Coming out of Shabbat is a good time to reflect on our power to choose. This post will be brief, as it is late and I choose to honour my health with adequate sleep.

In today’s Torah reading, I told the congregation about various
transgressions that were punishable by death – idolatry, refusing to accept the verdict of the central religious authority, and disobeying one’s parents, among others. Desecration of Shabbat was also a capital crime in Biblical times.

Nowadays, things are very different. Unless you live in a religious community, there are no sanctions for breaking the Sabbath – in fact, there’s quite a heavy social price to be paid for not being available on Saturdays.

It comes down to the power of choice – every family makes its own choices, ideally with thoughtful consideration and not because of habit or community pressure.

It is our power to choose, our free will, which makes us truly human. It is a gift not to be taken lightly.