Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Unplugging

By Tanya Schevitz

Observing Shabbat was not something Sabbath Manifesto creator Dan Rollman grew up with and he wasn’t really interested in doing it in his adult life — until a few years ago when he was invited to attend a weekend retreat with a group of creatives. As the sun set for Shabbat, he began to think of how dependent – or addicted he was to technology, and that this connectedness never allowed him a moment of pause.

He had recently launched the Universal Record Database, an open platform for world records, built on a belief that everyone on earth can be the world’s best at something. The Internet and technology had started to consume his every waking moment.

“As my life became increasingly hectic and plugged in, I became more and more attracted the idea of a weekly day of rest,” said Rollman, who lives in Brooklyn. “There’s clearly a social problem when we’re interacting more with digital interfaces than our fellow human beings. Rich, engaging conversations are harder to come by than they were a few years ago. As we voyage deeper into the digital world, our attention spans are silently evaporating. I recognized that I needed a break and I wanted a modern way to observe a weekly day of rest. From that desire to reclaim the Sabbath came the idea of the Sabbath Manifesto.”

At the heart of the Sabbath Manifesto, created with the non-profit organization Reboot, are 10 core principles that can be interpreted broadly to allow anyone to carve a weekly timeout into their lives. The principles were developed in the same spirit of the Slow Movement, (Slow food, Slow living) with the idea of taking time off (deadlines and paperwork be damned!) to observe each of the ten principles one day per week, from sunset to sunset.

The Ten Principles: Avoid Technology, Connect With Loved Ones, Nurture Your Health, Get Outside, Avoid Commerce, Light Candles, Drink Wine, Eat Bread, Find Silence, Give Back.

“The concept obviously evolves from Jewish Sabbath traditions, but we wanted to create something that was framed in a more modern context (i.e.”Avoid technology), and was accessible for people outside Judaism (We welcome people of all religions to observe the Manifesto on any day of the week they want),” Rollman said.

We launched the Sabbath Manifesto in 2010 with the first annual National Day of Unplugging. For the launch, we asked people to take on the challenge of Principle Number 1: AVOID TECHNOLOGY to recharge their spiritual and personal lives by not using computers, cell phones, or any technology for 24 hours. This idea resonated with people across the globe and attracted press coverage from a variety of sources, including the New York Times, CNN, USA Today and Katie Couric.

“Though technology obviously provides wondrous opportunities for society, I think there’s a growing feeling that too much of it in one’s life can have negative consequences. The Manifesto provides people with a weekly time out to step back from the modern speed of society and reconnect with elements of life they may have been neglecting,” Rollman said. “I use it as a tool to help me cherish the Jewish Sabbath and embrace it as my favorite day of the week.”

In the wake of the National Day of Unplugging, we created the Sabbath Manifesto “Unplug Challenge,” where we ask public figures to unplug from cell phones and PDAs, power down computers and tune in to the world for 24 hours. After the experiment is over, we report about it in the Huffington Post. We encourage you to take the Unplug Challenge and then tell us about the experience. We will choose a testimonial from a Birthright Israel NEXT participant to highlight in our Huffington Post Unplug Challenge column.

Happy Unplugging!

Tanya Schevitz is Reboot’s national communications coordinator. She can be reached at Tanya@rebooters.net.

Read more posts from Issue 18: Friday Night Lights.

Tags: Rest, Shabbat, technology

Posted by Sarah, Monday, August 2nd, 2010, 4:15 pm, Friday Night Lights.