Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shabbaton—the Sabbath of all Sabbaths. It is the ultimate Sabbath, meaning cessation—a cessation even from eating, drinking, and the permitted pleasures of the world. Instead of focusing on abstention, however, which I feel we do all too well when it comes to Jewish joys, I want to tell you stories of indescribable pleasures, and then make you wait a day to have any of them.

I realize that I have a perverse way of tantalizing Jews with sermons about eating and drinking on Yom Kippur. But I am saying this to you now only shortly after you have eaten. Were I to do this tomorrow morning it would really be sadistic. Tonight it only adds to the mitzvah points we will get for fasting.

This summer while I was in Israel, I met a man who told me his view of being a Progressive Jew (Progressive Judaism is what Reform Judaism is called outside of North America). He said he did not smoke, but if he did, he would smoke something better on Shabbat than what he normally smoked.

This is, obviously, different than the halachic norm of what is and is not permitted on Shabbat. It is, however, within the norm of what is the traditional AND progressive spirit of Shabbat—namely, that Shabbat should be a special day in terms of allowing ourselves the pleasures we normally forbid ourselves. I used this example of smoking something better because it is uniquely memorable, not because I wish to advocate smoking on any day. What I do wish to advocate, however, and what will be the recurring chorus of this talk, is to put the ONEG back into ONEG SHABBAT.

Oneg is a Hebrew word that is usually translated as "pleasure". The short repetition of the Shabbat Amidah that we sometimes sing on Friday nights, called Magen Avot, has the line: "am m'dushney oneg— a people shmeared with pleasure." This is one of my two favorite phrases on this issue. I'll tell you the second one later. But that was just a fluent translation. Let me delve more deeply into root meanings of the words.

M'dushney, which I translated as shmeared with, comes from the word DeSheN, which means animal fat. It is the greasy, oily, drippingly rich display of being well-fed and in good health that the ancient world had too little of. If you wonder why all the ancient painters depicted voluptuous women, it was because skinny women were seen as being unhealthily underfed. An ample body was a physical indication of wealth and health.

This is why DeSheN and its related terms came to mean not only physically fat, but rich, abundant, and luxurious. Say the word "luxurious". Linger, lusciously and long, on the lush and sumptuous word: luxurious. Say it "Lux-Xur-Yuss." Can you just hear the fat dripping from the word as you say it???

Luxurious: Webster's dictionary defines it as "relating to the unrestrained gratification of the senses, lusty, self-indulgent, exceedingly choice and costly, something adding to pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessary." Now that is my idea of Shabbat.

Let's now take the second word: 'oNeG. It comes from a root that means "to be dainty, soft, or delicate." As a noun, it means both a dainty thing, as well as the concept of exquisite delight and luxury. There is luxury again! So m'dushney oneg—shmeared with pleasure—could also be repetitively translated as luxuriously luxurious. But let's look into the Latin of it all.

It is funny, but both English words connote the concept of light. Luxury stems from the Latin root lux, which means light, and may refer back to the physical effect of being anointed with an ointment, a perfumed oil, which was the habit of the rich and the royal before bathing was possible on a daily basis. When an anointed person would go out into the sun, the sun would cause their oily body to shine. Luxurious means "radiant as the rich." Delight has the same easy to hear meaning in its root: light, shining with joy.

So, taken together, "am m'dushney oneg— a people luxuriously anointed with delight." Again, that is how I like to envision Jews on Shabbat.

So how do we get from here to there?

Actually, first, what is the here?

How many of us take advantage of the day off that is our national heritage? Shabbat is Judaism's major gift to the world besides the uncompromising intuition that there is a Fundamental Unity Underlying all Existence. It might surprise you to know that the Romans learned the concept of the seven day week from us about two millennia ago. When the Romans then became Christian, they learned, from Shabbat, the concept of the week-end, the day off, the vacation. And their culture, that is, Western Culture, then spread it to the whole world. It was ours, and is now everyone's.

I know from the comments I get from so many of you about your lives that our congregation, as a whole, lets more Shabbatot go uncelebrated, more Jewish pleasures untasted, than celebrated and tasted. Its like Yom Kippur, fasting from pleasure, all year long

Some of this fasting from pleasure has to do with not having role models who have inspired us to know that such pleasures are meaningful and possible. Some of us lack the knowledge of how to do Shabbat, and hence, do not do it. Most of us do not have other friends whom we know would like to do it with us. Some feel that the pleasures, if there are any, will be few, and the restrictions, which they are sure of, will be many. Let's talk about these issues.

Few pleasures and many restrictions?

The scariest one, and the most anti-motivational one, is the fear that the pleasures will be few and the restrictions will be many. This is partly due to the fact that there are more critical Jews than encouraging Jews in the world. Every time a Jew does something, one Jew says, wow, that's neat, and three or four Jews pop in with the comment that, "But that's not how I do it," or "That's not how they did it in my synagogue/parents' home/etc.," or "That's not even Jewish." I don't know why we always have to put ourselves down, but it is true that we do.

I call it the "One Jew Higher" rule. It is based on something I learned in Switzerland while hiking through the Alps that the Swiss call the "One Cow Higher" rule. There they always say that no matter how high up in the mountains you are, you can never take it for granted that stream water is safe to drink, because there is always One Cow Higher than you are. Similarly with Jewish practice. You can never take it for granted that someone will not criticize you for what you do, because there is always "One Jew Higher," one person who restricts himself more to the words of a rabbi, or to a community's norm, than you do. So my advice is, forget them, and don't drink from their stream!

Forget them. Forget the criticism, because we can never beat it. If someone begins to comment on how different they do it than you do, you can respond in the words and voice of Dana Carvey's Saturday Night Live Church Lady, "Isn't that spe—cial?" And then ignore them.

Serving G0d in Fear and in Joy

Jews who specialize in a religion of fear are called, in Hebrew, Haredim, or "Quakers," as in Ezra 9:4. All those who quake at the words of the G0d of Israel gathered to me."

It is the same feeling as in Psalm 2:11. [Hebrew text removed during conversion to HTML -- find way to reinsert]

"Ivdu et haShem b'yir'ah; v'gilu bir'adah"

"Serve G0d in awe; rejoice in trembling."

I know many Jews like this, who are so busy fearing a zap of Divine Displeasure that they cannot have any fun being Jewish. Jews for whom this is true are not confined to the ultra-Orthodox, for which Haredim is usually a synonym. They are also people like us, who quake at the thought of trying to do something Jewish because they fear they will not get it right, and if it is not the zap of Divine Displeasure they fear, then it is the zing of human sarcasm and one-up-manship. That is exactly how most of us view Yom Kippur—as deadly serious, under the Divine Gun, so to speak, because we are such scum that G0d is liable to zap us at any minute.My second favorite phrase now comes into view as the anecdote to fearfulness. It is the exact counter to the previous quote from Psalm 2. It is Psalm 100, verse 2: [Hebrew text removed during conversion to HTML -- find way to reinsert]"Ivdu et haShem b'simchah; bo'u lifanav bir'nanah!" "Serve G0d in joy; come to G0d with happy singing."Does that sound like me? Are those the kind of services I lead? I have to tell you, that I hate to sit through things that bore me. Serve G0d in joy, not in frightful boredom. Come to G0d with happy singing, not in fearful dirges. Seek out the pleasure in it all. Even on Yom Kippur. Why? Because we are forgiven today, if we forgive ourselves and are making attempts to be better. We can be both sorry and happy at the same time, because that is the nature of the day—simultaneous repentance and forgiveness.

I am sure some of you are wondering if these services all day will bore you. And if this is the kind of Shabbat I am talking about. The answer is that this service may bore you, especially if you are unfamiliar with the music, or are unappreciative of the musical style. Hey, I do not appreciate opera, and most of the youth in this room only barely tolerate their parents' musical choices. Sitting still here may also be difficult if the word "G0d" gets in your way. And then there are the other things we could be doing . . .

How to indulge in pleasure.

Like indulging in pleasure. After services tomorrow we will serve a break-the-fast. It will be nice, but it will not be the be-all and end-all of all fast-breakings, because we do not have the budget or the people-power. But what do we serve at home? Do we splurge on things for the holy days, or do we let reasoned reticence rule? My Hillel director, may he be remembered for the good, once told me the story of how his father would search out the new fruits of the season each Shabbat, just to make the day more special, to experience more Oneg, more luxurious pleasure, on Shabbat.

There is a famous phrase that "Shabbat is an appetizer to what heaven will be like." Well, I am not sure there is any heaven, but I do know that Shabbat can be an appetizer for what heaven could be on earth. It can be that way if we concentrate on Oneg Shabbat—the luxury and delight of Shabbat.

For Example:

Do we serve the same old spaghetti on Shabbat, or do we spend time making (or sending out for or going out for) something special?

If we have someone clean your house, what day of the week is the house clean? Tuesday? Why not have it cleaned for Friday night? Wouldn't clean sheets feel nicer on Shabbat than on Monday? Wouldn't the pick of clean clothes be more appreciated on Shabbat than on Thursday?

If we are going to buy something new, will we unveil it or eat it on Wednesday, or on Friday night or Saturday noon?

When do we use our tablecloths? Our good dishes? Our silver? Only when there is a special occasion? Then consider the Shabbat to be a special occasion. Only for guests? Then consider the Sabbath Queen to be our guest.

If we do not let our kids have soda during the week, do we let them have it on Shabbat? If they may not eat candy during the week, may they eat it on Shabbat? May we? If they are supposed to eat all their veggies during the week, do we care if they eat them on Shabbat?

If we do not have time for dessert during the week, do we make an effort to have it on Shabbat?

If we have to eat hot dogs and beans during the week, do we let Shabbat be the day we eat steak?

Shabbat should be a day when we say YES to those many things we deny ourselves and our family all the workday week, and take a break from all the heavy regimens that make the workday week a straight jacket of obligations. That is, a day of few obligations and many pleasures. That is how I see it.

But what if work is fun?

Progressive Jews re-examine the meaning of all the things our ancestors forbid themselves to do lest it would violate the injunction not to do "work" on Shabbat. Many Reform Jews, me among them, have at some time, then, asked, "But what if I like to work? Couldn't I then work?"

Sure we could, but when are we going to get a life? If all we fantasize about is working, Wo! There is the famous joke that when we die, very few of us will say, "Gee, I didn't get to work enough while I was alive!"

Shabbat could be a day when we permit ourselves not to do those things which we regard as chores. Chores, by definition, are things we do not like to do. They are, so to speak, a "Chore!" Easy. Don't do them. Put them off. It is a mitzvah to procrastinate a chore on Shabbat.

But if we like to garden, sew, do crafts, putter on a hobby, exercise, play sports, go to the theater, go out for a nice meal, go to the beach or the forest or to the amusement park or the ball game, and that is our Shabbat from the workday week, then make that our Shabbat. But mark it as such.

What do I mean by "mark it as such?" Do something, and say something, that makes it known to all in our household that this is "Oneg Shabbat," and that we are doing it to enjoy the luxury of time that we have. Kids need to see things that are concrete, and even then it has to be all the time and regularly.

Example, light candles every week, no matter how late we get to it. Toast Shabbat with a nice drink (it does not have to be wine) every week. Have good bread in honor of Shabbat every week. On, before heading out the door to the activity, stop and say, "Thank G0d for the Shabbat and the time to enjoy our lives together." To which the others would answer, "Amen."

We can celebrate Shabbat by going to a restaurant, if it has tablecloths, candles on the table, and is a place where we can order wine. Fast food? Not really. Not enough pleasure in that for me. For you? Really?

We can do it in the woods or in the mountains by packing along candles, wine, and some good bread

.And if we find ourselves rushing out the door to get to where we wanted to pamper ourselves that night without time or opportunity to do any of these things before we go, then we can do them when we get home.

Once I found myself in an airport at candle lighting time during Chanukah. I lit the right number of matches instead of candles. It all depends on whether we make an effort, and identify what it is that we are doing as in honor of Shabbat or of the holy day. There is no reason that such creative people as we are in the rest of our lives cannot find ways to innovate solutions to Jewish practice. It only requires the desire to mark Shabbat, and to do it all the time. That way those special luxuries we indulge in on Shabbat become mitzvot, and not just pig-outs that disrupt our diet and erode our savings. That way we maintain our regimens of self-control, while still allowing ourselves to enjoy our blessings guiltlessly.

Guiltlessly? Did a rabbi suggest, on Yom Kippur of all days, that Jews do something guiltlessly? You heard it here first, folks.

Now allow me to make an outlandish analogy, and then return to finish the topic. I like to think of the regular pampering of ourselves with a regular Shabbat as the bureaucracy of luxury. Shabbat is the Bureaucracy of Luxury. That is, like a bureaucrat, Shabbat ordains us to have fun every week, whether we feel like it or not. Oh, no! Not luxury and pampering and delights and delicacies and sumptuous treats again! It's just too soon. I was just working up a good head of steam on this project. No, not Shabbat! Not now! I really need to cut the grass, clean the garage, fix the sewer, get my cable TV connected, fill up two shopping flats at Costco. I really can't afford the time to enjoy myself.Well, "Shabbat is an appetizer to what heaven will be like." Use it wisely. Listen, unlike the other Biblical sins of transgressing moral laws where the punishments are fines, execution, and Divine zapping, the only punishment for failing to enjoy onesself on a special day is that we don't get to enjoy life.

Slow down and smell the challah.

Let me end by paraphrasing the first and last lines of Psalm 92, the one and only Sabbath Psalm in the book:

Mizmor Shir l'Yom haShabbat, tov l'hodot lAd0nay.

A song, poetry for the Shabbat Day:

It is good to acknowledge G0d:

Od y'nuvun b'seivah, D'SheiNim v'ra'ananim yihyu.

(those who celebrate Shabbat regularly) will still be sprouting flowers in old age,they will be ra'ananim: like towering, majestic, still-leafy trees;

and D'SheiNim: anointedly, luxuriantly, richly, lushly, delightfully so.

(those who celebrate Shabbat regularly) will still be sprouting flowers in old age,they will be ra'ananim: like towering, majestic, still-leafy trees;

and D'SheiNim: anointedly, luxuriantly, richly, lushly, delightfully so.