In an age where everyone is constantly connected to the Internet—to the extent that now some speak of “smartphone addiction”—Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, argues that traditional Sabbath observance provides the perfect antidote. (Interview by John Bingham).
[W]e are finding that society is coming around to appreciate such a day at a time when everybody naturally wants to be connected. . . . [People today] don’t realize that sometimes the more connected one is [electronically], the more disconnected one is from everything that is important. . . .
We are finding that now in our Internet era there are particular advantages to the Sabbath; it is . . . our “digital detox day.” . . . On Shabbat you are dealing with real friends, real people, real challenges. . . .
I want to stress . . . that commercial activity is good; the Internet is good; social media are good; smartphones are good; they are a power for the advancement of mankind in a most spectacular fashion. But I think we need to have an element of self-discipline—and that’s certainly [part of] what Shabbat is about.
Read more on Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11922363/Smartphone-Sabbath-how-ancient-Jewish-law-could-help-curb-a-bad-habit.html