Customer Reviews

The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time

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I heard Judith Shulevitz interviewed on Public Radio and was struck by a fresh definition of the Sabbath. I may not have her exact words, but what I remember is that she described the Sabbath as a time to refrain from trying to control the course of our lives, but rather let time happen to us. So I read the book and was blessed. I am an ordained Episcopal Priest, and learned a lot about my own religion as well as Judaism. Author Shulevitz offers a loving and educated presence through the book. I am thinking about organizing some groups to share this book.

I ordered this book because I needed a vacation, and no real escape was on my calendar. It more than delivered. Reading these chapters--and the unexpected ways the author creates intersections between scholarship, history, and memoir--provided (as the subtitle promised) much needed glimpses of a different order of time.

Highly recommended for readers of any spiritual background.

I really came out on the other side of this book. It was named one of the NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2010 and I just didn't see it. It does do a good job taking the reader through the history of the Sabbath with my examples given from various religions and practices. I thought though that Shulevitz came off as being very angry and to be honest somewhat resentful of people who do in fact observe the Sabbath. It made me as the reader cringe somewhat when she talked about how she observes the Sabbath but in her own way and not according to really any of the dictums found in the Torah other than the cultural pieces. Overall I can't recommend this book becuase in addition to the attitude of the writer that seeped through the pages, I thought the majority of the book was just too hard to understand and really get into.

The premise of "Sabbath World" is deceptively simple yet far deeper and more complex than you'd think. In an age before clocks imposed an easily understood definition of hours and minutes, time was measured in a relative manner, measured in days, weeks, and seasons. Small wonder a day came to be given up to celebrate a people's god (or gods as the case may be) and to share in family and fellowship. "Sabbath World" examines the evolution of the Sabbath in Judaism, and later Christianity, and Islam. Shulevitz looks at how religious groups came to create the concept of Sabbath and its larger meaning then, through the ages, and today. To a degree "Sabbath World" came to remind me of books like (Slowing Down in a Speeded Up World that argue for more time out from an activity saturated society. The Sabbath became not only a day of worship but a day to slow down and decompress, especially when compared to earlier ages when people worked 6 or even 7 days a week - in some cases 80 hours a week or more.

To a degree Shulevitz is also calling for society to reclaim some of the values associated with the Sabbath and that we're collectively losing our connections to each other as a result of turning the Sabbath into a day to get things done. It's also a reminder of how we as a society have retained vestiages of the past in ways we don't truly fathom or understand, as well as falling into the History of Ideas genre. "Sabbath World" is an interesting book and a call to rethink how we live out our lives. There's nothing earth-shattering here; it's more revelatory and though-provoking. Perhaps something to discuss at Sunday dinners, but more likely to be something that will be Twittered.

Judith Shulevitz' wonderful new book investigates access into the transcendental by the separation of time into a module discrete from the mundane world.

For people of faith, this is a rich inquiry; for others, it may begin to elucidate why everyday reality can become thin and dessicated in the absence of concepts presented in the book such as why time is not a fungible commodity, that time has qualitative as well as quantitative attributes and how time can become holy.

Drawing from the traditions of millennia, The Sabbath World is a thoroughly examined appreciation of a most special gift.

Sabbath World is a must-read for any Jew who wants to understand more about the Sabbath, one of our faith's most important inventions, and understand more about what it means to be a Jew.

The book intersperses memoir with research and social theory about the Jewish Shabbat as well as other religions' decision to anoint a day for rest. Sabbath World at times gets weighed down by the amount of research, but the author keeps readers engaged because she always returns us to her own story. The 47-year-old writer's prose becomes the most poignant and honest when she describes her struggles with her faith.

In an interview with Shulevitz for my blog, Jewish Muse, at [...], she speaks candidly about her attempt to get us all thinking about whether America should return to a national day of rest. She makes her case with eloquence in Sabbath World.

Sabbath World is fascinating because of its structure, and Shulevitz alternates from memoir to history to social theory to even literary analysis. Her personal story sits with me the most, and I already feel compelled to dig back into her book again and again perhaps even as something I would read on the Sabbath. It as as if she has written several d'var Torahs - several riffs on scripture. In our interview, I asked the author what are some of the passages she would recommend to readers to truly understand the Sabbath. She suggests her chapter on group dynamics, the part, she says, "where I talk about the Sabbath as a four-step program for building community. It's important that the Sabbath has this efficacy. It's not just about religion. It's a brilliant form of social organization. It's not just this Jewish thing."

Read this book, and you will be both enlightened and entertained.

I feel like she lost her point of the book at some parts, but it was good. The author is Jewish and i feel she is a bit bias towards christians, but whatever. i almost feel she also has a lot of negatives towards sabbath rituals and even superior religous people like priests and rabbis. aside from that, its a very healthy book to read if your wanted a glimpse into the sabbath world.

Her writing style is complex, but draws you in, makes you concentrate. The historical parts were especially informative. Her ideas regarding the electronic intrusions on our "sabbath" experiences were very compelling. Made me look at my cell phone in a new way. I passed it along to my Rabbi. Expect a sermon on it when he is done!

If you wanted mostly theology or philosophy, you'll be disappointed. If you wanted a decisive conclusion, you'll be disappointed. On the other hand, the historical information was very good. And I was glad a liberal Jewish author didn't take cheap shots on Christians, but was qenerally quite positive and realistic. I learned a lot about Jewish and Christian shabbat practices- which was one reason for buying the book. What I expected from the author- and didn't get- was a stronger ending that answered the question "where do I go from here?" I sympathized with her struggles with shabbat, I do to,as a Christian Sunday keeper, that is. I know more, but I still don't have a lot of direction for truly honoring and keeping shabbat. Don't think I didn't like the book. I do. I could overlook the author's definite liberal slant both theologically and politically. All in all, well said and long overdue. But again, where do go from here?

Wonderful book that gives you new perspectives and ideas on every page. Informative and entertaining. Personal and theoretical.
I loved it.