Tonight begins Shabbat. Shabbat brings us joy. It is a taste of the world to come. A chance to slow down. Relax. Maybe even smell the roses.

Sometimes we get caught in the cycle of all the “Thou Shall Nots” and there are many of them for Shabbat. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. 39 categories of prohibited work. And the work as we know it may not be the work as the rabbis defined it. They wanted us to take a break. They wanted us to pause and be refreshed. It says that G-d rested on the seventh day and was refreshed.

Shabbat is a unique moment in time. A palace in time. Something to be treasured. Not for all the Do Nots. But precisely because it brings us joy. “Just as Israel has keep Shabbat, so has Shabbat kept Israel,” said Ahad Ha’am.

Earlier today in a different context I was asked in a group what I wanted to try that was new for my health or my diet. It has been a long week. Little exercise, much work. I chuckled to myself and said, “Sleep.” And it has been proven that adequate sleep leads to weight loss.

Shabbat naps. Shabbat sleep. Even, dare I say it, Shabbat sex. The rabbis thought that since sex adds to joy, performing the marriage act or using the bed (that’s what they called it) would be a double mitzvah on Shabbat.

That is part of Shabbat. Sleep. So tonight, when I come home from services, I won’t stay up reading a book, although I could argue that would also bring me joy. Instead I will come home and go to sleep.