Stop the world I wanna get off!
Do you ever feel like the world is moving at a frenetic pace and you can’t seem to catch up? That even though we have more “stuff” than ever before, and give our children far more than we ever had, our most significant relationships are still lacking? That despite dizzying medical, scientific, and technological advances we are still not living life to the fullest, that deep down there is an ache for something deeper, more pure, more “real?”
You are not alone.
In an article titled “Your Blackberry or Your Wife,” the Wall Street Journal (Jan. 11, 2011) described the devastating assault of various forms of technology on virtually every important part of our lives – from our relationships with our children, to safety while driving, to intimacy with our spouses.
No, this does not mean we should all go Amish. After all, besides the obvious convenience and necessity of technology in the world we live in, you are likely reading these very words- wise choice- online, and, ironically, I read the WSJ article in their Online Edition.
More fundamentally, as the Billy Joel song goes – “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Although there is no doubt in my mind that today’s technology has aggravated many serious social ills, the struggle to find meaningful space in our lives is a problem as old as the world itself.
But so is the solution.
Remember the Sabbath Day to sanctify it. Six days you shall toil and accomplish all your work . . . for in six days G-d created the heaven and the earth . . .and He rested on the seventh day, therefore G-d blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
A question: What exactly does it mean that G-d “rested?” Was He worn out from all that building and creating and needed a weekend to “chill out?” I think- actually . . . know- not!
Rather, as the classic commentaries explain, G-d created the world in six days – but then on the seventh day came the most important development of all – the creation of rest, purpose, and sacred time.
In the words sung by Jews worldwide as they welcome in the Shabbos – the Day of Rest is “last in deed, first in thought.” All of creation is meaningful only if there is time to pause, think, and appreciate the truly important aspects of life.
The above mentioned WSJ article is just one of several, including one recently published in the NY Times, describing the various ideas proposed by young, hip media professionals to take a break from our “always on” culture – including the idea of a “National Day of Unplugging” and a list of principles to be followed one day a week in order to unwind.
Sounds like a cool, cutting edge, (New Age?) concept. Except that it’s not. (Too bad, I was looking forward to telling my kids how cool and hip I am.) Jews who practice the timeless wisdom of the Torah have known for thousands of years that, in the words of the expert quoted by the WSJ, "There has to be some time in the week when you are all together and you shut off,” and focus inward.
Observed properly, Shabbos promises life-altering benefits – physical and spiritual pleasure, love, peace, intimacy, serenity –that carry over from the Sabbath to influence our entire lives.
Everything old is new again. Discover a whole new meaning to TGIF. Like anything worthwhile, it will take some effort, and you may not feel its positive effects at first. But if you truly seek, you will reach unfathomable heights, and all these gifts will eventually be yours.
Give Shabbos a try, you won’t regret it. And if you don’t trust me, G-d himself has guaranteed:
If you trample not the Sabbath . . .
Call the Sabbath a delight
And honor G-d’s holy day . . .
Then you will find joy in G-d . . .
And soar the earth’s heights . . .
G-d himself has said it.
(See Isaiah Chapter 58, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan: “A Taste of Light,” The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology, page 151) \