02/02/2026
This week, we turn to the next installment of our series, “Our Shabbat Stories,” with reflections from our congregant, Lisa Wallis, who shares her own Shabbat story:
My husband Jerry and I have lived in St. Louis for 40 years this June, transplants from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Of course, our Shabbat practice has changed over the decades; beginning with nursery school Friday mornings, Religious School events, b’nai mitzvot weekends and now empty nesters with daughters and granddaughter “in-town” with whom we migrate back and forth between homes.
Throughout all of the years, Friday late afternoon into the evening is the time when I nurture a personal inner calm. A calm that separates the upcoming day apart from the previous days. To contribute to this growing calmness in smaller and larger ways, I change the kitty litter (!), take the recycling to the garage, clear off my desk, and grocery shop for the weekend. I turn away from the mailbox (electronic and curbside!), and turn towards myself, my family, and close friends.
Friday nights are at home unless we are at a Shabbat related event. I light our Shabbat candles and breath into an evening and the day that to come whose cadence is specific to Shabbat. Shabbat day is a Ttme to read with a cup of tea, to participate in Shir Hadash gatherings; time to be outside. Sometimes I go swimming or play my flute, or even garden or shovel snow (!), but calmness prevails. I am aware of myself as more of a soul and a loved one, than somebody who “gets things done”.
Occasionally, a Shabbat sense eludes me. Perhaps I am traveling, or something seems too important or interesting to bypass; something that I would ordinarily place into a secular weekday. Then, I feel like I’ve missed a gift to myself. I remind myself, then, as a dear teacher once said to me many years ago, "That’s okay, not yet this time, next time." Shabbat is a time for self compassion. When I enact and empower my capacity for self compassion, I find that I am more compassionate of others as well and that’s good for all of us. Shabbat offers me an opportunity over a period of hours to witness, both more closely and also with a sense of distance, my place in Creation. This grounding strengthens my interest and capacity to engage with the week to come. May this be so for you as well.
