The much-discussed disappearance of book readers is a clear symptom of the nation\u2019s attention crisis: Long-form reading, once an ordinary feature of educated life, is increasingly becoming a luxury. But even the shorter forms of writing are losing their audience, with newspapers and magazines struggling to hold readers. It\u2019s a wonder anyone still has the patience for sustained argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The older way of consuming media can still be found on the Friday evenings when millions of Orthodox Jews enter a world where printed pages still matter. Stacks of books, tables littered with essays and commentaries, piles of Jewish magazines\u2014these Orthodox homes form one of the few demographics where the printed word still thrives. Parents read and children grow up watching them do so. Conversations stretch for hours without the interruption of a vibrating phone. It is one of the last large communities in America where sustained attention isn\u2019t an aspiration but a habit, born of the prohibition of mechanical and electric technology on the Sabbath, which runs from Friday evening to Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past year, with increased urgency from the rise of artificial-intelligence chatbots, voices from well beyond the Orthodox Jewish world have begun calling for some version of a weekly Sabbath. Jonathan Haidt has become a leading advocate for a regular digital detox. Charlie Kirk argued for something similar in his book \u201cStop in the Name of God.\u201d Earlier this year, President Trump encouraged Americans to embrace a \u201cnational Sabbath\u201d and invite \u201cfriends, families, and communities of all backgrounds\u201d to step back from their devices for a day of gratitude and rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their instinct is correct. The modern world desperately needs a weekly rhythm of rest. But if unplugging promises greater focus, stronger families and richer communities, why has it proved so difficult? The answer isn\u2019t simply that we\u2019re addicted to our phones. It\u2019s that unplugging isn\u2019t enough. A Sabbath isn\u2019t merely the absence of technology. It is the presence of something richer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> We're loving this thoughtful Wall Street Journal op-ed from @DBashIdeas<\/a> about one of Shabbat's greatest gifts: the chance to unplug, slow down and rediscover the joy of reading a great book. Sometimes the greatest luxury is simply having time.https:\/\/t.co\/UqFjZEUmVG<\/a><\/p>— Jewish Treats (@JewishTweets) July 17, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>