Several times each day, hundreds of thousands of people around the world stop what they’re doing—working, driving, talking—to come together. Their hands held to their faces, they probe their minds, wave their hands and at times shout to the Heavens.

No, they are not praying.

They’re playing “HQ,” the popular trivia app live streamed from New York City. Twice daily, users tune in live as the host challenges them to answer a series of 12 questions of increasing difficulty.

It’s something that is at once intensely traditional and utterly disconcerting. Caught between futuristic communal bonding and an eerie fixation on a disembodied talking head seemingly out of a dystopian science-fiction show, “HQ” has a more familiar ring to those familiar with Jewish tradition.

Every morning and evening, Jews take time out to gather as part of a minyan (a quorum of 10 Jewish men required for public prayer). It’s both a personal and a communal experience—and one adhered to by a strict, time-bound schedule.

The sages teach that Elijah the Prophet was only answered at Minchah, the afternoon prayer, which is recited when it is hardest to uproot yourself from the grind of the day. There is an intensely powerful lesson to be learned in tearing yourself away from the world and dedicating yourself to a specific cause at a specific time.

The mundane act of a trivia game isn’t the same as prayer, but the lessons learned by its enthusiasts are of universal importance: to come together, and to prioritize time and dictates, even if it means taking a not-so-convenient break.