In March 2010, as I have reported on this site elsewhere, I made the 'transition' to being fully shabbas orientated, not using electricity or touching the lights, unscrewing the lights on the refrigerator, not using the computer, not spending any money anywhere, not driving and all the like. No television either!
I was very excited. At the time I was a congregant at a ChaBaD shul. After setting into my 'transition', I felt excited that I was finally a "good Jew" and that I was doing the same as the rabbi and his family.
To this, I mentioned to one of the rabbis sons that I was fully shabbas observant. I expected a major congratulations and a smile and maybe even a bigger gesture of some kind. The fellow basically said ok, did not ask any questions and walked away.
The rabbi, when I told him that I was going to be fully shabbas observant and that I would no longer be able to go to synagogue on saturday and friday night basically suggested to me rather than being happy of my new aspiration that he was baaically unhappy that I would no longer be visiting his shul to help him make minyan.
This was not the reception that I had hoped.
I never went to synagogue on saturday for a full year.
I was basically not very well received by a few and I must say that truly I felt I was doing the right thing and that I was finally a "good jew", but in truth, it was short lived.
Over the following year and then some, I made what I believe to be full repentance for some of my own transgressions of the past as well as what I regard as some pennance as well.
Today I am quite well, but the rabbi does not speak to me at all.
Oh well, I will keep shabbas as I believe it to be made for our people.
As for anyone reading this, please do not go to extremes to fit in or to carry the weight of Israel on your shoulders by keeping the ultra stringent and ultra 'religious' shabbas unless you really want. It is not in my beliefs a matter of truth and prosperity in so much as really, just be a good jew and enjoy your life and enjoy the shabbas day. Don't spend your whole day worrying about what you should and should not do.
If I ever sell my book collection, the very first book I will like to sell is the 3 volume set called the Shabbath Shemirath which "tells you in detail all the things that you can and can not do on the sabbath day".
Truly our Creator is not that stringent and not that crazy that he would wait until the late 20th century to finally release the "truth" about how to be a Shabbas orientated Jew.
Its all in the Torah and Tanakh.
Make sense? I hope it does.
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