(April 25, 2023 / JNS) The booth at the international robotics competition in Houston on April 21 had a rather unusual diorama: Shabbat candles, challah, a Kiddush cup and a poster explaining that it was Judaism’s official day of rest.

The teens from Modi’in on Trigon 5990 sent a letter to tournament organizers informing them that the team could not compete on the holy day, despite having reached the final stage.

“We come from a religious Jewish background, and our faith is an integral part of who we are,” they wrote in the letter. “Saturdays, Shabbat, hold a special significance in the Jewish faith.”

A tournament official read the team’s statement, and as the audience applauded, he thanked the team for the “reminder of the importance of things outside of robotics.”