
Oliver Sacks: Sabbath - samclemens
http://nytimes.com/2015/08/16/opinion/sunday/oliver-sacks-sabbath.html
======
freditup
As a Christian, I decided a few years back to start taking Sundays as a
Sabbath. I don't have hard rules, but I mostly stay away from a
computer/smartphone/email/etc. So no programming, browsing the internet,
finances, none of the normal responsibilities/distractions. Instead I use the
day to go to church, read the Bible and other books, pray, nap, spend time
with friends and family, and do outdoors activities.

In retrospect, this has worked out fantastically for me. I love Sundays now -
there is a sense of peace most Sundays which is great. I enter Mondays feeling
refreshed and ready to work. I would recommend taking a Sabbath day once a
week to anyone, I think it is beneficial regardless of your beliefs.

Two notes: First, the idea of a Sabbath is not an idea that condemns work.
Christian theology holds working well as a moral virtue and something that
honors God. In fact, part of taking a Sabbath, I believe, is working harder
and being less lazy the other six days of the week.

Second, Whether taking a Sabbath is mandated for Christians is a debated
issue, though I personally think it is not. The difference between the
ceremonial, civil, and moral law of Judaism and the law's applications to
Christianity is a complex topic. Christians are definitely not held to the
ceremonial/civil law, but the command to keep the Sabbath is part of the Ten
Commandments, and thus some view it as a moral imperative. I feel that in the
spirit of Christian liberty (a freedom of action but still subject to God's
moral principles), taking a day for a Sabbath is a personal decision.

~~~
judah
I personally believe there's a strong pro-Sabbath argument to be made from the
New Testament:

In the gospels, Jesus says he is the master of shabbat; how can a person be a
master of something he is abolishing?

Again in the gospels, we read Jesus ruling it is lawful to do good on the
sabbath - if he was aiming at abolishing sabbath, why talk about what's lawful
to do during sabbath?

Then, in the epistles, the author of Hebrews writes, "There remains a Sabbath
rest for the people of God."

Combined with the historical reality that the early Christians were almost all
Jews who saw themselves within Judaism, it is probable the early Christians
were sabbath keepers.

As others in this thread have noted, spiritual significance aside, the
physical rest and ceasing of ahabbat is healthy. Its importance is amplified
in our work-obssessed culture; more so in the startup culture.

~~~
freditup
I agree with you that the case can be made, although I don't know how much I
agree with your case, and I still think the case is stronger against a
mandatory Sabbath.

Hebrews 4 talks a lot about entering into Sabbath rest. But my interpretation
of its main gist is that those who believe and obey the good news enter into
God's Sabbath rest. I don't think it's speaking about a literal Sabbath day.

I agree that early Jewish Christians probably practiced the Sabbath, but did
early Gentile Christians?

There are also passages in the NT, such as Romans 14 and Colossians 2:16-17,
which support the idea that a Christian has freedom to practice an explicit
Sabbath day or to not practice it.

So I concur with you that, in Christianity, taking an explicit Sabbath day is
permissible and even beneficial. I just don't think it is mandated, and I
think a Christian can legitimately believe that he/she shouldn't take an
explicit Sabbath day.

------
reuven
I'm Jewish, observe the Sabbath in a traditional way, am married with three
children, and am a self-employed consultant.

I'm delighted that for 25 hours each week, I'm unable to check my e-mail, be
in touch with clients, work on pressing deadlines, or be connected to my
phone, or watch TV and movies.

Instead, I spend quality time with my wife, children, and friends. I read. I
play board games. I enjoy long, extended meals with equally extended
discussions.

Can you do this without the restrictions of the Sabbath? Of course. Is this
the only way to have quality time with friends and family? Of course not. Does
it involve trade-offs, such as not being able to hike around in nature on
weekends (which is arguably part of how we would want to rest and relax)? Yes,
for sure. Everyone finds their own way to observe.

But in my experience, the traditional set of trade-offs is very much
worthwhile. I work nonstop during the week, and while I love my work, it's
fantastic to take a break, think about what's really important in life, and
even catch up on sleep -- which is, let's be honest, another nice part of the
Sabbath!

I should add that observing the Sabbath as an individual is almost certainly a
ticket to loneliness and/or misery. It only works if you do it within a
context of others -- family, and even more importantly, a community -- who are
similarly inclined. I have, over the years, spent a handful of Sabbaths
completely on my own, and those were freeing and meditative in their own ways.
But I've long argued that a very large part of Judaism's success is that it
forced the creation of close-knit communities. The Sabbath is one factor that
leads to such communities, and it's then that the community gives back.

~~~
lbaskin
Exactly. But it was only when I entered the workforce full-time that I truly
appreciated Shabbat. Especially in a world when I am expected to be on-call 24
hours a day, I honestly cannot understand how people do without a _real_ break
once a week. On a personal level, it can't be healthy to constantly be on,
24/7, practically 365 days/year - and translated to a musing of more general
applicability, that might lead to better / more productive business. Perhaps a
worthy subject for experimentation by businesses (more than what some banks
have done recently for summer interns and junior analysts).

~~~
beagle3
> On a personal level, it can't be healthy to constantly be on, 24/7,
> practically 365 days/year

It is also unsustainable. If your job expects you to do that, someone has a
wrong idea of how the world works (but it is more likely you will get blamed
when things go wrong, rather than the person who had the wrong idea).

If I were in your place, I'd look for a job that respects my off-time. 24/7 is
acceptable (if compensated) once a month, maybe even once a week in some cases
- but definitely not every day, and definitely not 365 days a year.

What do you do on vacation? On a plane?

~~~
lbaskin
1\. In case I wasn't clear, I meant being on-call nearly all the time - not
that I have actual work all the time. You generally get a fair amount of
weekends off, but it makes planning difficult, etc. 2\. This is reality for a
LOT of white-collar jobs today (wall st., lawyers, consultants, etc.).

------
lfam
To me, the great value of the Sabbath as a day of rest is what Sacks calls
"its utter peacefulness and remoteness from worldly concerns". Keeping a day
like this affirms our absolute value as human beings, which is independent
from whatever value we have economically, socially, or in any other way.

~~~
jsprogrammer
I think all value is subjective. What do you mean by 'absolute value as human
beings'?

~~~
pdabbadabba
I'm not the GP, but I'll take a stab.

Human beings (and other sentient things) are special in that they are both
subjects and objects of value. That is, human beings are both things that are
valued and things that value. This means that human beings are capable of
having value even if nobody else is around to value them--because they value
themselves.

I suspect that GP only means that keeping the sabbath, and disconnecting from
everything else one gets wrapped up in in the course of everyday life, helps
to remind you of this.

~~~
richmarr
> That is, human beings are both things that are valued and things that value.

I'm not convinced there's enough evidence to support the claim that humans are
the only species that assign value to things. Maybe I'm missing something.

~~~
NhanH
The statement that you quote does not seem to say the same things as your
interpretation (it didn't say "only").

------
c3534l
I can't think of anyone I'd rather hear from on death. This man spent his life
trying to understand and communicate what it was to exist as a human being,
what it was to be conscious, how we see and interpret the world. He wrote some
of the most entertaining, but also enlightening books I've ever read. He is
now facing the end of his life with the sort of philosophical peace of
Socrates.

------
wwweston
Those interested in an in-depth reflection on Sabbath practices might find
this book interesting:

"The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time" by Judith Shulevitz

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Sabbath-World-Glimpses-
Different/d...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Sabbath-World-Glimpses-
Different/dp/0812971736)

It's one of the more thoughtful books about where/how religious practice meets
human needs that I've come across in a while, and getting a lot out of it
doesn't depend on being a believer of any kind.

------
davemel37
This probably explains the massive movement that inspired a million Jews to
experience and keep one Shabbat last year as part of
[http://www.theshabbosproject.org](http://www.theshabbosproject.org) and will
likely imspire millions more this year.

~~~
Ianvdl
Thanks for sharing, haven't heard of the project before.

~~~
davemel37
Sure. Heres a video about it.
[https://youtu.be/S2EkDLqszHs](https://youtu.be/S2EkDLqszHs)

------
gkop
It's ironic that this submission is taking off on a Saturday morning when fans
of the (Jewish) Sabbath are presumably absent from HN.

~~~
footballfanatic
Is it also ironic that I am an NFL fan, but I don't play football
(professionally or otherwise)?

~~~
gress
No it is not, but you've missed the point.

------
ak39
The idea of giving yourself permission to enjoy any length of time without the
guilt of not being productive is definitely good for you. It's tough going if
your personality is wired to ruminate though.

But the idea of _scheduling_ down time for "being in the present" sounds
worthwhile. I could do with this.

~~~
davemel37
>It's tough going if your personality is wired to ruminate though.

This might be why Judaism has many rituals throughout shabbat. Longer prayers
with more interactive singing. Three meals with family and friends and of
course the most important part...an afternoon nap!

------
stared
While being a non-believer (but raised in a Catholic family, when not working
or shopping during Sunday was strictly observed), I still consider it "an
ancient wisdom".

I am trying to have one day of rest (i.e. intended not working, not to confuse
with "I wanted to work, but it turned out that I was slacking off"), but given
that I always have some overdue projects, it's too tempting not to "observe
Sabbath". However, I see that in the long run it's better to rest one day (and
doing programming side projects is not rest in that sense) rather than have 7
days of reduced productivity.

------
toshabbosornot
I was raised keeping the Sabbath fairly strictly, but not to the level of
Orthodox Judaism. There were the things I "couldn't do" on the Sabbath that I
really would have liked to do, but I always kept the Sabbath faithfully as a
child. It seemed like a limiting restriction, but I did it anyway. After I
graduated and entered the workforce, I started to appreciate the Sabbath more
--probably for the same reasons that many commenters here recognize some of
the positive aspects of the idea. It's a nice break from the normal routine, a
chance to rest, rejuvenate, etc.

But now I do not keep the Sabbath any more. Somewhere along the line I
rejected enough of religion that I didn't feel it was necessary even though I
recognize the positive aspects of it. Now I work on Sabbath sometimes. I do
side programming projects on Sabbath sometimes. I rest on Sabbath sometimes.
Sometimes I rest, relax, and rejuvenate all weekend. I don't feel its
necessary to take good guiding principles and observe them as strictly as
Sabbath keepers seem wont to do.

But maybe that's just because of my personality. Maybe there are people who
need a strict Sabbath to prevent themselves from overwork and burnout. I have
a pretty high level of intrinsic motivation and drive myself harder than many,
but I have a good internal burnout avoidance mechanism. I'm sure there are
people out there who don't have that and for whom a device like the Sabbath
might be very important. At the end of the day, I think there are very few
absolutes, and I find that my life is happier when I'm not worrying about the
Sabbath.

------
jgrowl
Growing up a Seventh-Day Adventist, Sabbath was just the day that you weren't
allowed to have any fun.

As with all things, if it works for you, great. Just don't force it on anyone
else.

~~~
DizzyDoo
> As with all things, if it works for you, great. Just don't force it on
> anyone else.

Here's a question, because this is a phrase I've encountered a lot, but I have
often wondered whether this is somewhat a self-defeating statement. "Don't you
dare force your beliefs on anyone else" is in itself a belief, that you are
forcing upon another, is it not? Just because it is a belief about beliefs, or
how someone ought to believe, does not excuse it, I have wondered.

~~~
jgrowl
I'm not making a philosophical statement. I'm saying if you cross this line,
our ability to live peacefully together is going to end.

------
mdasen
I've been shomer shabbat (observant of the sabbath) in the past and am still
involved in Jewish communities full of observant people, even though I am
clearly less observant.

When I first became shomer shabbat, the first thing I noticed was the peace.
The best way to describe it is like the piece you have after the die is cast.
If something isn't right, there's nothing you can do about it and there's no
sense in worrying about it. The decisions have been made, the work has been
done, and whatever will come will come. I'm sure that some of it is the relief
to be done with the preparation for shabbat (which can involve a bit of a
hurried last-minute pace leading up to it), but I think there's something real
about feeling like there's nothing you can do about things.

I remember other students in college asking me if it felt like a disadvantage
to studies. In fact, it felt like the opposite. Before being shomer shabbat, I
would procrastinate (not overly so or in a damaging way, but procrastinate a
bit nonetheless) and that procrastination would lead to worry. I _should_ be
doing work now. The procrastination and worry would combine to zapping my
energy when I would get around to work. Being shomer shabbat meant that there
was no need to worry. The die was cast and there was nothing I could do.
There's no reason to fret over something you can't change. Motzei (after)
shabbat, I'd feel refreshed having not used (wasted) my mental energy
worrying, obsessing, etc. over things I needed a break from anyway.

It also creates a great atmosphere of socialization - like in the time before
technology. You walk to meet up with people around you, you eat meals with
people, you talk in parks, etc. Without such socialization, shabbat would drag
on. But the other people make it a positive, communal experience.

There's also something special about artificially limiting groups. In the
modern world, we often flock to those who have the same ideological bent, same
hobbies, same professions, and same income levels. While sabbath-observant
Jews hardly qualifies as a cross-section of society, there's something special
that happens when you need to rely on people who have different politics,
different hobbies, etc. for a decent amount of your social life and free time.
When a group is small enough (and perceived by those in the group as
necessary), one has to be kinder with one's words and a little more flexible
to make the group dynamic work in a stable way. It's certainly no ideal
society or anything like that, but while a lot of modern society promotes
mobility (the ability to take "take my ball elsewhere" if one wants something
different), that's less of the case here. At least where I live. If I were
writing from New York, I'm sure there's plenty more ability to take one's ball
elsewhere and fracture communities over comparatively small things due to the
high proportion of sabbath-observant Jews within walking distance.

It's also an interesting article to think about on the same day that the
NYTimes has published its article on Amazon's working conditions. One of the
ideas behind shabbat is that work is never done. You could work every hour of
your life and never realize an end-goal because life has no end-goal. A few
weeks back at work, the topic of Soylent came up. One coworker noted that many
at their school saw it as important because they could save so much time that
they could put to work. Another coworker critisized that notion arguing that
life wasn't about work and that meals offer time to rest and socialize. The
Amazon article had emphasized the drive to create which kept workers going
through what could be daunting demands on themselves. I love creating. It's
why I'm an engineer. But the creation is never done. I've never looked at
something and concluded that it's just done. Is working such long hours merely
chasing a "done" state that we won't ever catch? Maybe our schooling has
programmed us with artificial "done" states with each semester and graduation
just to set us up for a lack of them in the real world.

Like the end of a semester or graduation, shabbat provides an artificial
"done" state. Even if your paper or exam isn't what you want it to be, it's
done when the course is over and there's nothing you can do about it. Even if
your work isn't completed to the state you want by sundown friday evening,
there's nothing you can do about it. It's done.

In a world where we can plan so much and there are very few limitations on our
use of labor, it's an interesting way to live. In antiquity, the lack of
cheap, artificial light could limit work hours of the day; seasons would limit
farming. The lack of easy vehicles to transmit and grow wealth into the
future, the lack of easy mobility, the lack of distractions like television to
avoid other people, etc. all make antiquity very different from modernity. In
some ways, it makes shabbat feel alien to the modern world. You're not allowed
to plan for anything after shabbat while it's shabbat. You live within the
day. You live where you are and with those around you since you can't go far
without a vehicle (which includes bicycles for most). You must find different
ways of passing the time (reading, communal meals, outdoor activities). I'm
not arguing that it's an ideal way to live, but it's certainly interesting.

I'm not sure I have any sort of conclusion, but I keep thinking back to
something that happened the summer after my senior year of college. I was
wandering around campus because it was shabbat afternoon and a walk seemed
like a good distraction. I ran into one of my professors who was more of a
socialist/atheist Jew who asked if I would help him carry things. This was
acceptable given that there was an eruv (you can watch Wyatt Cenac's piece
from the Daily Show if you want more information on what an eruv is). He
hadn't known that I was shomer shabbat and it came up in conversation while
moving things. He apologised for asking me to move things on shabbat, but all
I could think about was how this was what shabbat felt like to me. I hadn't
planned on helping him move things. It just happened. If I hadn't happened to
run into him, it wouldn't have happened. It was this little island of time
where something happened by coincidence that had nothing to do with anything
that came before it or anything that would come after it. It was whatever came
my way during the day.

And it was good and restful and meaningful.

~~~
clebio
Really appreciate your comment, and will have to digest if further. But, in
the moment must say, thank you thank you thank you for being the one to
mention the connection to the NY Time article about Amazon. Would think that
was the de-facto immediate connection, and by all means, yes!

------
pbreit
At first I wasn't sure why I clicked through but it was worth it. While not
really "hacker", read till the end and you might find a bit of the rest and
self-reflection offered bu the Sabbath.

~~~
davemel37
I actually think this is extremely relevant to hacker.

The fundamental concept of sabbath is, "create and manipulate and be a slave
to nature for 6 days...but on the seventh day you take a day out to reflect
and appreciate what you created and become a king over your domain and
appreciate your accomplishments and creation. In essence, sabbath is
equivelant to shipping.

------
zaf
I can confirm from experience that restricting computer/electronics use on
Saturdays does wonders.

Currently am going further and practicing to include fasting on Fridays and
'Village' on Sundays to complete the mystical triad.

Four-day week with the rest as my own personal projects! Yea!

Simple ritual hacks that help in keeping my feet on the ground.

------
guard-of-terra
"The Second World War decimated our Jewish community in Cricklewood, and the
Jewish community in England as a whole was to lose thousands of people in the
postwar years."

Why would that happen in the UK? Did they just skipped country while it was
having war problems, or were there any oppression?

------
fit2rule
I wish atheism had its enforced slack and rituals of inconvenience to temper
the soul. Oh wait, it does ..

