OneTable – To develop, in partnership with Let it Ripple, a virtual program to prepare cohorts of Jewish young adults to engage in tech-free Shabbat as a means of fostering lifelong mental health and well-being.

This project represents a partnership between OneTable and Let it Ripple. What excites you about partnering in this work?

In 2021, OneTable and Let it Ripple teamed up to make two short films for OneTable’s PAUSE series. The collaboration around Shabbat, technology, and the pandemic led to us all seeing the incredible potential of joining forces. Now, we’re excited to launch a new partnership, offering a dynamic cohort experience that will invite thousands of young Jewish Millennials and Gen Z to experience the life-changing benefits of unplugging for one day each week—a “Tech Shabbat.”

How will this project provide a Jewish framework for the current moment in which tech is ubiquitous and individuals are yearning for connection amidst isolation?

Shabbat serves as an accessible form of self-care and wellness, which has been essential for thousands of years and is even more relevant and urgent today. Our relationship to technology has changed—The 25th Hour is designed to guide Jewish young adults to be present in an intentional way for themselves and to meaningfully connect with others. Through a four-week curriculum, participants will learn to sustainably implement the practice of unplugging and will deepen relationships both with others and to their Shabbat practice. Over the course of three years, we will create a cultural norm around unplugging on Shabbat as a pathway to well-being each week.

What keeps you inspired in your work?

OneTable hosts, guests, and their peers inspire our work. They represent a generation of young Jewish adults who are looking to connect with innovative ways to stay balanced, stay healthy, stay connected, and find meaning through their Jewish identity. During two focus groups among OneTable dinner hosts, generously supported by The Covenant Foundation, we discussed motivators, benefits, and challenges of unplugging for Shabbat. Our participants want the permission to spend their time more intentionally, to enter the magic of Shabbat for a 25-hour oasis from the non-stop demands of our digital world. We have the power to support them in that journey with Jewish traditions for today’s world.

Learn more at onetable.org/25th-hour