Reflections of an observant Jew on a cruise

I decided to interrupt the pattern of my last few posts from experiences I had in Israel because I went on a cruise a few days ago. I hadn't been on one in almost two years and inspiration struck me as I was on the ship for a weekend, including the Jewish day of rest, Shabat.

The environment isn't the most conducive to experiencing the holiness of the day. There's music everywhere, dinning room, hallways, and even the restrooms. There's automatic doors in between spaces, the room key is electronic, and same as the faucet, soap and toilet in public spaces bathrooms. Having a proper Shabat meal was an odyssey in itself, I had to take a cup with drinking water from the dining room to be able to wash for bread without performing forbidden labor. As nice as it is to have table service Friday night, it's just the wrong day for it. Kidush and all the singing feels out of place.

I thought I'd be less bothered by it but after a while I gave up and decided to spend as much time in my room as possible. Even though it feels constricting to be in a small space for a long period of time, it was my safe haven of Kedusha (holiness). There I could control the environment. The fact that there's music everywhere really upset me, heaven forbid a person can have a moment to themselves to think in peace. The outside stimuli is non-stop, trying to quiet down the voices within. Let's just say your Neshama (soul) doesn't communicate with you so easily. If you're not strong enough to maintain a mindful state you may find yourself drifting into a sing-along of the pop songs that keeps repeating themselves. It's definitely a battle.

So plagued by this tug of war, feeling the right vibes is very hard, it's a pity but the lesson was learned. A Cruise is the exact opposite of spending Shabat in Tsfat. One entirely physical, the other entirely spirtual and out of this world. This recent experience contrasts my Summer trip to Israel from a few months ago. The silver lining is Hashem, in His infinite Mercy, gives you the remedy before the disease. He gave me the strength to go through this challenge by going on the Akiva trip and taking in as much kedusha as possible. And I'm blessed to be more fortified in my observance. I also appreciate a simple and holy shabat much more now.

In a nutshell, a Cruise isn't the best place for an Observant Jew, neither body nor soul. Temptation plagues every corner. Shabat is just the beginning. Then you have the Kosher issue, where you're forced to eat frozen airline-style meals that aren't the freshest. And the cherry on top are night activities, where people dress up (or down, depending how you want to look at it) to go to a club or bar scene. The lack of clothes is just the beginning of the immodest behavior. It oozes impurity and coarseness. It may be a fun time for a while, but the pleasure is fleeting and it wears off, unlike the rewarding and long-lasting benefits of a spiritual relationship with your Creator. Be careful before being fooled by the shiny things. Not everything that glitters is gold. Next time you want to go on a family vacation you might want to think twice before choosing a cruise.

To life!

Vivian Chaya Russo

#Cruise #ObservantJew #Judaism