The New York Times' Escape - and the Jewish Way

In an interesting article in this past Friday's "Escapes" section of the New York Times ("All Nothing All the Time"), author Neil Genzlinger attempted to find the remote bed and breakfast that would afford him the greatest ability to unplug and "do nothing." This quest for inactivity forced him to define what exactly he considers to be "doing nothing." In his quest for the ultimate relaxing weekend, he defines "nothing" as:

¶Nothing that involves spending money.

¶Nothing that requires strapping something to your feet.

¶Nothing done with a device that can be purchased at Best Buy.

Reading the article, it dawned on me that instead of driving hundreds of miles searching for an area with little cell phone coverage and spending hundreds of dollars staying at remote locations unplugged from the tensions and distractions of the world, the author could have done something much simpler:

He could have kept Shabbos.