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This Shabbat we read about the sabbatical year.  Every seven years the land is to lie fallow.  We are not to plant or till the land, allowing it an opportunity for renewal.  The land needs time to rest so that it can be refreshed and produce it best. 
 
This is true for people too, and this week’s Torah portion reminds us why we have a Shabbat every week.  When God created the world, God created time each week to for us to rest and renewal, time for us to refresh ourselves so that we can produce and be our best.
 
I have spent this past week at a professional conference, the theme of which has been “Hineini – Here I Am.”  The conference has focused on the importance of being present and having intention in everything we do.  When you are having a conversation, are you truly listening, or are you more focused on how you want to reply?  When you do something, do you think about the impact your actions will have?  When a loved one is in pain, are you able to disconnect and be present enough to see it?  Do you think about how your words will be heard before you say them?
 
Being present and living with intention is hard work, but there is nothing more important.  And to be able to do it even just most of the time, we need a Shabbat, a weekly sabbatical.  We need a time to reset, to reflect, to refresh, to renew, and to remind us what really matters. May we each be able to find at least some moments of Shabbat each week, and may they help us to be present and purposeful. 
 

- Rabbi Shana Nyer