Charlie Kirk and Me

The first time I heard of Charlie Kirk was when his shooting made headlines. I am sure he never heard of me. But it turns out that he and I have something in common. My book on Shabbat came out this month. His book on the Sabbath will be released next month.

My book is called “The Shabbat Effect: Jewish Wisdom for Growth and Transformation.”

His is titled “Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Change Your Life.”

Kirk had been keeping what he called a “Jewish Sabbath” since 2021. I wondered what he meant by a “Jewish Sabbath” because I doubted he was making Kiddush and singing z’mirot. I could be wrong, but I suspect he was only talking about the timing: “Every Friday night … I turn off my phone, Friday night to Saturday night. The world cannot reach me, and I get nothing from the world.”

From what little I know about Charlie Kirk, there is reason to think that shutting off our phones on Friday evening may have been the only thing we had common. Right in the introduction to my book, I say that spiritual life demands that we disconnect at least one day a week. And from my own experience, I know how difficult that can be to do in practice.

My travels take me to many Orthodox synagogues and in pretty well every one of them there is a sign on the wall that indicates “No cell phones.”

But does that mean people are not carrying phones and using them? It is a rare Shabbat when a phone does not ring or beep or buzz somewhere in the congregation. And if that is the case in Orthodox shuls, where a ban on cell phones on Shabbat is acknowledged as obligatory according to halachah (Jewish law), what will be the situation in other branches of Judaism where halachah is not a guiding principle?

The Jerusalem Post reported in March 2024 on a survey it had done on cell phone use on Shabbat in Israel that found that 11% of religious respondents and a “staggering” [their word] 76% of traditional Jews reported corresponding by phone on Shabbat at least once. In contrast, only 2% of ultra-Orthodox respondents engaged in similar behavior.

There are some people who need to be available even on Shabbat: a doctor on call or an emergency worker of some kind. But is everyone who can’t get away from their phone staying connected because they are responsible for life-and-death situations? I tend to doubt it.

Charlie Kirk wrote that he does his best thinking when he is in the phone-free zone of his sabbath. It’s typical of non-Jewish books to promote the health and wellness benefits of what Tiffany Shlain called a “Tech Shabbat.” But if that were really what it is about, what accounts for Jews observing Shabbat for thousands of years before the iPhone landed in our hands?

The cell phone is the just the latest battleground in the perennial struggle between the physical and the spiritual aspects that abide within us. Leaving aside the doctor on call and the like, who are the exceptions, the only reason to carry and use a cell phone on Shabbat is because of worldly desires. There is nothing novel in being pulled to gratify our desires, even at the expense of our spiritual elevation.

We live in a physical world and are primed to want and desire. And yet we are, in essence, spiritual beings. Our eternal challenge has been to elevate our physical existence to the holy purpose that is our potential. Our desires are not inherently negative; their energy can be directed toward spiritual growth and connection with God. But when we are indulging those desires rather than redirecting them, the avenue of spiritual growth is shut off.

So tell me, except for life-and-death situations, can you think of any reason to use a cell phone on Shabbat that is not connected to fulfilling a desire?

(Haven’t yet got your copy of “The Shabbat Effect”? There’s a button on the home page to help you out!)