10 ms·

As an Orthodox Jew who observes the Sabbath every week, while sometimes finishing up work and preparations beforehand can be stressful at times, there's no feel

by gavman 8y ago

As an Orthodox Jew who observes the Sabbath every week, while sometimes finishing up work and preparations beforehand can be stressful at times, there's no feeling like turning off all phones/laptops/etc Friday evening and leaving it all behind. There's a supreme serenity that comes with the knowledge of "I can't do anything about it, so there's no point in worrying". As soon as Sabbath starts I'm totally focused on the now -- I can't do anything to prepare for what comes after, and due to the restrictions of the day I've done all my preparations for Sabbath before it begins. There's a saying in Judaism that Sabbath is "me'ein olam haba", meaning "of the next world", and it rings true every week when I can't wait for it to begin and feel sadness when it ends and I have to return to the mundaneness of work and logistics and emails. It's just the right amount of a great thing.

throwaway715875 8y ago
I'm Jewish but not religious anymore, and I know a lot of people that keep Shabbat that talk like this. Frankly, I don't buy it. If we have a problem with detaching from technology, then, stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. It would be like saying you have a healthy relationship with smoking because you don't smoke at all for one day a week, but after that you can chain smoke 24/6. Now, I definitely don't think that social media/technology/<modern_thing> is nearly as bad as smoking. But if we accept the premise that maybe we're using it too much, then I think it's delusional to believe that stopping it for just one day a week is going to do anything substantial.
- taurath 8y ago
  > If we have a problem with detaching from technology, then, stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. > It would be like saying you have a healthy relationship with smoking because you don't smoke at all for one day a week, but after that you can chain smoke 24/6. I don't buy this at all (sidenote: interesting that you decided to use a throwaway for this comment?) - taking a vacation from distractions and a smartphone even for a week helps me for months afterwards because it allows me to realize that the pull isn't important - daily use builds up the idea, being able to not use it without consequences stops the FOMO.
  - isostatic 8y ago
    And you want to stop the pull of a light switch? Or carrying things outside the house? However if there's a magic rope round the town you can carry things outside?
  - user3359 8y ago
    As someone else with a throwaway account, some of us come here for the ideas rather than to build a social profile. And your point about taking breaks is valid. But I agree with the parent's about not using a break as a magic elixir. You need to detach once in a while AND put reasonable regular limitations.
- carbocation 8y ago
  Unlike smoking, which all humans can survive without, society hasn't yet been configured in a way where we can survive and improve our lot without work. So, even if your point -- that disconnecting one day a week is still 90% as bad as disconnecting all the time -- were to be true, it's also moot because that's not an option. If your point is conditioned upon technology, rather than work, I would ask you to determine how to disentangle the two. It's not like working into the weekend is a new phenomenon (since, as we know, the concept of a weekend was only recently won).
  - kapauldo 8y ago
    Religion is so much closer smoking than work.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    Isn't the concept of a weekend at least as old as Sabbath, ie thousands of years?
    - carbocation 8y ago
      Yes, but it was only recently “won”: that is, most of western society has had two days off per week (to varying degrees) for just over 100 years if my recollection is right.
      - Viliam1234 8y ago
        And we will probably never get to three days off (for the majority of population) despite all the productivity growth etc.
- 394549 8y ago
  > Frankly, I don't buy it. If we have a problem with detaching from technology, then, stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. I think you're letting the perfect become the enemy of the good. Also, very intentionally keeping a day per week free of technology may help cultivate the skills necessary to keep it under control for the other six days. It would certainly keep it from becoming an all-consuming habit by providing regular opportunities to re-evaluate. I'm reminded of a story a landlord told me: he didn't typically offer his tenants yearly leases. Instead he'd provide a six-month lease that would allow them to continue month-to-month without any extra fees. Why did he do this? Because the ritual of regularly renewing a lease prompted his tenants to reflect on if they wanted to continue to live in his building at all, and many would leave for places that suited them better. Removing that ritual encouraged his tenants to coast and stagnate, so he had to do much less work less to keep is building full and the rent checks flowing.
- menacingly 8y ago
  Simplifying this to a dichotomy basically only functions inside of arguments. It's like saying "if laughter is so great, why not do it constantly?" It's possible that both being connected and disconnected are happy, functional states for humans, and finding the right balance is the topic under discussion.
- ACow_Adonis 8y ago
  That's completely absolutist thinking, and more likely to be wrong. Exercise is good, if we get our rest in between rather than do it to excess in which case we burn out and grow weaker. Eating is good, if it supplies us nutrients and we don't overdo it in which case we become obese and suffer health problems. Sleep is good, if we use it to function in the world well rested and don't spend all our time in bed or it can develop into slothfulness and depression. Leisure can be good, if we don't do it all the time otherwise we likely become parasites on others doing all the work. Stress can be good, if its in healthy amounts that stimulate rather than destroy us. Even using smoking as in your example. Lets accept it as bad. Lets pretend we have a friend and he's managed to cut back to smoking less than he use to. We have two attitudes we can take: - Berrate him as a failure because he hasn't managed to quit (saracasm: I'm sure that will be very productive and helpful) - Congratulate him on making an improvement and support him in his decision and effort.
- pc2g4d 8y ago
  I think it's ore to do with how our brains work. Constant distraction is not what we evolved for, so to take a break from it on a regular basis might well be "recharging" your brain's limited attention management resources. I know I always feel refreshed after time away from things.
- trukterious 8y ago
  >stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. No, a recovery period can make a bigger difference. By the same token the recent advice on alcohol is to avoid it at least 2 days out of 7.
  - kweks 8y ago
    Recent advice on alcohol is to avoid it completely: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...
    - Erikun 8y ago
      That is a recommendation on public health initiatives, not individual consumption. "When it comes to policy recommendations, it is notable that the authors recommend public health measures to reduce total consumption at a population level, such as “excise taxes on alcohol, controlling the physical availability of alcohol and the hours of sale, and controlling alcohol advertising”. There is no mention of information campaigns or targeting heavy drinkers, which may be less effective ways of reducing average consumption." The risks they found are actually very small. "Let’s consider one drink a day (10g, 1.25 UK units) compared to none, for which the authors estimated an extra 4 (918–914) in 100,000 people would experience a (serious) alcohol-related condition. That means, to experience one extra problem, 25,000 people need to drink 10g alcohol a day for a year, that’s 3,650g a year each. To put this in perspective, a standard 70cl bottle of gin contains 224 g of alcohol, so 3,650g a year is equivalent to around 16 bottles of gin per person. That’s a total of 400,000 bottles of gin among 25,000 people, being associated with one extra health problem. Which indicates a rather low level of harm in these occasional drinkers." https://medium.com/wintoncentre/the-risks-of-alcohol-again-2ae8cb006a4a https://medium.com/wintoncentre/the-risks-of-alcohol-again-2...
- saudioger 8y ago
  Surely chain smoking for 6 days is healthier than chain smoking for 7
  - Zanni 8y ago
    Specifically with regard to smoking, I imagine if you can go one day without smoking, you're probably not chain-smoking the other six days. You have to adjust your habit so that it's not onerous to go without for a 24-hour period. That's going to put the brakes on a bit. Disclaimer: Not a smoker, dated smokers.
- mkirschner 8y ago
  >Frankly, I don't buy it. I'm Jewish too, and was never religious. The parent is not selling anything, simply describing a recurring experience in a lovely way. It's not an argument or a pitch. To each his or her own.
  - leyth 8y ago
    I am sorry, could you kindly explain what you mean when you say that you’re Jewish, but not religious? I thought that if one did not observe certain tenants of Judaism that they were longer Jewish?
    - myegorov 8y ago
      This is a common misconception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions
      - leyth 8y ago
        I’ve heard about converting to Judaism. If it is an ethnicity how can that be possible?
        icelancer 8y ago
        Uh. It's both, man. EDIT: Downvotes? For stating a fact about Jewish ethnicity and religion? OK, I guess.
        leyth 8y ago
        Not possible.
        icelancer 8y ago
        ... Alright man. It is, though. I am not sure how this is confusing to you. You're the first person I've ever met who has this problem.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  "It would be like saying you have a healthy relationship with smoking because you don't smoke at all for one day a week, but after that you can chain smoke 24/6." What? No. You need food, but you can overeat. You need exercise, but you can do too much. It's not an irrational argument to indicate we need a day off, moreover, it's not irrational to suggest we do it at the same time. FYI - have a look at your activity logs. Whatever business you're in, I'll bet a lot that it's down on Sunday. All our charts show a huge drop them. So we already are a little bit conditioned for this behaviour. It's worth considering nudging in a given direction.
mac01021 8y ago
Since I'm mostly ignorant of such practices, what _can_ one do on the sabbath? I assume it's not the case that your entire day is consumed by worship/ceremony/Judaism? Do you spend any time pursuing hobbies? Are there gray areas, where it is open to interpretation whether or not an activity constitutes work? Perhaps you unplug completely and do no computing or telecommunication for the entire sabbath, but is that universal?
- wyldfire 8y ago
  Gentile here -- what's not available on the sabbath is probably easier to define. IIRC it mostly consists of things considered to be 'work', but depending on your orthodoxy it is usually the most "active" things that are barred. e.g. cooking w/oven barred, but preparing something to eat is not necessarily barred. Activating a light switch barred, but passively enjoying the light emitted (if it were already on) is not. > Are there gray areas, where it is open to interpretation whether or not an activity constitutes work? Yes, but humorously (IMO) there are those who go to great lengths to create devices or methods that dodge the rules.
  - lozaning 8y ago
    I was tasked at one point with certifying some aspects of a line of samsung ovens. One of the features that took the longest to validate was the sabbath mode. Normally the oven would turn off if left untouched for 12 hours. With Sabbath mode activated the oven just stay on in perpetuity until turned off. Had to try it once with it off to make sure it turned off, and once with it one, to ensure it didn't. This way you could set the oven friday morning, and then use it all day long on the Sabbath, without having done anything that fits their definition of work. Then just turn it off once the Sabbath is over.
    - Symbiote 8y ago
      That "feature" should be illegal. How do Jews justify wasting so much energy to get around a daft religious rule? If they don't want to observe it, don't observe it, don't just pretend.
bdcravens 8y ago
My wife is Messianic Jewish. I presume they are more liberal in their approach than most Jewish sects, but as they all seem to use their phones during Sabbath (even posting videos from services to Facebook)
- dsr_ 8y ago
  On the one hand, I don't really want to criticize other people's religion. On the other hand, by all general criteria, your wife is at least as much a Christian as a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness is, and very few non-adherent Jews would describe her as an observant Jew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism for people who are interested in a summary.
- NovaX 8y ago
  Messianic Jewish are generally not considered Jewish by the community, as their beliefs violate basic tenets of the religion. There is a lot of evidence towards these sects being used to manipulate non-religious Jews into conversion to Christianity. They are still welcome, but considered Christians.
munk-a 8y ago
I very strongly object to this approach... but I don't disagree with the intent. In the modern world people tend to have absolutely terrible work/life balance, we need to help fix that and it will take a really strong effort. In japan there are already programs and incentives setup to help people avoid working themselves to death but in America there's this stupid romance surrounding the idea of working over time and an expectation that if 100 hours of labour is how much you need to do to keep a roof over your head then you better put your head down and do it. I'm not certain how we fix this but we need to make it okay to step away from work, for vacations... and to let the mind relax and recharge over weekends. We need to disallow the ability to hire yourself out for 24 hour on call - nobody actually needs to do that, your company could just hire more people and spread that responsibility around. And, lastly, we need to kill overtime dead, it's stupid, it hurts productivity, it hurts your body, it's never efficient... If your workday lasts for more than ten hours realize that a nice meal, some downtime and a good night's sleep will make you more efficient and make sure your boss knows that as well. But, to do this, we don't need to revive a religious holiday, we need to empower people to feel like they can say no and disconnect from work and let them recover their leisure time. And just to be clear, it is theoretically possible that I could get a phone call at any hour to deal with a critical issue, but I don't watch anything when I'm off the clock, I don't let worrying enter my mind.
- tspike 8y ago
  It's kind of the same thing, it's just the terminology that changes. What is "sacred" if not something to be respected. I am not religious, but I consider my disconnect time sacred.
  - citrablue 8y ago
    Sacred usually means something that is above questioning. If that's the common definition, there's not a lot of value in that assignment.
jliptzin 8y ago
I am Jewish and don't observe but know a lot that do and also talk about how great it is to be able to leave everything behind on the Sabbath. I can definitely see the value in disconnecting one day a week. However, they also do a lot of really weird things that I can imagine creates even more stress, just for the sake of interpreting religious law as strictly as possible. For example, my friend's cousin accidentally left groceries in the trunk of her car, but since opening the trunk would cause the trunk light to go on, she couldn't do it (nor any jewish person with her apparently) and so food was left to rot in a hot car. I have countless stories like this being around observant Jews my whole life and it seems that is way more stressful, at least to me. Do people really believe God is maintaining a database of all the times someone is technically breaking Shabbat law?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- navaati 8y ago
  "Do people really believe God is maintaining a database [...]" Well what do you think Oracle is ;) ?
  - PakG1 8y ago
    Actual book title, look it up on Amazon: The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: *God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison
- coaxial 8y ago
  My oven has a Shabbat mode: when you activate this mode, touching the controls doesn't make any sound anymore, opening the oven door doesn't trigger the light, and when touching a button the effect is delayed by a few seconds so you're not technically getting any result from touching the button while still getting the effect from touching the button.
  - Gracana 8y ago
    I always find these things kind of funny. How important are these rules if god is so easily tricked?

by gavman 8y ago

throwaway715875 8y ago

I'm Jewish but not religious anymore, and I know a lot of people that keep Shabbat that talk like this. Frankly, I don't buy it. If we have a problem with detaching from technology, then, stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. It would be like saying you have a healthy relationship with smoking because you don't smoke at all for one day a week, but after that you can chain smoke 24/6. Now, I definitely don't think that social media/technology/<modern_thing> is nearly as bad as smoking. But if we accept the premise that maybe we're using it too much, then I think it's delusional to believe that stopping it for just one day a week is going to do anything substantial.

taurath 8y ago
> If we have a problem with detaching from technology, then, stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. > It would be like saying you have a healthy relationship with smoking because you don't smoke at all for one day a week, but after that you can chain smoke 24/6. I don't buy this at all (sidenote: interesting that you decided to use a throwaway for this comment?) - taking a vacation from distractions and a smartphone even for a week helps me for months afterwards because it allows me to realize that the pull isn't important - daily use builds up the idea, being able to not use it without consequences stops the FOMO.
- isostatic 8y ago
  And you want to stop the pull of a light switch? Or carrying things outside the house? However if there's a magic rope round the town you can carry things outside?
- user3359 8y ago
  As someone else with a throwaway account, some of us come here for the ideas rather than to build a social profile. And your point about taking breaks is valid. But I agree with the parent's about not using a break as a magic elixir. You need to detach once in a while AND put reasonable regular limitations.
carbocation 8y ago
Unlike smoking, which all humans can survive without, society hasn't yet been configured in a way where we can survive and improve our lot without work. So, even if your point -- that disconnecting one day a week is still 90% as bad as disconnecting all the time -- were to be true, it's also moot because that's not an option. If your point is conditioned upon technology, rather than work, I would ask you to determine how to disentangle the two. It's not like working into the weekend is a new phenomenon (since, as we know, the concept of a weekend was only recently won).
- kapauldo 8y ago
  Religion is so much closer smoking than work.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  Isn't the concept of a weekend at least as old as Sabbath, ie thousands of years?
  - carbocation 8y ago
    Yes, but it was only recently “won”: that is, most of western society has had two days off per week (to varying degrees) for just over 100 years if my recollection is right.
    - Viliam1234 8y ago
      And we will probably never get to three days off (for the majority of population) despite all the productivity growth etc.
394549 8y ago
> Frankly, I don't buy it. If we have a problem with detaching from technology, then, stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. I think you're letting the perfect become the enemy of the good. Also, very intentionally keeping a day per week free of technology may help cultivate the skills necessary to keep it under control for the other six days. It would certainly keep it from becoming an all-consuming habit by providing regular opportunities to re-evaluate. I'm reminded of a story a landlord told me: he didn't typically offer his tenants yearly leases. Instead he'd provide a six-month lease that would allow them to continue month-to-month without any extra fees. Why did he do this? Because the ritual of regularly renewing a lease prompted his tenants to reflect on if they wanted to continue to live in his building at all, and many would leave for places that suited them better. Removing that ritual encouraged his tenants to coast and stagnate, so he had to do much less work less to keep is building full and the rent checks flowing.
menacingly 8y ago
Simplifying this to a dichotomy basically only functions inside of arguments. It's like saying "if laughter is so great, why not do it constantly?" It's possible that both being connected and disconnected are happy, functional states for humans, and finding the right balance is the topic under discussion.
ACow_Adonis 8y ago
That's completely absolutist thinking, and more likely to be wrong. Exercise is good, if we get our rest in between rather than do it to excess in which case we burn out and grow weaker. Eating is good, if it supplies us nutrients and we don't overdo it in which case we become obese and suffer health problems. Sleep is good, if we use it to function in the world well rested and don't spend all our time in bed or it can develop into slothfulness and depression. Leisure can be good, if we don't do it all the time otherwise we likely become parasites on others doing all the work. Stress can be good, if its in healthy amounts that stimulate rather than destroy us. Even using smoking as in your example. Lets accept it as bad. Lets pretend we have a friend and he's managed to cut back to smoking less than he use to. We have two attitudes we can take: - Berrate him as a failure because he hasn't managed to quit (saracasm: I'm sure that will be very productive and helpful) - Congratulate him on making an improvement and support him in his decision and effort.
pc2g4d 8y ago
I think it's ore to do with how our brains work. Constant distraction is not what we evolved for, so to take a break from it on a regular basis might well be "recharging" your brain's limited attention management resources. I know I always feel refreshed after time away from things.
trukterious 8y ago
>stopping all usage of it only one day a week is maybe 90% as unhealthy. No, a recovery period can make a bigger difference. By the same token the recent advice on alcohol is to avoid it at least 2 days out of 7.
- kweks 8y ago
  Recent advice on alcohol is to avoid it completely: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...
  - Erikun 8y ago
    That is a recommendation on public health initiatives, not individual consumption. "When it comes to policy recommendations, it is notable that the authors recommend public health measures to reduce total consumption at a population level, such as “excise taxes on alcohol, controlling the physical availability of alcohol and the hours of sale, and controlling alcohol advertising”. There is no mention of information campaigns or targeting heavy drinkers, which may be less effective ways of reducing average consumption." The risks they found are actually very small. "Let’s consider one drink a day (10g, 1.25 UK units) compared to none, for which the authors estimated an extra 4 (918–914) in 100,000 people would experience a (serious) alcohol-related condition. That means, to experience one extra problem, 25,000 people need to drink 10g alcohol a day for a year, that’s 3,650g a year each. To put this in perspective, a standard 70cl bottle of gin contains 224 g of alcohol, so 3,650g a year is equivalent to around 16 bottles of gin per person. That’s a total of 400,000 bottles of gin among 25,000 people, being associated with one extra health problem. Which indicates a rather low level of harm in these occasional drinkers." https://medium.com/wintoncentre/the-risks-of-alcohol-again-2ae8cb006a4a https://medium.com/wintoncentre/the-risks-of-alcohol-again-2...
saudioger 8y ago
Surely chain smoking for 6 days is healthier than chain smoking for 7
- Zanni 8y ago
  Specifically with regard to smoking, I imagine if you can go one day without smoking, you're probably not chain-smoking the other six days. You have to adjust your habit so that it's not onerous to go without for a 24-hour period. That's going to put the brakes on a bit. Disclaimer: Not a smoker, dated smokers.
mkirschner 8y ago
>Frankly, I don't buy it. I'm Jewish too, and was never religious. The parent is not selling anything, simply describing a recurring experience in a lovely way. It's not an argument or a pitch. To each his or her own.
- leyth 8y ago
  I am sorry, could you kindly explain what you mean when you say that you’re Jewish, but not religious? I thought that if one did not observe certain tenants of Judaism that they were longer Jewish?
  - myegorov 8y ago
    This is a common misconception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions
    - leyth 8y ago
      I’ve heard about converting to Judaism. If it is an ethnicity how can that be possible?
      - icelancer 8y ago
        Uh. It's both, man. EDIT: Downvotes? For stating a fact about Jewish ethnicity and religion? OK, I guess.
        leyth 8y ago
        Not possible.
        icelancer 8y ago
        ... Alright man. It is, though. I am not sure how this is confusing to you. You're the first person I've ever met who has this problem.
sonnyblarney 8y ago
"It would be like saying you have a healthy relationship with smoking because you don't smoke at all for one day a week, but after that you can chain smoke 24/6." What? No. You need food, but you can overeat. You need exercise, but you can do too much. It's not an irrational argument to indicate we need a day off, moreover, it's not irrational to suggest we do it at the same time. FYI - have a look at your activity logs. Whatever business you're in, I'll bet a lot that it's down on Sunday. All our charts show a huge drop them. So we already are a little bit conditioned for this behaviour. It's worth considering nudging in a given direction.

mac01021 8y ago

Since I'm mostly ignorant of such practices, what _can_ one do on the sabbath? I assume it's not the case that your entire day is consumed by worship/ceremony/Judaism? Do you spend any time pursuing hobbies? Are there gray areas, where it is open to interpretation whether or not an activity constitutes work? Perhaps you unplug completely and do no computing or telecommunication for the entire sabbath, but is that universal?

wyldfire 8y ago
Gentile here -- what's not available on the sabbath is probably easier to define. IIRC it mostly consists of things considered to be 'work', but depending on your orthodoxy it is usually the most "active" things that are barred. e.g. cooking w/oven barred, but preparing something to eat is not necessarily barred. Activating a light switch barred, but passively enjoying the light emitted (if it were already on) is not. > Are there gray areas, where it is open to interpretation whether or not an activity constitutes work? Yes, but humorously (IMO) there are those who go to great lengths to create devices or methods that dodge the rules.
- lozaning 8y ago
  I was tasked at one point with certifying some aspects of a line of samsung ovens. One of the features that took the longest to validate was the sabbath mode. Normally the oven would turn off if left untouched for 12 hours. With Sabbath mode activated the oven just stay on in perpetuity until turned off. Had to try it once with it off to make sure it turned off, and once with it one, to ensure it didn't. This way you could set the oven friday morning, and then use it all day long on the Sabbath, without having done anything that fits their definition of work. Then just turn it off once the Sabbath is over.
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    That "feature" should be illegal. How do Jews justify wasting so much energy to get around a daft religious rule? If they don't want to observe it, don't observe it, don't just pretend.

bdcravens 8y ago

My wife is Messianic Jewish. I presume they are more liberal in their approach than most Jewish sects, but as they all seem to use their phones during Sabbath (even posting videos from services to Facebook)

dsr_ 8y ago
On the one hand, I don't really want to criticize other people's religion. On the other hand, by all general criteria, your wife is at least as much a Christian as a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness is, and very few non-adherent Jews would describe her as an observant Jew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism for people who are interested in a summary.
NovaX 8y ago
Messianic Jewish are generally not considered Jewish by the community, as their beliefs violate basic tenets of the religion. There is a lot of evidence towards these sects being used to manipulate non-religious Jews into conversion to Christianity. They are still welcome, but considered Christians.

munk-a 8y ago

I very strongly object to this approach... but I don't disagree with the intent. In the modern world people tend to have absolutely terrible work/life balance, we need to help fix that and it will take a really strong effort. In japan there are already programs and incentives setup to help people avoid working themselves to death but in America there's this stupid romance surrounding the idea of working over time and an expectation that if 100 hours of labour is how much you need to do to keep a roof over your head then you better put your head down and do it. I'm not certain how we fix this but we need to make it okay to step away from work, for vacations... and to let the mind relax and recharge over weekends. We need to disallow the ability to hire yourself out for 24 hour on call - nobody actually needs to do that, your company could just hire more people and spread that responsibility around. And, lastly, we need to kill overtime dead, it's stupid, it hurts productivity, it hurts your body, it's never efficient... If your workday lasts for more than ten hours realize that a nice meal, some downtime and a good night's sleep will make you more efficient and make sure your boss knows that as well. But, to do this, we don't need to revive a religious holiday, we need to empower people to feel like they can say no and disconnect from work and let them recover their leisure time. And just to be clear, it is theoretically possible that I could get a phone call at any hour to deal with a critical issue, but I don't watch anything when I'm off the clock, I don't let worrying enter my mind.

tspike 8y ago
It's kind of the same thing, it's just the terminology that changes. What is "sacred" if not something to be respected. I am not religious, but I consider my disconnect time sacred.
- citrablue 8y ago
  Sacred usually means something that is above questioning. If that's the common definition, there's not a lot of value in that assignment.

jliptzin 8y ago

I am Jewish and don't observe but know a lot that do and also talk about how great it is to be able to leave everything behind on the Sabbath. I can definitely see the value in disconnecting one day a week. However, they also do a lot of really weird things that I can imagine creates even more stress, just for the sake of interpreting religious law as strictly as possible. For example, my friend's cousin accidentally left groceries in the trunk of her car, but since opening the trunk would cause the trunk light to go on, she couldn't do it (nor any jewish person with her apparently) and so food was left to rot in a hot car. I have countless stories like this being around observant Jews my whole life and it seems that is way more stressful, at least to me. Do people really believe God is maintaining a database of all the times someone is technically breaking Shabbat law?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
navaati 8y ago
"Do people really believe God is maintaining a database [...]" Well what do you think Oracle is ;) ?
- PakG1 8y ago
  Actual book title, look it up on Amazon: The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: *God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison
coaxial 8y ago
My oven has a Shabbat mode: when you activate this mode, touching the controls doesn't make any sound anymore, opening the oven door doesn't trigger the light, and when touching a button the effect is delayed by a few seconds so you're not technically getting any result from touching the button while still getting the effect from touching the button.
- Gracana 8y ago
  I always find these things kind of funny. How important are these rules if god is so easily tricked?