of the moment, because of some regret over the past or some fear relative to the future? 
There is so much wisdom in this little book of Heschel’s (And it is just a little book, only ninety-three pages).  Even now as I leaf through it as I am writing this review, I find myself thinking, “Oh, that is so good.  That is amazing.  Wow!”  But here is just one gem:
A special consciousness is required to recognize the ultimate significance of time.  We all live it and are so close to being identical with it that we fail to notice it.  The world of space surrounds our existence.  It is but a part of living, the rest is time.  Things are the shore, the voyage is in time.
Take the book out for free at the library.  Read it.  Savor its wisdom.  Turn it back in for others.  On time is preferable.  And then buy a hardcover copy to have as your own because you will refer to it again and again, as I have whenever I lose my sense of the sacredness of the time that God has gifted me.

Reviewed by Richard Dick, Library Assistant, O’Kelly Memorial Library


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