At Greenbriar traffic light, turn right, West - toward Mts. (Name changes to Lehigh.)

Trailhead is on your left at 1.6 miles, "Skip' bus stop will be on your right.

Turn right on Lafayette for plenty of on-street parking.

Broadway to Greenbriar, southernmost tip of Boulder. Follow Boulder directions above

Please have Adventure Rabbi contact me now >>

Click here to email your RSVP

By Rabbi Jamie Korngold, a.k.a. 'The Adventure Rabbi'

Some rabbis teach that the Sabbath is similar to what we will experience in heaven. I teach that the Sabbath is like a Zamboni. Do they have Zambonis in heaven? I don’t know but they should.

Sometimes it feels too hard to “justify” taking time off for the Sabbath. Most of us have said, “I would love to take a day off but I can’t possible! How will the company/soccer team/PTA/ carpool fill in the blank make it without my help?” Or, “I have so many errands to run and just this one day to do it!”

I generally don’t think I have time for Sabbath, or that I need Sabbath. But when the calendar barks “Its time for Sabbath. Please stop doing whatever you are doing that you think is so important and sit down with your friends and family and relax.” How good it feels! A chance to stop racing around the rink of life, to simply be. Then, when I return to the rink of everyday, how refreshed I am.

Why is the Sabbath like a Zamboni? We know that the Zamboni smoothes out the ice so that we can skate smoother, faster and more gracefully. But the Zamboni does for more than that. Allow me to illustrate.

Every January my friends and I used to go skating up on a big lake in the mountains. The moment we arrived, I rushed to lace on my skates and get out on the ice. I started off slowly, making big circles around and around, but in no time I became a speed skater, bent over low, one hand on my low back, the other swinging back and forth. My quads ached from the effort, and I ended up falling, sliding across the ice. But the momentum of the circle pulled me back up for a few more laps, and a few more, and just a few more. It’s hard to stop when the ice gets a hold of you.

Eventually, the voice on the loudspeaker barked, ”Please clear the ice for a 15-minute break.” At that point, I had never had quite enough skating. I said, “The ice feels fine to me, I don’t see why they need to smooth it out right now. We could certainly skate a few more minutes.” But again the voice demanded, “Please clear the ice!”

Reluctantly, I glided off the ice. My friends and I sat down by one of the big bonfires and warmed our faces as the flames thawed our cheeks. The thermoses of hot chocolate came out of backpacks, and the stories started. Sometimes we sang songs or just talked about what had been going on in our lives. How good it felt to sit down! I never realized how tired my legs were until the ground stopped moving under my feet.

Out came the Zamboni and I watched as the driver made grand circles around the lake. The big bulky machine glided over the ice, filling the cracks and smoothing out the surface of the lake. I wondered about the guy who drives it and how much fun it must be to answer, “So, what do you do? “ with “I drive a Zamboni.”

As my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I noticed the huge sky of stars that I was unable to see beneath the glare of the skating lights. How beautiful it was!

Finally, it was time to get back on the ice. I went out, somewhat reluctantly. Once again I realized how much I love the break time, -- with the stars and the fires, the stories and the hot chocolate.

Back on the ice - amazing! With fresh legs and smooth ice, I was transformed into Dorothy Hamill, Wayne Gretzky and Jeremy Wotherspoon all in one.

So can you see why the Sabbath is like a Zamboni?

If you're like most of us, when Friday night arrives, you probably don't think that you can take 24 hours to just chill. But when you do -- oh how good it feels!

Come on an Adventure Rabbi trip we will explore how the outdoors can help us infuse the Sabbath and therefore our lives, with meaning, tranquility, and purpose.

Thus were finished the heavens and the earth, with all of their array. God had finished, on the seventh day, his work that he had made, and then he ceased, on the seventh day, from all his work that he had made. God gave the seventh day his blessing and he hallowed it, for on it he ceased from all his work, that by creating God had made. Gen 2:1-3 (trans. Everett Fox)