A word of Torah:    

        And God blessed the seventh day, and declared it holy; because on it God rested from all the work of creation that God had done. (Gen. 2:2-3) Shabbat is introduced in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis, long before there are any Jews in the world, suggesting that the Sabbath is meant to be part of the natural rhythm of the world. It is God who rests that first week.
        Why is it so intrinsic to the world?  Shabbat introduces a critical concept in Judaism—kedushah--often translated as holiness. Kedushah is a religious concept that connotes something special, but is in fact a larger idea. It is often contrasted to hol –the ordinary.  Kedushah suggests that there are moments like Shabbat that are set apart from the ordinary and enable us to connect to the spirituality of our lives and be touched by transcendent meaning, that which is beyond ourselves. Judaism asks us to reflect, to pause, and thereby not let time just pass us by. Shabbat is a weekly opportunity to re-orient ourselves on our life’s journey. 
         Shabbat is the first disruption of the natural cycle--it is not like day and night, which are natural phenomena. Shabbat is an act of ascribing meaning and structure to a natural phenomenon.  On this day, we are to rest as God rested—in effect imitating God, in whose image we are created. This notion may not be about how we "look" like God but rather that we are to act like God. While we spend most of the week creating and working, on the seventh day we pause. Perhaps that too is a way that we are to be like God shaping the world around us not only physically but also with concepts and values.  The ability to shape the world is the most Godlike quality humans have. It is the most profound way in which we are created in the image of God. And so is our ability to stop that process in order to reset.
        In these challenging times, we need Shabbat more than ever, not because it is a magic refuge from the tension of our lives, but because it is a well that replenishes the resilience of our spirit. Traditionally, Jews draw on the afterglow of the last Shabbat from Saturday night through Tuesday. On Wednesday, we begin anticipating the coming of Shabbat. We both want the kedushah of Shabbat to linger and mid-week begin to prepare to be fully present for the next Shabbat and its gifts. Try to carry pieces of the quiet, the peace, and the sense of wholeness of Shabbat into the week, particularly in the stressful weeks leading up to the election.
      See the “Shabbat during the week practice” for specific suggestions.