Mostly, I'd like to take issue with your characterization of the Sabbath restrictions as a hindrance. From personal observation I can say that the Sabbath is a tremendous joy to observant Jews

Oh, I love the concept of setting aside one day of the week to live simply and reflect on one's spirituality without the constant din of modern technology, I would never knock that - in fact I'd quite like to live by that example even as a non-religious person. My issue is with the incredible hoops and scholarly interpretive twists (akin to some complex tax accounting code) that lead up to some poles and wires creating an anti-sin shield. Apologies for any toe-stepping, I debate to learn, not to judge.