- Clergy
- Shabbat
Recent studies emphasize that an unending diet of news keeps people in a consistent state of anxiety, leading to significant mental health strains. This constant exposure to news content can overwhelm our brains, which aren’t equipped to process such a relentless influx of information. Over time, this can weaken immune systems, disrupt sleep, and lead to long-term issues such as chronic stress and emotional burnout.
I am sure I am not just speaking for myself when I say the world feels extremely heavy right now. The speed at which the updates beep on my phone is astounding and incredibly alarming. I feel a barrage of words and images attacking me from all angles of my personal devices each and every day. I feel it in my body, and many days, I really feel it in my soul.
Last weekend I had a full Sunday off. I turned off my phone alerts and spent the entire day outside in the sun with all my boys. We went to the Farmer’s market, we cleaned out the garage, we played outside, and we barbecued. It was a little piece of heaven, and the effect that it had on my mental health that day was palpable. I felt lighter; I was a better mom, a better spouse, and I was quite honestly a better human.
My brief respite didn’t mean that the constant news cycle stopped, or that the politics stopped “politicking,” or that the situation in Israel or the USA magically changed overnight. No, it was all there waiting for me, once I was ready to re-enter the online world. But it was on my terms, and for the first time in a few weeks, I felt like I could finally breathe again.
Lucky for us, our tradition has a secret weapon to help us deal with the never-ending mishigas of our time, and no, it’s not a giant space laser 🙂
Shabbat is our secret weapon. Setting aside sacred time for reflection, nourishment, and reconnection is a direct commandment from God; to break this commandment, we are told, is to be “cut off from our people and cut off from life.” We will simply be existing, day after day, week after week, year after year, in the chaos of the wilderness around us. We will be destined to wander this fast-moving and anxiety-inducing world in a blur.
I want to challenge each of you to turn off the phone, iPad, the podcasts, and the computer for a few hours this Shabbat. Go outside and do something that nourishes your spirit. Come to services, and lucky for you, we will MAKE you turn off your phone for that one hour of sacred community and prayer. Take a break from the doom scrolling, the anxiety, the anger, and the fear that hangs heavy in the air all around us, and see how much better you will feel. I promise, you will.
May this Shabbat be a balm for our tired souls.
May it enable us to shed our weary weekday faces
and to soak in gratitude, wonder and love.
May we feel connected to those who matter most and to our deepest selves
May this Shabbat bring you peace, wholeness, and the ability to just breathe…
so that we are ready to do the sacred, but difficult work of making our fractured reality a bit more whole.
You need it. I need it. Our world needs it.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Lisa Peicott