Sabbath and Time (Foreword, Prologue and Chapter 1 of Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World)

Abstract

Excerpt: In 1991, a yet-to-be-identified flea market enthusiast discovered a simple picture frame to his liking. Securing the purchase, the shopper returned home only to discover an ancient document hiding inconspicuously behind the frame. Thinking little of the discovery, he continued about his life. Two years later, a friend stumbled on the document and investigated its origin. The rest is history. The four-dollar frame had hidden a first-edition copy of the Declaration of Independence reportedly worth north of one million dollars.1 This accidental discovery is not isolated. There was the contractor who found $182,000 in a bathroom wall he was remodeling.2 A three-dollar Chinese bowl later sold at Sotheby’s for$2.2 million—it was a treasure from the Northern Song Dynasty.3 Then there was that California family who stumbled on a can of ancient gold coins in their backyard valued at $10 million