On Shabbat you practice living in the world-to-come, the world where the division between spiritual and physical is erased and you see the holiness of all things. On Shabbat you create a world where the interdependence of matter and spirit, person and person, and person and planet is acknowledged and honored. On Shabbat you act as if there were nothing to change, no need for willfulness or desire. On Shabbat you act as if everything lived out its potential, doing what needs to be done with effortless grace and compassion.

On Shabbat you live as if you were spiritually awake and aware. What a phenomenal idea! How do you know what spiritual awakening is like? Make Shabbat. How do you know what spiritual living is like? Make Shabbat. Live for one day as if you were at home in the universe. Live for one day without trying to control the people around you and the situations in which you find yourself. Live for one day in a state of total acceptance.

Do you grasp the wonder and challenge of this day? Not a day without desire; that is not possible. But a day not to act on those desires.

Rami Shapiro in Minyan