Shabbos Of Our Generation | Rabbi Zalman Roth

[music] >> The Gamorah tells us a nice a person who gives a gift to his friend [music] should let him know the value of the gift so he could appreciate it. One of the proofs the Gamorah brings is from Shabbos. I shall tell my share by me Matana Tova yesh I have a precious gift in my treasure house its name is Shabbos. Go tell >> [music] >> what I'm giving them and it's difficult to understand what exactly needs to be explained with the gift of Shabbos. [music] It's a day of rest which is obvious. Why is there a hidden secret that Hashem has to tell [music] Moshe go reveal this to Klal Yisrael tell them the gift I'm giving them. I think previous generations saw [music] Shabbos. They loved Shabbos. They kept Shabbos. They treasured Shabbos. But there is perhaps one dimension of Shabbos that our generation is uniquely [music] positioned to appreciate. Through my work in TAG the Technology Awareness Group I've been approached [music] by numerous developers from the non-Jewish world each asking in one form or another how they can recreate [music] the experience of Shabbos. How to give people an opportunity to detach completely, to switch off, to allow their intention [music] and their minds to rest. And the truth is it cannot really be replicated. This is the gift that we were given. The possuk says Oise baini [music] this is a special sign. The gift that exists uniquely between us and Hashem. [music] For all generations throughout the week our attention is fragmented. [music] It is pulled apart in tiny pieces. A message, an email, a phone call, another notification it never ends. We are constantly [music] being drawn from one thing to another. It's relentless. It's exhausting and it's increasingly following us to every hour of the day and sometimes the night. And then comes Shabbos. >> [music] >> Shabbos is the only rest day in the week. Not only for the body but in our generation, more clear than ever before, we can appreciate [music] that Shabbos is also a rest for the mind. It's a day where we can rest our attention. For one day, we are no longer being pulled [music] in every direction. We can remain focused, centered, and present. We can give our full [music] attention to our family, to our davening, to our learning, to ourselves, and ultimately to the Aibershter. For one day, [music] we can lift our heads above the noise and actually take in the gifts that Hashem has given us all around. This is genuine [music] rest. Menucha vesimcha, a rest that brings happiness, true relaxation. Perhaps this is part of the secret of Shabbos. It wasn't obvious for 3,300 years, but now to our generation, we can see how desperately we need Shabbos to give us the genuine [music] rest. Shabbos was always Shabbos, but one of its deepest dimensions has become especially obvious and visible to our generation. We should treasure it. We should protect it. We should build upon it. Take the gift that we were given and further enhance it. And every week we should thank Hashem for this extraordinary [music] gift, the opportunity to stop the race, to quiet the noise, to gather our scattered attention, and to bring true tranquility into our lives, [music] our minds, and to our neshamos. >> [music]