Maryland Public Television to Premiere New Documentary 'Sabbath'

The Hebrew writer Ahad Ha-Am famously once said, “More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.”

The concept of a weekly day of rest has served as an essential component of Judaism and other faiths for millennia. In his new documentary “Sabbath,” award-winning filmmaker Martin Doblmeier explores the religious, secular, psychological and sociological implications of a day of rest for what he describes as a “profoundly burned-out world.”

On Saturday, June 24, Baltimore-based Maryland Public Television will premiere “Sabbath” on MPT-HD and the MPT livestream at 7 p.m. The two-hour film will also be available on-demand on the PBS App and MPT video player.

“Sabbath” delves into the history and traditions of an ancient concept rooted in the biblical story of creation, and explores the observance’s potential to serve as a remedy for what ails the modern world.

Pastor Michael C. Mickens of the South Jackson Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, appears in “Sabbath.” (Photo courtesy of Journey Films)

“Our world now runs 24/7 with little distinction given to the day or the hour. What the practice of sabbath challenges us to do is set aside time for the sacred, to set sacred time apart from ordinary time, and do it regularly,” said Doblmeier, who grew up in a Jewish home in New York, Virginia and Rhode Island. “[The sabbath] has been a practice across the ages, and it’s needed now more than ever.”

Told as a collection of short stories, “Sabbath” weaves together the practices of several different faith traditions to paint a broad picture of the subject throughout history and in contemporary life.

Viewers follow Doblmeier, 72, who lives in New Alexandria, Virginia, as he explores sabbath beliefs and practices; gains insights from scholars, monks, theologians, clergy, farmers, physicians and other practitioners; and discovers the profound beauty of the practice across traditions, the principles of justice that undergird it and the potential it offers for healing a stressed-out world.

Doblmeier’s award-winning films include “The Power of Forgiveness” and “Spiritual Audacity: The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story.” Since 1984, he has produced and directed more than 30 films focused on faith and spirituality.

“Sabbath” was produced by Journey Films, which was founded in 1983 by Doblmeier, and will be presented nationally by MPT. The film is distributed by American Public Television.

For information or educational materials, visit visit mpt.org or journeyfilms.com/sabbath.