Sh! They’re sleeping. It is Labor Day in America. A chance to pause. To rest. To thank our workers. To have one last summer barbecue. To have the choice to do what we want to do when we want to do it. Not everybody is so lucky to have Labor Day off. In the last few years we have learned especially about essential workers. Health care workers. Police. Fire. EMTs. Grocery store workers and yes, coffee baristas all will be working this weekend and today.

This is a lucky year for me. The High Holy Days are a little bit later so Simon and I are on vacation. For real. We have managed a bucket list trip for Simon. Camp Michigania in northern Michigan, Owned by the the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, it runs family camp during the summer with all the camp activities I loved as a child (and counselor) and lectures by leading UofM professors. This weekend if quiet. The horses are here but no riding. The swimming decks and boats have been put away for the season. Hiking abounds. There is a distinct chill in the early morning air.

For me, this is a chance to write, to paint, to read. To sit and close my eyes and dream,To listen to the birds, the wind in the trees, the water lapping against the shore, Simon’s rhythmic breathing. To have long conversations with Simon. To feel the breeze. To smell the end of summer (yes, there is a distinct oder) and the campfire on the beach. To look up at the stars and see both a sunrise and a sunset. To remember my essential self.

I am grateful for this opportunity to explore work and rest. Judaism teaches a lot about work and rest, separating Shabbat from the rest of the week. We begin with candles to sanctify time. We end with a braided havdalah candle and the smell of sweet spices to mark the end of Shabbat.

In the Talmud, ((Shabbos 119a)) it teaches that once  the Roman emperor asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananyah,, “Why is it that your food has a special scent on Shabbat?” The Rabbi replied, “I have a certain spice called ‘Shabbat’ that I put in the food, and this creates a special fragrance.” The emperor then asked Rabbi Yehoshua to give him some of this spice so that his food, too, would have this unique aroma. The Rabbi explained that the spice is effective only for those who observe Shabbat.

My special spice this week might have been a corn chowder and a sour cherry margarita.

Labor Day is an important time. A Shabbat, if you will. I am grateful for the union organizers, many of whom are and were Jewish, to have fought for a sensible work week, allowing for rest, for job safety and job security, for living and liivieable wages, for health benefits and more,

The balance between work and rest is tricky in our modern 24×7 culture. The ability to log on and check email and the news blurs the lines. There are different kinds of rest:

• Physical rest: more sleep, naps, deep breaths, stretching,  (yes, please, I;’ll take that nap!)
• Mental restL music meditation, silence, turning off our brains and seeing what emerges. (perhaps the hardest for me. I woke up writing to do lists!)
• Emotional rest: offloading emotional baggage, taking to a good listener or a therapist
• Social rest:: catching up with an old friend or conversely refraining from socializing
• Creative rest: reading a book, taking a walk in nature (I like this one, anything that slows me down–reading, painting, writing, photography)
• Spiritual rest: doing things that give you a sense of purpose and meaning
• Sensory rest: turning off screens and finding the quiet (No TV up north!, limited wifi so doing this by default!)

For me, if I choose to write, then it is not work. It keeps me grounded. It is one of my spiritual disciplines. Simon and I have often worked at soup kitchens, feeding the hungry or attended a rally for some cause or other. While those activities can be tiring, they are not work because they are something that we enjoy doing together–and they give meaning to our lives.

Do I do those things as a congregational rabbi–for sure sometimes. Do I do them in my work role or my private role? Do I have a private role? What about boundaries?

Enjoy your holiday.One last hamburger on the grill (ah shucks, we grill year round). One last dip in the pool or the lake. One last s’more. And also:  Remember to thank a worker–at the grocery, at a restaurant, if you need to call the police or fire department–or if you find yourself at a hospital today. Once when we were camping in Aaadia, I wanted to bring something home to remind me of how simple life could be. I would up with a heart made of Cadillac Mountain granite. What will I come home with this trip?

I will come back from the northwoods rested (whatever that means), a little sunburned, with a better sense of balance and more aware of my essential self.