Taking Time Off

In honor of the upcoming Shabbat Across America and Canada (This Friday!) Jewish Treats presents some of our original Treats about Shabbat.

In the day-to-day hubbub of our 21st century world, we are wired and wireless. With free wi-fi at Starbucks we can transport our offices to the coffee shop and save on rental space. ($100 per month on coffee versus a few thousand dollars to rent office-space should be a no-brainer. How come it hasn’t caught on?) Through our cellphones and Blackberrys we are now available 24/7. Bluetooth wearers have one ear dedicated to their cellphone and the other to the rest of the world. Even on vacation, we are likely to be accessible. It seems like there is no break.

Shabbat!. (25 hours, starting a little before sunset on Friday) Ah! The sheer simplicity of the idea. All electrical devices are preset or turned off. No phones or email. We actually sit down with our families and friends and enjoy each other’s company. We relax. We talk. We visit. It’s a relief not to be bound to others, to actually have a day, once a week, when we answer to no person.

Shabbat as a break from everything, from the hectic nature of life as we know it, is the first step toward achieving true freedom and genuine spiritual bliss.

Start small. Think big. Experience “heaven” on earth.

This Treat was originally published on July 24, 2008.