A journalist recently challenged readers to take time out from the digital world in their personal lives for a month. What a silly proposition! One month would sink most Americans! Think of it; no social media, online news, video games or streaming.
Asking Jews to take time out is unnecessary. As people of faith, we have a built in safety valve to cope with too much internet and social media. We have the Sabbath. We don’t even have to assign a date to take time out; it’s rooted in our heritage. The Sabbath is a day to pause and let go of both the ordinary and demanding features of daily life. Though, the whirlwind of our days keeps us terrifically occupied. Many of us push the Sabbath aside, as a result, claiming to be “too busy.” Being too busy itself can cause us problems like burnout and sleepless nights. These problems may be solved with small successes for observing the Sabbath.
Sabbath dinner at home is a special destination to end the week. The beauty of the Sabbath is experienced with closely cherished blessings, comfort food, joyous songs and sharing time with loved ones and friends. Yes, that does mean we have to decline last-minute invitations for fun activities on Friday night. Setting limits on ourselves can be tough; we must assert choices, nevertheless, and act on them.
Attending Sabbath services can be powerful. We resist the frenetic environment that surrounds us and carve a distinct space for ourselves. In the sanctuary, we have moments for silent reflection and personal peace. Equally, there exists a sense of belonging with all those present and Jews everywhere. Together we experience the extraordinary: we sing, we pray and we follow the sacred traditions of our faith. We are one people.
Each in our own way longs to interrupt the blur of days running together. By purposefully deciding what I will do and what I will not do, I choose to take back part of my life. This life includes a precious element, time. I remind myself that the present moment needs much attention. I was sitting in a waiting room recently just relaxing, seemingly doing nothing. More than one person looked up from a cellphone screen and eyed me suspiciously. I was out of sync with present-day life. As an online user I am caught, though, waiting for responses to messages, getting distracted and robbed of, you guessed it, time. We can only trust ourselves to stop, since grabbing our time, attention and worse are the deliberate aims of the digital world.
We recognize that spending time with family is important, yet we compromise against our better judgement. We decide that its acceptable to sit with each other but still be online. Too often, I see parents and children ignoring each other by staring at their screens in restaurants and waiting rooms. The problem can be solved so easily by sitting face to face and engaging with one another. Talking with and listening to each other build satisfying and supportive relationships. What parent doesn’t want that?
As leaders of our families, we want dearly to preserve meaningful relationships, and Jewish traditions and customs. When we follow through, we benefit and so do our loved ones. Remember, we Jews are the people who prize l’dor v’dor. What values of family life do we want to pass from our generation to the next generation? The choices we make matter because, make no mistake, they will likely be duplicated, good or bad, by our daughters, sons and grandchildren.
Mary Greenberg, Ph.D., serves on the State of Kansas Holocaust Commission. Her speaking engagements on preventing anti-Semitism, and the link between civil leadership and anti-Semitism are based on her research that advances the study of the Jewish people in the Diaspora.
