Everyone aspires to get things done, and to do things the best way possible, in the minimum of time, and with maximum efficiency. This calls for a healthy mind in a healthy body, which, the experts assure us, calls for regular periods of rest at fixed intervals. Both the body and the mind require periods of rest if they are to remain healthy. 

Most of us are engulfed in a sea of noise which comes at us from all directions. Modern transportation and communications both produce a cacophony of sound. Although we learn to ignore the noises that are not important to us, these sounds pile up waiting to be processed by the mind. In a quiet surrounding, they are examined by the mind and dealt with, one after the other, without building up undue pressure. As the pace of our lives accelerates, however, the rate of input of stimuli is usually far greater than what the brain can cope with immediately. A backlog piles up, and we start to feel pressured. 

Similarly, much is happening all around us. Events also press upon us to be understood, examined, and cataloged. Too much, too fast, creates a backlog, waiting to be processed. Whether we are aware of it or not, the pressure builds up within us. 

At the workplace, we are faced with mental tasks to perform and decisions to be made. Our superiors at the office urge us to get the job done as fast as possible. Sustained mental effort also wears us down, so that we are less able to cope. The outcome is a sensation of fatigue and weariness.

There are two ways to alleviate this overload. One method is to broaden the “highway” along which impulses travel to the brain, thus increasing the brain's capacity to deal with more stimuli per second. This is accomplished when we experience pleasure and happiness.

Alternately, we take a rest, close down our “windows” to the outside world and eliminate outside stimulation so that the brain will have the time it needs to sort out and process the back load of impressions flooding into it. 

Medical research clearly demonstrates the correlation between the strength and frequency of sensory stimuli to which the brain is exposed, voluntarily or involuntarily, and the level of tension a person experiences. The impulses assaulting our senses are like so many impatient youngsters in a long, slow-moving queue. The constant pushing and shoving raises everyone's blood pressure. As the tension mounts, we become less and less capable of dealing with the overload. Any electrician can tell us that this is a sure-fire recipe for a short circuit. In terms of our bodies, this overload produces stresses which impair our mental and physical functioning. In contrast, during periods of repose, the input of external stimuli is reduced markedly. The brain is free to process the backlog of stimuli, reject some and accept and catalog others.

Shabbat clearly employs both methods. It affords those who observe it faithfully a day of rest and repose for both the mind and the body. It refines our sensitivity to the world of the soul, and enhances our capacity for spirituality by giving us hands-on experience of the spiritual rather than the material world. It arrests the process of erosion which attacks the soul of modern man as never before. It eliminates the toil and toll which modern civilization exacts from those who choose to travel its highways and byways: the din of traffic, the jingling of the telephone, the buzz of the cell phone, the clanking of the fax machines, the printer, the pager, and all the rest.

Modern man feels a pressing need to get away, to escape, to recharge the batteries, and to clear his mind. The Shabbat is a three-thousand-year-old “escape” to the harmony and joy of the no-pressure world of the spirit.

A look at some of the statistics compiled by social scientists discloses some appalling statistics. The population most susceptible to attacks of depression or nervous breakdown are workaholics who throw themselves into their careers in an attempt to forget the pain of past frustrations, trauma, or the gnawing lack of purpose in their lives. Western culture has produced the formula most likely to lead to depression. 

Sad to say, a large percentage of the Western World today is vulnerable to emotional distress because of the on-going frustration built into their daily lives. The moment they leave the workplace, they are compelled to confront a dissatisfied spouse and/or child, or a lack of purpose and satisfaction which cast a pall of tension and anxiety over their lives.

Many acknowledge that they long for a break, but are at a loss as to how to spend their free time once their vacation actually starts. Too many homes are torn by dissension over the question of what to do over the weekend; how much more so, when called upon to plan a full week or two of vacation. The lack of direction can easily lead to painful, fruitless quarrels and a further sense of dissatisfaction.

Furthermore, we must realize that a break which consists merely of isolating oneself from the standard routine can easily lead to burn-out. Vacation time is characterized by more accidents and violent crime than usual. More crime is committed, and more suicides occur on Sundays than any other day of the week.

How appalling that instead of serving to relieve emotional strain, these days of inactivity spawn greater stress and despair, leading to crime and a loss of the will to continue one's life of despair.

Although the original concept of the seventh day as a day of rest has its source in Judaism, the contrast between the Jewish Shabbat and the gentile Sunday is as East is to West. The People of Israel had no need of psychologists or therapists in order to establish the seventh day as a day of rest; for three millennia, the Jew has celebrated his Shabbat as a day of rejoicing and peace. With joy in his heart, the Orthodox Jew welcomes the Sabbath Queen with song and delight in the Creator's commandment to set aside his workaday pursuits, to don his best garments, and partake of festive meals.

 Seated together around the Shabbat table, the family sing songs of praise to their Creator, exchange ideas and concepts, and enjoy the warmth and friendship of relatives and friends. It is a day not only of rest, but also of spiritual renewal and growth, a day when the Jew has the time to find himself, to strengthen his bond with the Creator, with his family, and his fellow Jews.

The result is not long in coming. The tensions of the past week dissipate, and the wrinkles on his brow give way to a smile of pleasure and satisfaction. Worries which weighed heavily on his shoulders during the week are laid aside. 

When the new week begins, it is with a renewed sense of priorities which the observant Jew brings with him to the office or the workshop. Each Shabbat, the Jew refreshes his spirit and prepares his soul to absorb the stimulation of the week to come. Nothing is so effective in cleansing our hearts of the negative influences of modern life as the harmony and peace of Shabbat. Nothing draws man closer to a finely-tuned balance of body and soul as the sanctity of the Seventh Day.