“It’s Worth Trillions”: Israeli Actor Omer Hazan Opens Up About Shabbat

“Shabbat is something that changes your life. It’s basically a startup that Hashem came up with, and it’s worth trillions.”

That is how actor Omer Hazan described the value of Shabbat during an interview on “Shabbat for Every Reason” with Rabbi Yigal Cohen. Their conversation focused on something many people experience every day: the constant noise of phones, messages, social media, and distractions, and the rare opportunity Shabbat provides to disconnect from all of it.

“We live under Big Brother, who is watching us all the time,” Rabbi Yigal Cohen said. “Once a week, there is quiet—just quiet.”

For Hazan, that quiet is one of the great gifts of Shabbat.

“It is a gift from Hashem: to hit stop and pause, to understand, here I am, thank Hashem, I am present, I am with my family, I study a little Torah, I go to synagogue, I return to myself.”

Rabbi Yigal Cohen described a similar experience: “I can finally listen, without the constant buzzing of the phone, to my wife, my children, and my friends.”

“It’s overwhelming—so overwhelming,” Hazan responded.

“Shabbat Has Power”

Later in the conversation, Rabbi Yigal Cohen spoke about the spiritual power of observing Shabbat and encouraged those who find it difficult to make a special effort.

“There is something very significant about this: Even if we have not managed to observe every Shabbat, we should make a supreme effort to observe the final and first Shabbat. Those who smoke should say that nothing will happen if they do not smoke. Those who need to drive, please find other solutions so you can make it work.”

He then referred to the teaching of the Gemara that if the Jewish people were to observe two Shabbats, they would be redeemed immediately.

“Shabbat has power,” Rabbi Yigal Cohen said.

“What power—it’s unbelievable,” Hazan responded. “It’s a real commitment.”

Their exchange highlights an aspect of Shabbat that can sometimes be easy to overlook. Beyond its laws and traditions, Shabbat creates something increasingly rare in modern life: an opportunity to stop. For one day, the phone can fall silent, the distractions can wait, and there is space to be present with Hashem, with family, and with ourselves.

As Hazan put it, Shabbat is a gift from Hashem—a weekly opportunity to “hit stop and pause” and return to what matters most.