The Power of Sleep

Written by Rabbi Elliott Karstadt — 27 October 2024

We are about to sing together the words of v’shamru, the extract from the Torah that reminds us of the commandment to rest on Shabbat.

How appropriate for us to pause and focus on these words right after the conclusion of our High Holy Days. How even more appropriate, given that this has been a High Holy Days like no other – that in addition to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah, in between and interwoven with those annual festivities, we have contended with the anniversary of the 7 October attacks, and we have joyfully opened our new building. And all of this against a background of intensifying violence in the Middle East, another change of leadership in our community, and so on.

People are generally tired out and there is such a core need for sleep and replenishment. In his bestselling book, Why We Sleep, the scientist Matthew Walker argues that sleep is one of our most powerful tools for restoring our health. Just in the first few pages, he tells us that lack of sleep demolishes the immune system, doubles the risk of cancer, increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease, causes arteries to become blocked and therefore increases the risk of stroke and congestive heart failure – just to name a few of the risks associated with lack of sleep. ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’ many people say – and Walker points out that this is rather unfortunate, since the lack of sleep actually seems to bring the point of death closer – to the extent that the World Health Organisation have declared a sleep pandemic in the Western World. Walker recommends that doctors start prescribing sleep (though, he wants to stress, not prescribing sleeping pills, but actually giving our bodies the opportunity to sleep).

The words with which our prayer finishes are

כִּי־שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים עָשָׂ֤ה יהוה֙ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבַיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י שָׁבַ֖ת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ

– which our prayer book translates as ‘For in six days the Creator made heaven and earth and on the seventh day ceased from work and was at rest.’ But that last word vayinafash, means so much more than to be at rest. It is the word nefesh – soul or body or person, or life force – turned into a verb. One person I know translates it as ‘resouled’.

This is the power of sleep and rest. It restores our life force. Rather than indicating that we are being lazy or weak, resting and sleep is the thing that might just save our lives and the lives of those around us.

So this Shabbat, and at the end of these extra-ordinary High Holy Days, may we give take whatever opportunities we have to give ourselves the gift of rest – the gift of recharge and the gift of life.