I was just thinking over the past few weeks how lucky I am to have Shabbos. And how if all these people I see outside my apt driving their cars on Shabbos only knew what it felt like... what Shabbos felt like... how they don't know what they are missing!

I see my neighbor cleaning his car... so sad that he doesn't have this special day. Only another mundane weekday.

A few years ago before I made Aliyah my goyish coworker said to me "Pinchas, you Jews got it right! Sabbath comes in and thats it you stop working - no matter what! That's the way to do it. I should become Jewish! "

Shabbos is especially amazing in certain areas of Eretz Yisrael - such as the kotel of course on Friday night and areas where the streets are closed. You feel the holy atmosphere. And all the singing - at the kotel, or at a tish in meah sharim - you feel the spirituality. You feel the neshama yesera - the special extra soul! This is a spiritual matter that you can't really describe with words but it is truly the most amazing experience.

And to think as I often do looking around at the packed kotel plaza with soldiers and yeshiva guys dancing in a circle - this happens every seven days! Wow! We are so lucky!

I love Shabbos Kodesh.

Yeah...there's a Jamaican black in T.O that converted to Judaism a couple years ago. He happens to be a cop. When he asked his supervisor for shabbos off, his supervisor asked him if he was really willing to give up all of his vacation days. He (the cop) replied, "When you go on your vacations, you guys always come back more tired then when you started. Me? I get a day off every week where I don't do anything strenuous...I come back more refreshed on Sunday then any of you combined." And he's right.