Q&A: Meditation on the Sabbath — weekday activity?
Meditation on the Sabbath — weekday activity?
Question
With God’s help,
Hello, is meditation permitted on the Sabbath assuming that: (a) in my view it does not fall under the category of medical treatment, because its purpose is release from suffering and dependency, and the way it works is by seeing things “as they are” and gaining insights about them (insight) (that they are changing and not fixed, etc. etc.), so in my opinion this is more a matter of investigating reality than medicine. On the other hand, of course one cannot deny that this is a practice that is not only intellectual in part (like studying from a book, for example).
I would note that in general meditation is supposed to be practiced at every moment of the day — both in its formal form of sitting, observing the breath, and so on, and also continuously during the day by paying attention (mindfulness) through labeling actions by their names (for example, walking, walking; sitting, sitting).
My question is: does meditation fall under the category of weekday-type activity, or would it be permitted on the Sabbath?
And is there a distinction between formal and informal meditation as I defined them (the goal is the same in both)?
Thank you, and Sabbath peace.
Answer
I do not think meditation should be prohibited under the laws of medical treatment. Otherwise, every other calming activity would also have to be prohibited. Beyond that, the entire prohibition on medical treatment nowadays is questionable, since people do not grind medicinal ingredients anymore, and therefore many halakhic decisors are lenient as much as possible with this prohibition, which today has no basis in our actual reality (except that there is no authority to abolish it).
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, it is permitted. Weekday-type activity is an undefined principle, but I don’t see why it should be prohibited.
Sorry for asking again (since I wasn’t able to understand definitively), but is this permitted? And again, regarding weekday-type activity, the question still stands. (Truthfully, the hair-splitting doesn’t really interest me; I’d just be happy to know whether it’s permitted.)
Thanks, and sorry.