By Emily J. Weitz
Built in to many religions is the opportunity to stop and pause. Whether this means a slow and easy Saturday or six weeks without meat, in some form or another it’s a reminder to take a break from our routines, and to give thanks. In the Jewish tradition, Shabbat is a weekly observation that begins at sundown on Friday and lasts 25 hours. The purpose is to unplug, to kick back, and to remember the bigger picture.
Tiffany Shlain makes the point in her film, implicitly and at times explicitly, that “survival depends on our connecting to each other deeply,” a reference to mankind as a whole as well as to individuals.
In exploring what we lose and what we gain as technology rewires our brains and speeds up the pace of our existence, she came to appreciate and embrace the concept of Shabbat, especially of “unplugging” for a day each week.
She said she recently gave a talk on the power of technology and surprised her audience by extolling the virtues of turning off from the world.
“People think it’s harder than it really is, but there’s a time to unplug,” she said, adding: “Shabbat is beautiful because we are able to be fully present. We need to do things that bring us back” to our real selves.
"... a few minutes before sunset, tranquility gradually sets in. My unfinished pre-Shabbat chores are now a thing of the past. Hopefully, so are any of my poor grades, money issues and personal frustrations.
The bedlam of the Shabbat preparations pays off almost immediately when I join my rabbi and friends in the Friday evening prayers - largely composed of good company and beautiful millennia-old songs. Socializing and singing with close friends typically pushes away any stressful thoughts somehow lingering past sunset. If not, the delicious dinner that typifies Shabbat will.
This specific format of the Sabbath is uniquely Jewish. Singing and praying in Hebrew and discussing insights to the Torah are neither accessible nor appealing to the vast majority of non-Jews.
But I say "this specific format" because Shabbat - or more precisely, what it provides - need not be restricted to observant Jews. Tranquility, self-reflection and social closeness are accessible to people of all faiths and people of no faith."
