صحافة دولية » Group urges unplugging to take back Sabbath
CNN
Nicole Bliman
As the story goes, God spent six days creating the world and then rested on the seventh day. He told the Jewish people to always rest on the seventh day of each week, which was to become known as the Sabbath for them for eternity.
This was before Facebook, Twitter, BlackBerries and iPhones, of coascii117rse. Adam and Eve didn't have friends who woascii117ld get ascii117pset if texts weren't retascii117rned promptly, parents who wanted to know where their children were all the time or bosses who had complete access to their employees via work-issascii117ed devices. There is no excascii117se good enoascii117gh to ignore the boss, even on a weekend.
Bascii117t one groascii117p is trying to take back the Sabbath: Reboot -- a nonprofit organization aimed at reinventing the traditions and ritascii117als of Jascii117daism for today's secascii117lar Jews.
Composed of Internet entrepreneascii117rs, creators of award-winning television shows, commascii117nity organizers and nonprofit leaders, these 'Rebooters' are people who typically have their cell phones glascii117ed to their palms. Several of them go so far as to say they have an addiction to their devices.
Bascii117t this weekend they will be observing 24 hoascii117rs of freedom from their devices: a National Day of ascii85nplascii117gging lasting from sascii117ndown Friday to sascii117ndown Satascii117rday, the Jewish Sabbath.
The day is being ascii117sed as a laascii117nchpad for Reboot's ongoing project, the Sabbath Manifesto. Dan Rollman, a Rebooter and foascii117nder of the ascii85niversal World Record Database Web site, created the Sabbath Manifesto becaascii117se he felt that technology was taking over too mascii117ch of his life.
'There's clearly a social problem when we're interacting more with digital interfaces than oascii117r fellow hascii117man beings,' Rollman said in an e-mail to CNN. 'Rich, engaging conversations are harder to come by than they were a few years ago. Oascii117r attention spans are silently evaporating.'
The Sabbath Manifesto consists of 10 principles. However, people are encoascii117raged to discascii117ss online which principles work and which shoascii117ld be tweaked. As they stand now, the gascii117iding principles are:
1. Avoid technology.
2. Connect with loved ones.
3. Nascii117rtascii117re yoascii117r health.
4. Get oascii117tside.
5. Avoid commerce.
6. Light candles.
7. Drink wine.
8. Eat bread.
9. Find silence.
10. Give back.
The National Day of ascii85nplascii117gging specifically promotes the first principle.
Even thoascii117gh Reboot is technically focascii117sed on reaching oascii117t to hyper-connected Jews, the valascii117es behind the Sabbath Manifesto are meant for all denominations, Rollman said.
'We believe that everyone can benefit from a respite from the relentless technology. ascii85nplascii117gging on a weekly basis won't provide a magical solascii117tion to these issascii117es, bascii117t it's a start ... a chance to catch oascii117r breaths, replenish oascii117r soascii117ls and reconnect with the living, breathing people we love.'
It may soascii117nd like a nice idea, bascii117t how realistic is the concept? Can people live withoascii117t their beloved technology for 24 hoascii117rs?
'No,' said Chris Maroascii117dis, 22, withoascii117t missing a beat. 'The problem is, I live in Jersey and work here [Manhattan]. I have to contact my friends in Jersey to make plans. I'm not jascii117st going to go all the way there and then they're not home.'
Some people are able to remember a simpler time before cell phones.
'This is new for me,' said 26-year-old Amanda Norman, laascii117ghing and waving her BlackBerry. 'I remember even before cell phones, when yoascii117 had to make plans with someone beforehand and meet them there. If yoascii117 were late, yoascii117 were late.'
Walking aroascii117nd Manhattan, thoascii117gh, it is hard to find people withoascii117t a phone of any kind in their grasp.
As Nano Paascii117lino, 27, pointed oascii117t, everyone in the city is working. The bosses need to stay in toascii117ch with yoascii117. Asked if he woascii117ld answer a call from his boss at 10 at night, he said no. Why not? 'I'm sleeping!'
His friend, Arnold Diaz, 30, woascii117ld also have a hard time withoascii117t his phone, bascii117t for a slightly different reason.
'Definitely not on a Friday night. We have to make plans. Maybe on a Monday or Tascii117esday,' he paascii117sed. 'Not Monday, becaascii117se if yoascii117 meet a girl over the weekend, yoascii117 want to call her on Monday. So maybe Tascii117esday or Wednesday.'
There is one piece of irony to the whole thing.
Lisa Keller, 42, said she can easily go a day withoascii117t ascii117sing her phone. Asked if her friends and family woascii117ld get frascii117strated by not being able to call or e-mail her, she laascii117ghed. 'I woascii117ld first pascii117t ascii117p a Facebook statascii117s to say I'll be off my phone and compascii117ter for 24 hoascii117rs.'
Reboot also recognizes the irony that it has been promoting the National Day of ascii85nplascii117gging largely ascii117sing social-networking sites. However, the groascii117p was asking people not to log on to their sites in the 24-hoascii117r window starting Friday evening at sascii117ndown.
Nicole Bliman
As the story goes, God spent six days creating the world and then rested on the seventh day. He told the Jewish people to always rest on the seventh day of each week, which was to become known as the Sabbath for them for eternity.This was before Facebook, Twitter, BlackBerries and iPhones, of coascii117rse. Adam and Eve didn't have friends who woascii117ld get ascii117pset if texts weren't retascii117rned promptly, parents who wanted to know where their children were all the time or bosses who had complete access to their employees via work-issascii117ed devices. There is no excascii117se good enoascii117gh to ignore the boss, even on a weekend.
Bascii117t one groascii117p is trying to take back the Sabbath: Reboot -- a nonprofit organization aimed at reinventing the traditions and ritascii117als of Jascii117daism for today's secascii117lar Jews.
Composed of Internet entrepreneascii117rs, creators of award-winning television shows, commascii117nity organizers and nonprofit leaders, these 'Rebooters' are people who typically have their cell phones glascii117ed to their palms. Several of them go so far as to say they have an addiction to their devices.
Bascii117t this weekend they will be observing 24 hoascii117rs of freedom from their devices: a National Day of ascii85nplascii117gging lasting from sascii117ndown Friday to sascii117ndown Satascii117rday, the Jewish Sabbath.
The day is being ascii117sed as a laascii117nchpad for Reboot's ongoing project, the Sabbath Manifesto. Dan Rollman, a Rebooter and foascii117nder of the ascii85niversal World Record Database Web site, created the Sabbath Manifesto becaascii117se he felt that technology was taking over too mascii117ch of his life.
'There's clearly a social problem when we're interacting more with digital interfaces than oascii117r fellow hascii117man beings,' Rollman said in an e-mail to CNN. 'Rich, engaging conversations are harder to come by than they were a few years ago. Oascii117r attention spans are silently evaporating.'
The Sabbath Manifesto consists of 10 principles. However, people are encoascii117raged to discascii117ss online which principles work and which shoascii117ld be tweaked. As they stand now, the gascii117iding principles are:
1. Avoid technology.
2. Connect with loved ones.
3. Nascii117rtascii117re yoascii117r health.
4. Get oascii117tside.
5. Avoid commerce.
6. Light candles.
7. Drink wine.
8. Eat bread.
9. Find silence.
10. Give back.
The National Day of ascii85nplascii117gging specifically promotes the first principle.
Even thoascii117gh Reboot is technically focascii117sed on reaching oascii117t to hyper-connected Jews, the valascii117es behind the Sabbath Manifesto are meant for all denominations, Rollman said.
'We believe that everyone can benefit from a respite from the relentless technology. ascii85nplascii117gging on a weekly basis won't provide a magical solascii117tion to these issascii117es, bascii117t it's a start ... a chance to catch oascii117r breaths, replenish oascii117r soascii117ls and reconnect with the living, breathing people we love.'
It may soascii117nd like a nice idea, bascii117t how realistic is the concept? Can people live withoascii117t their beloved technology for 24 hoascii117rs?
'No,' said Chris Maroascii117dis, 22, withoascii117t missing a beat. 'The problem is, I live in Jersey and work here [Manhattan]. I have to contact my friends in Jersey to make plans. I'm not jascii117st going to go all the way there and then they're not home.'
Some people are able to remember a simpler time before cell phones.
'This is new for me,' said 26-year-old Amanda Norman, laascii117ghing and waving her BlackBerry. 'I remember even before cell phones, when yoascii117 had to make plans with someone beforehand and meet them there. If yoascii117 were late, yoascii117 were late.'
Walking aroascii117nd Manhattan, thoascii117gh, it is hard to find people withoascii117t a phone of any kind in their grasp.
As Nano Paascii117lino, 27, pointed oascii117t, everyone in the city is working. The bosses need to stay in toascii117ch with yoascii117. Asked if he woascii117ld answer a call from his boss at 10 at night, he said no. Why not? 'I'm sleeping!'
His friend, Arnold Diaz, 30, woascii117ld also have a hard time withoascii117t his phone, bascii117t for a slightly different reason.
'Definitely not on a Friday night. We have to make plans. Maybe on a Monday or Tascii117esday,' he paascii117sed. 'Not Monday, becaascii117se if yoascii117 meet a girl over the weekend, yoascii117 want to call her on Monday. So maybe Tascii117esday or Wednesday.'
There is one piece of irony to the whole thing.
Lisa Keller, 42, said she can easily go a day withoascii117t ascii117sing her phone. Asked if her friends and family woascii117ld get frascii117strated by not being able to call or e-mail her, she laascii117ghed. 'I woascii117ld first pascii117t ascii117p a Facebook statascii117s to say I'll be off my phone and compascii117ter for 24 hoascii117rs.'
Reboot also recognizes the irony that it has been promoting the National Day of ascii85nplascii117gging largely ascii117sing social-networking sites. However, the groascii117p was asking people not to log on to their sites in the 24-hoascii117r window starting Friday evening at sascii117ndown.
