Q:
Should one sleep on Shabbos afternoon?
Absolutely. Absolutely! However, that doesn’t mean that you should climb into your pajamas and remain there all Shabbos. Because Shabbos is a wonderful opportunity for much better things than sleep. There’s so much thinking you have to do; about briyas ha’olam yeish mei’ayin, about olam chesed yibaneh, about beini u’vein bnei Yisroel. There’s so much to accomplish on Shabbos.
But you must understand that sleep is extremely important for our health. It’s extremely important for our mental health and it’s being neglected by very many people. So Shabbos is a good opportunity to catch up on your sleep. Because of Shabbos, many people are able to survive the week – otherwise, they would collapse for lack of sleep. So certainly you should utilize Shabbos for sleep. But of course, don’t overdo it.
And by the way, since you mentioned the subject, I will tell you that you must be careful to go to sleep every night on time. And make sure that you get enough sleep because due to lack of sleep many, many people have ruined their lives.
TAPE # E-190 (June 1999)
