s8snicks's review
4.0
I am terrible at practicing the Sabbath and I have so many questions around how to practically live it out in this life with little kids and a business to run so I was really excited to read this one from Ruth Haley Barton. I was especially encouraged when she started by acknowledging her own struggles with practicing the Sabbath and how it's been a journey for her.
Balancing Scriptural teaching, Rabbinic practices and her own experiences, Barton walks through both the why and some practical "how" of practicing the sabbath and taking sabbatical. I especially appreciated the reflection questions at the end of each chapter that helped make it practical and helped apply the teachings. The questions were well worded and thought out to be helpful on an individual's journey to experiencing the gift of Sabbath in their life.
Barton acknowledges that Sabbath life isn't a prescriptive experience. What I mean by that is that she allows for each of us to practice sabbath in a way that's beneficial to the way that we were created. Sure there are principal's that guide that for every one - and she does a good job of addressing those - but there are also things that are unique to the individual. For example, what one considers work, another might not. Likewise, what one considers restful and life-giving, another might not. This is one of the spots where I found the reflections sections especially helpful as a guide to digging into the individual nature of Sabbath.
That said, she also acknowledges the community aspect which, I think, a reading of both scripture and Jewish practice has to take into account as the communal focus was integral to those communities. It was an interesting evaluation for our individually focused society.
I would say that about the first third to the first half of the book focused on Sabbath in a way that was applicable to everyone. After that, it felt much more applicable to church leaders. My one critique of the book would be that the audience wasn't clear and clearer marketing around the target would be be beneficial. Much of the second half of the book was definitely targeted to those in church leadership - how to lead a community into greater practice of the sabbath - and, nearer to the end, to those in vocational ministry (especially the portions on Sabbatical).
Balancing Scriptural teaching, Rabbinic practices and her own experiences, Barton walks through both the why and some practical "how" of practicing the sabbath and taking sabbatical. I especially appreciated the reflection questions at the end of each chapter that helped make it practical and helped apply the teachings. The questions were well worded and thought out to be helpful on an individual's journey to experiencing the gift of Sabbath in their life.
Barton acknowledges that Sabbath life isn't a prescriptive experience. What I mean by that is that she allows for each of us to practice sabbath in a way that's beneficial to the way that we were created. Sure there are principal's that guide that for every one - and she does a good job of addressing those - but there are also things that are unique to the individual. For example, what one considers work, another might not. Likewise, what one considers restful and life-giving, another might not. This is one of the spots where I found the reflections sections especially helpful as a guide to digging into the individual nature of Sabbath.
That said, she also acknowledges the community aspect which, I think, a reading of both scripture and Jewish practice has to take into account as the communal focus was integral to those communities. It was an interesting evaluation for our individually focused society.
I would say that about the first third to the first half of the book focused on Sabbath in a way that was applicable to everyone. After that, it felt much more applicable to church leaders. My one critique of the book would be that the audience wasn't clear and clearer marketing around the target would be be beneficial. Much of the second half of the book was definitely targeted to those in church leadership - how to lead a community into greater practice of the sabbath - and, nearer to the end, to those in vocational ministry (especially the portions on Sabbatical).
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