Hallowing Time – Fashionable Zionist Wrist Watches
Friends, this column is inspired by a fellow TOI blogger, Keith Brooks who wrote a recent article entitled, “Your Wrist Is About To Start An Argument With Your Rabbi” about the annoying and ubiquitous presence of beeping smart watches in synagogue on Shabbat and holidays.
In his book The Sabbath, it was the great insight of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel that Jews mainly hallow TIME and not SPACE, despite Einstein's inspiring work on space/time. Heschel's work on Shabbat as a universally accessible palace of freedom and elevation in time free from the usual incursions of our day to day mundane lives and technology is a masterpiece. I recommend it highly. Look it up on Amazon or at your local Judaica shop.
I am sufficiently educated in various Jewish traditions to know that Jews of various denominations and standards of observance have different rules about carrying inessential objects, even jewelry, or the use of electronic technology on Shabbat and holy days. Yom Kippur is regarded as the holiest day of the Jewish year, and even those who are less observant most of the time will try to elevate their level of observance on that day, hopefully with lingering effects. Let's all make an effort, shall we?
I regard it more as a matter of Derech Eretz, or respect and courtesy. Clergy, university educators and teachers and musical and theatre performers have long lamented the presence of beeping digital devices and watches impeding the concentration of those leading programs and that of members of the audience or congregation seeking to participate in them undisturbed. This is about good manners. Please, leave your digital devices at home.
If you need to be reachable for medical emergencies, military duty, or terrorist attacks, please use a pager or phone on vibrate setting. Then leave the synagogue quietly and promptly to respect your fellow congregants and rabbi. The same holds true for those engaging in lengthy loud conversations and those with crying babies. There is a difference between private and public life and spaces. This is called Torah and Derech Eretz and holds true in secular settings as well. Let's respect that and each other. Please.
In our local Canadian Modern Orthodox synagogue, we have a convention that we should be free from digital devices during services. Our rabbi who is very digitally dialed-in most of the time has an arrangement with a non-Jewish friend who will monitor his digital devices in the event of an emergency and notify him in person, verbally. We might consider similar arrangements in other synagogues to preserve the relative sanctity and sanity of the sanctuary. Think about what 'sanctuary' really means! Please respect that. Speak with your rabbi about technology needed for those with disabilities or medical concerns.
I regret to say that in my experience in various uptown Toronto Conservative synagogues in our current egotistical and narcissistic era, things had gotten so bad that they had to post etiquette notices in the synagogue newsletter and on the washroom doors that cell phones and digital devices were not permitted on Shabbat and holidays. They also had to advise the young people to dress appropriately and modestly for services and celebrations at the synagogue. Ideally, these notices should not be necessary for an educated community, but sadly, they are today.
As an ardent supporter of Israel I recently discovered on Amazon a series of affordable Israel and IDF themed watches that do nothing more than tell the time and perhaps the date. Quietly. For those who must know what time it is all the time, or how long the rabbi's sermon is, or how long until the end of the Yom Kippur fast, these will suffice and signal one's support for Israel and Jewish interests quietly and attractively. They are best suited for secure Jewish settings amid our current concerns. Please be mindful of your safety in secular settings, in accord with recent warnings from Israel's National Security Council.
These days, I regard proud pro-Israel Jewish practice and identity as an act of resistance. I call this collection What The Fashionable Zionist Is Wearing This Year. I have a few of these and they inspire me in my pro-Israel advocacy and Jewish philanthropy. They are suitable for men and women. I hope they will inspire you too, and contribute to more peaceful and reflective and respectful Shabbat and holiday services for all of us.
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=kiesenberg+watch+israel&crid=3TFP5LCYKG1HS&sprefix=kiesenberg+watch+israel%2Caps%2C289&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Similar watches are available at many Judaica shops around the world and also on online platforms such as eBay and Etsy. I do not own stock in these companies or profit from their sales and make no warranty for their performance.
The more serious Zionists might also enjoy real IDF field watches from official IDF supply sources. Note that they also do not beep or link to online media. I ordered one for my nephew some time ago. Israel also has locally manufactured and well regarded watches by ADI and other companies. Here is a sampling of these:
https://israeldefensestore.com/product-category/accessories-apparel/watches/?srsltid=AU7gw4UHltxGOPVpyysMcqLT8TCyqFdjGdthZafA8Rlb5bPcvFftMPAD
https://www.judaicawebstore.com/adi-watches-c1307.aspx?srsltid=AU7gw4V-yNfyExd29_egrmwHBXMuVx-AhDW5t1UnmqKgXntrL-6iYqcP
Please, let's all construct a palace in time and holiness in our synagogues this Yom Kippur and at Shabbat and all holidays, and respect the sensibilities of our fellow congregants and rabbis. Leave your smart watches at home. You will be smart enough without them!
Best wishes to all for a Happy and Healthy New Year, and a thoughtful and meaningful Yom Kippur and high holidays season. Please join me in supporting Leket Israel and your local Jewish Family Services Kosher Food Banks for Yizkor and all year long, as a way of hallowing time, ourselves, and our communities. Shana Tova and G'mar Chatimah Tova.
