Lieberman's Sabbath has deep spiritual meaning

By Alan Elsner/Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - And on the seventh day he rested.

This Saturday, the first Sabbath after he was selected as Democratic vice presidential candidate, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, stepped off the campaign trail and retreated into a world of prayer and celebration, as he does most Saturdays unless interrupted by official business.

While this was just another day for Al Gore, George W. Bush and his running mate Dick Cheney, Lieberman was seeking the spirituality and tranquillity of a traditional Jewish "Shabbat."

But what is an Orthodox Sabbath like? What can one do and what can't one do? And what is its spiritual meaning?

On the don't side, from sunset on Friday evening until three stars appear in the sky on Saturday evening, observant Jews will not ride in cars, will not write, turn on lights -- most have automatic timers in their homes -- or use any kind of electric appliances.

Some will not even tear toilet paper, seeing this as a form of work which is forbidden, and make sure to have a supply prepared in advance.

The instruction to keep the Sabbath is the fourth of the Ten Commandments, set out in the Book of Exodus and repeated in the Book of Deuteronomy.

By coincidence, Lieberman will have heard that very passage of Deuteronomy recited this Saturday in synagogue. The annual cycle of readings of the Torah - the first five books of the Bible - reaches that very point on this day. The text states:

"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant nor your maidservant, nor your ass, nor any of your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates."

Republican George W. Bush favours posting the Ten Commandments in schools, libraries and other public places, yet his observance of the Sabbath would not be recognisable to any observant Jew.

The late Jewish philosopher, Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his classic work, "The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man," wrote that the seventh day is meant to give us a taste of "the world to come."

For Heschel, the Sabbath is "a sanctuary in time" where people can escape from their constant struggles to acquire more and more power and possessions. The very Hebrew word "shabbat" means to cease as well as to rest.

"There are many who have acquired a high degree of political and social liberty, but only a very few are not enslaved to things," Heschel wrote. "In spite of our triumphs, we have fallen victims to the work of our hands; it is as if the forces we have conquered have conquered us."

In observant Jewish homes, the Sabbath begins each Friday night at sundown as a woman lights the Sabbath candles. It is a festival time: people dress up, the best tableware and food are presented, guests are welcomed.

As well as attending synagogue on Friday evening and Saturday morning, orthodox families celebrate the Sabbath with traditional meals and gatherings with family and friends.

In addition, Rabbinic guidelines include an injunction that married people should have sex on the Sabbath.

The day ends with a prayer called "Havdalah," which means "Distinguishing," in which Jews bless God for distinguishing between light and darkness, between the holy and the profane, between the Sabbath and the six days of work and between Israel and other nations.

Lieberman has often spoken of how meaningful he finds the Sabbath. In a 1997 interview with Reuters, he said: "It provides me ... with a sense of sanctuary in my week which has become more important to me as I've gone on in life and become busier."

The Connecticut lawmaker will interrupt the Sabbath for Senate votes or official business under a Jewish law known as "Pikuach Nefesh," which states that one can break any of the commandments to save a human life.

Rabbis interpret that liberally to say that one can engage in any activity that will help others in important ways. That does not include campaigning for office.

The first time he ran for the Senate in 1988, Lieberman did not show up for his own nominating convention because it was on a Saturday. He sent a video instead.

"He does not do political things, he doesn't do campaigning on the Sabbath, which means, in effect, that you have a politician to whom politics is not the most important thing in his life," said Rabbi Barry Freundel of Kesher Israel synagogue in Washington, where Lieberman is a member.

If he is elected, Lieberman will face a big dilemma. Inauguration Day, traditionally Jan. 20, falls in 2001 on a Saturday.

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