Technology and religion doesn’t mix well, as I mentioned earlier in the week. So when it comes to The Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, there are some restrictions. Per usual, I will let The Big Lebowski explain this one.
Walter Sobchak: I told those fucks down at the league office a thousand times that I don’t roll on Shabbos!
Donny: What’s Shabbos?
Walter Sobchak: Saturday, Donny, is Shabbos, the Jewish day of rest. That means that I don’t work, I don’t get in a car, I don’t fucking ride in a car, I don’t pick up the phone, I don’t turn on the oven, and I sure as shit [shouts] don’t fucking roll! Shomer shabbos!
The Dude: Walter…
Walter Sobchak: Shomer fucking shabbos.
Another one of these restrictions is using technology created after the time of the birth of Jesus, circa 1AD. This is where the people from rebooters.net have come to make sure we don’t replace our mothers with iPhones and Blackberries. These technophile-hipsters are trying to make Shabbos restrictions a little more modern, and I’m all for it. If you’ve ever gone an entire day without using an ounce of modern technology, you’ll understand how liberating the feeling can be. Just one more way to try to throw off the yoke of technology that is our master.
Jews and non-Jews alike can share in this wonderful holiday. As the NYTimes explains,
The manifesto’s guidelines were written in broad terms to leave it open to nonpracticing Jews, and even non-Jews, Mr. Rollman said. “Nobody wanted those rules to be like, ‘We should insist that everybody goes back to synagogue.’ ” Instead, the manifesto offers instructions like “avoid technology,” “find silence” and “drink wine.”
So tonight, may we drink our Herzog/Rashi wine, take a walk on this beautiful spring evening, and try not to compulsively check our cellphones every 30 seconds for a new text. As the Hebrew Hammer once said, Shabbat Shalom muthafuckas.
