Unconnected

Hey, readers. I hope I have a few.

Maybe it is because we are approaching the end of the year. But lately, I’ve been thinking back to my old posts. “Staying Connected”
http://alhaqoutaptonen.blogspot.com/2012/02/staying-connected.html has come to mind.

In that diatribe, I ranted about how all the different ways we have to connect. I droned on about being too connected. Now it is time to talk about the joy of being unconnected.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not this religious superstar. I am far from it. I try. Maybe you’ve seen my prior writings where, I discuss Judaism. Years, ago, the Staten Island rabbi that first showed me the way gave an enlightening speech during Yom Kippur. He said, “As we go into the New Year and are atoning it is important to remember there’s no way we can possibly fulfill all the positive mitzvahs each year. Let’s face it, we all sin. Therefore, we probably cannot stay away from all the negative ones.

But we should all pick a few mitzvahs and see how we do at perfecting them. Then check back next year to see how we did.” I’ve been trying. I have a long way to go. Don’t we all?

Anyway back to the point, Facebook, another thing, I am too connected on has the “Stay Unconnected For Shabbat” page. Of course, I joined it eons ago.

This past Shabbat, I was pleasantly reminded how joyful it is to be away from my computer. I think these days we take personal conversations for granted. Does it still exist? Maybe. Do we say more online than face to face?

I probably receive over 200 emails a day. Most are from my summer camp friends. None of them live terribly far from me. But we never see each other. We rarely talk. But we email all day.

Sorry guys, but come candle lighting time, I am happy to walk away from it all and log off. I think it is better for me. Logging off once in a while might be better for all of us. It helps you collect your thoughts and think more clearly.

Of course, immediately after Havdalah, I log back on and am usually beset with hundreds of emails. I try to answer them all. Sorry for missing a few. But being unconnected is mind opening. I usually send out my last emails, make my last Facebook posts and then take a break from it all.

Back to being connected. But in few more days…