Yes, it's true. Recently my family and I attended a friend's Bar Mitzvah party. Included in the entertainment was a professional hypnotist. The hypnotist explained that he would select members of the audience whom he determined to be the best candidates for hypnosis. The next thing I knew, he had chosen me, and there I now sat in front of everyone, alongside five teenagers, my fellow panelists.

I have been in the audience of a hypnotist from time to time. Like everyone else, I always wondered if it really works. Do the volunteers really go into a trance? Are they really compelled to do what the hypnotist tells them? Do they really respond to the clap of a hand, the sound of a voice, the snap of a finger, etc?

So now I had the chance to find out firsthand.

The hypnotist told us to close our eyes, as he proceeded to talk us into a state of relaxation. Then he went through his routine--telling us to laugh, feel the cold, feel the heat, drive a car, go to the beach, feel a bee sting our noses, dance like Elvis Presley, lie down at the sound of a whistle, etc.

I confess I knew what was happening at all times. I felt I could stop at anytime and ruin the act. But I didn't. I went along with everything, all the while listening to the roaring laughter of my family and friends who were watching. And I'm beginning to understand why it all works.

After all, what did I really do? I was afforded the opportunity to relax, and even to escape from reality for a short time. True, I willingly followed the commands of someone to do silly things, but I went along with it, because it was all good fun. The fact that I was aware of my actions at all times, at first made me a skeptic, but now I see that's the whole point.

From my lay experience, I see that hypnosis isn't magic; it's not supernatural. It doesn't take us away from the real world. It helps us to relax and better enjoy (or cope with) the issues we face.

And then it dawned on me--that's what Judaism also seeks to do. On Shabbat we allow ourselves to be the hypnotist's volunteer--to just relax and see the world a little differently. When three stars appear in the sky on Saturday night, and we re-open our eyes, the world hasn't changed, the problems haven't disappeared, but we had that chance to escape in a healthy, conscious way, and even to laugh a little bit more than usual.