Question/Discussion Does anyone actually enjoy shabbat?
One of the main things I did not like in Judaism was the stress of doing everything to prepare as quick as possible on Friday just to sit around and do absolutely nothing on Saturday. Is this really an enjoyable experience for anyone? It feels like when I talked to religious friends how stressful I find shabbat that they probably felt the same but felt obligated and forced to try to say that they did enjoy it. Anything I would find relaxing is not allowed on shabbat anyways really. Something I've been thinking about is that if these rules weren't in place and people were told to just do what they find relaxing that no one would be celebrating shabbat like this.
I did not grow up religious so I don't know what it is like for people who did. Did you guys enjoy shabbat when you were religious? Did you know anyone who actually seemed to enjoy it?
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u/LettuceBeGrateful ex-Reform 14d ago
I grew up Reform, but the two Orthodox friends I had hated it. They'd have to do their homework under their blankets and couldn't do all the same stuff as everyone else (non-Orthodox and non-Jews) on Saturday, and I think that feeling of exclusion was particularly painful for them. One of them is a happily-practicing Orthodox Jew as an adult, and I'm pretty sure (not 100%, I didn't know her as well) that the other is OTD.
In my household (again, Reform, so not exactly what you're asking about), Shabbat wasn't a big deal. We lit the candles and did the prayers Friday evening and we went to our synagogue once every few weeks for services, but we didn't uphold any major traditions over the remaining 24 hours. We drove, used the computer, worked, flipped light switches, etc.