With permission from Kveller (the on-line “Jewish twist on parenting” magazine) and blogger, Vanya Green Assuied, please enjoy this guest post on feeling stuck in limbo on Shabbat. Notice how Vanya changes her perspective on Shabbat concluding that, for now, “it’s about doing what’s right for her and her family.”
It was my second time meeting with Chana with the hopes of renting her Jerusalem apartment. I was in Israel on a research grant and following an ulpan (intensive Hebrew immersion course) in Jerusalem, had moved to Tel Aviv to be closer to my university. After just a few weeks of living by the water, I felt pulled back to Jerusalem.
Chana went through a checklist of the idiosyncrasies of the apartment. It would be furnished and I would not need to, nor would I be permitted to, bring my own bed. The school across the street could be loud at lunchtime. There was no dishwasher, of course, but I was welcome to use the laundry machine provided. And then almost as an afterthought she added, “Shabbat. Of course you keep Shabbat.”
“Well,” I started. And that was the beginning of the end. “I may turn on the lights here and there.”
“No. No turning on and off the lights. You must keep Shabbat.”
“But—,”
To read the rest of this blog, please go to the original posting on Kveller.
The S.T.U.C.K. Method 
March 6, 2014 at 1:59 pm
Shabbat is ALWAYS about doing what ids right for you and your family. The challenge is determining that for yourself. It then, will become easier….