Life is the pause between our parents’ dreams and our children’s memories.

I stopped at Costco recently to gas up. As I began fueling, the pump emitted a series of clunks and the flow of gas was extremely lethargic. I haled a nearby attendant and brought the problem to his attention. He glanced at the pump, then looked at me and said, “I believe the Lord is trying to send you a message.” Amused, I asked, “What is the Lord’s message?” He replied with a smile, “The Lord is telling you, you need to slow down.”

We live in an era some call “the age of acceleration.” Driven by ever more powerful technology, everything seems to happen faster, move faster, become outdated faster. We’re bombarded by notifications and alerts. The Internet fosters instantaneous worldwide communication. AI, exciting and terrifying, performs even complex tasks in the blink of an eye. These developments don’t just amaze or frighten us, they change us. Excessive screen time and fast-paced digital devices train the brain to crave constant novelty and quick rewards. Average attention spans have measurably shortened. In our speeded-up world, we face decision overload, “a psychological environment in which we must constantly be on guard in order to adapt, evaluate and decide, at a pace faster than our cognitive wiring has evolved to handle.”

A growing body of research and experience holds that slowing down helps us lead more fulfilling, productive and meaningful lives. That insight accords with Jewish wisdom, ancient and modern. As a religion that sanctifies time, Judaism puts personal deceleration at life’s center. Hence, Shabbat, whose revolutionary premise is that human beings should work to live, not live to work. And the Torah insists that a weekly day of rest is not merely beneficial; it is mandatory and holy.

Shabbat is the pause that refreshes, but it is far from the only sacred cessation of Jewish life. Consider the mezuzah. Mezuzot do more than mark a home as Jewish. Though we may mindlessly breeze right by, they are there to be noticed. A mezuzah is a spiritual stop sign; it signals us to pause for a moment as we depart and return, to remember who we are and the values that bind us at home and on our way.

Our liturgy also builds in pausing, most notably silent prayer. So too our rituals. At a wedding, we pause near the end to break a glass. At a funeral, it is customary to pause briefly seven times carrying the casket to the grave, postponing a final farewell. And the burial is followed by shiva, a full seven day stop.

Jewish tradition also provides a rich vocabulary of berachot, blessings for daily life, for the privilege of sacred obligations – asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav, before deriving pleasure from something, like eating – hamotzi, to express awe at wonders of nature, and to celebrate milestones, shehehiyanu occasions. There’s even a blessing for seeing a friend after more than a year. The hardest beracha of all is recited when we learn of a loved one’s death or before their burial: Baruch dayan ha’emet, Blessed is the true Judge. With these hallowed words we profess that God is just, even if grief and loss call that into question and our hearts are broken. We affirm that........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)