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Due to undisclosed circumstances, I'd rather not go the local shul CURRENTLY, at the given moment. Spending Shaabath with the community definitely was an immense help in getting those ~25 hours without screwing around with different prohibitions done.

Thing is, when I'm alone for this time and have all kinds of electronics turned off and don't do melachot, I get bored out of my mind. It seems that my yetzer hara likes to attack me in those moments, where I sit in my room and don't do 'things'. Shaabath is supposed to strengthen my connection with haShem, not weaken it (I think at least. I might be wrong as it is in a sense a reminder of death). But after this week's Shaabath I was left in total emptiness and frustration. I feel like the bond weakened. It is as if though I started to repeat some dumb mistakes after this week's Shaabath. Summer is nearing and it is way more difficult to get over it than it is in the winter time, when a good amount of sleep (also during the day time on Saturday) gets me through soundly.

So, it is definitely not how I'd imagine a proper Shaabath should be. I don't want to feel that bored, blank state again. Sure, loosing track of time (waiting for the stars to appear on Saturday night as an indicator when Shaabath ends) and this total physical and psychological relaxation might be a good thing. But when I'm in a 'hyper' state (which I usually am after a certain time of refraining from 'activities') it gets a bit torturous - turning into a primitive thing lying in bed and wrestling with a chair instead of being able to connect fully with haShem. I also notice that once the phone and the electronics are shut off (the entertainment is gone), I contemplate a lot about the negative aspects of my past. It is crazy how certain thoughts and memories suddenly fall into place once it's night time, the moon is shining and you are left on your own, as if back in the year 1000 from a lack of entertainment perspective.

That is why I'd like to ask for some suggestions on how to spend Shaabath in total (human) solitude in a constructive manner. I imagine books would be most likely the best way, though I lack any at the given moment as I've read through my current collection (which is not very big).

There is no question that spending Shabbat alone can be frustrating, boring and difficult. It is not good for man to be alone, and for sure not on Shabbat (which might be the reason Eve was created right before Shabbat).

Ideally Shabbat would be spent in the company of friends, or at least other Jews. If this is not possible, here are a few ideas

• borrowing books from the synagogue (you could start here or there or, if you need more advanced ideas you can ask a question here)


• printing in advance divrei Torah from the Internet (see for instance here for ideas of sources)


• take a walk outside in nature

I see a related question was asked and has many more suggestions: How can I make a long summer shabbat a delight?

Last, if this community is not one you want to visit, maybe you could

• visit a different community, e.g., chabad might have a center close to yours


• try to get invited by some friendly community members for a shabbat meal, even if you don't go to the synagogue. The rabbi might be helpful in arranging this

PS. Shabbat is not a reminder of death. It is a reminder of the world to come! The Ramchal in the end of Derech Hashem (part 4, ch. 7, here in English) writes beautifully about this.

Most people I know in similar situations survive - and enjoy - Shabbos by reading.

Magazine subscriptions are an affordable way to get enough reading material each week. If you are so inclined you can order one with Jewish content, or you can search special deals on line to get a variety of nonJewish magazines for next to nothing.

And of course there’s your local library. Read each week and you’ll be your librarians favorite customer.

As an additional thought, many forms of excercise can be permitted on Shabbos (CYLOR). Excercise helps with that hyper feelings and is really good for you.

It’s not just you. Shabbos alone can be tough and often doesn’t feel very uplifting. Hoping these suggestions help a little.

I struggled with this when I first began keeping Shabbat. Torah study is what worked for me. You absolutely need a Chumash. Read the Torah portion in English, chant it in Hebrew, and print out Divrei Torah from websites like Torah.org.

Add in 3 decent meals, sleep and a nap and you've got 20 or so hours of Shabbat covered. Daven 5 times (Kabbalat, Maariv, Shacharit, Mussaf, Mincha). There's another 2-3 hours spent getting closer to G-d. The rest will fall into place.