Thread by @skjask

ok, bouncing off a brief exchange with @HenMazzig about the power of taking one day off a week- unplugging from social media, work, the world and only focusing on family & community, A brief thread on Shabbat:

Shabbat for the observant Jew means not using electricity, not cooking, not being on devices, driving etc. It means having meals with family & friends, going to synagogue & only breaking these rules if lives are at risk. (My husband, an EMT, has a radio but for emergencies)

And this is for realz, like we don't turn on phones or TV's. When we had hundreds of rockets a few weeks ago, we only knew about the one near us bc the air raid siren went off in the middle of Shabbat lunch. It means that we have no idea whats happening in the outside world -

it doesn't exist. Our whole world is what we have prepared by Friday at sunset and those who are with us. For those who aren't used to it, it can be maddening. For those who do it weekly, it's a lifeboat in a world where you must know everything everyone is saying at every moment

It brings you back to basics. It reminds you that the world goes on around you, but those in your world who need you need YOU more than anything else. It reminds you that you matter beyond your work, social media presence and anyone's opinion. A few years ago, I wrote a FB post

The post was about girls life magazine & the sexism in girl's magazines vs boys. I wrote it on a Thursday, and by Friday, US time it was viral - but I was on to Shabbat. @Refinery29 wrote about it then @HuffPost & then celebrities shared it.
mashable.com/2016/09/21/amy…

An Israeli radio show interviewed me about it. They asked if I knew it would be so big, I said I had no idea until I turned on my phone after Shabbat & had messages & requests for interviews. They couldnt believe I had turned off my phone - What if someone wanted you on TV??

Shabbat is Shabbat. It can't be something I pick and choose, bc then it never ends, something will always be important and *have* to get done, and I know I'd end up with a litany of excuses and miss all the benefits of having a day to unplug. Its a gift to myself & my family.

It's been said many times, more than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jewish people. Having a value that overrides all else, that reminds us what is central and important is grounding. In this broken world, I am glad I have something that is unbreakable.

(Pls note: I am not telling anyone to do anything or judging anyone for their practices, I am offering my own reflections on what it means to me to have a day unplugged and plugged in)