Bruce Feiler's journey in his book took him from Israel to Iraq. As he points out the Bible is filled with condemnation and curses for Bablyonia. Babylon destroyed the First Temple of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Yet, he points out, that in Mesopotamia Jews became settled, prosperous and content. Exile is a part of the journey of life and recovery hopefully is too. The Jewish community of the Tigris and Euphrates multiplied and became affluent. It would produce a dynamic Jewish culture that would generally flourish from 500 BCE until 1950 when Jews began to leave for Israel in large numbers. The Babylonian (authoritative) Talmud was produced there. The Gaonim of the yeshivot unified Rabbinic Judaism in liturgy, practice and thought that still unites Jews around the world. Further, despite the violence of the Empire, Babylon and its predecessors (Sumer, Assyria) give the world fundamental approaches to life: writing, calendar, gardens, imagination and the idea of freedom. Their philosophy created a world view where a person and community does have some control of their environment. A chunk of our world view today was developed in ancient Bablyon.
Everyone loves the story of the Tower of Babel. Human beings try to emulate God and reach the heavens and God scrambles their language and sets them apart to never threaten Him/Her. Feiler points out that the story is a fundamental statement about God's desire for diversity. Leaders who have tried to make everyone the same - are filled with human arrogance that leads to their own end. Only God is one ... and the Creation story and The Tower story demonstrate (in the Jewish mind,) God's love of a diverse world. Many kinds of species. Many cultures and quests for the truth. Many paths of spirituality. God created a world with different life - the richness of creation is a true gift which we should appreciate.
Finally (with High Holidays not so far away) Feiler spends several pages on Jonah. Everyone loves Jonah because he's swallowed and escapes the great fish and offers a message of universal hope for forgiveness and improvement. Jonah is not heroic: he runs away, he's frequently angry. But in the depths of the sea, he senses and verbalizes God's compassion and has a moment of true humility. The story affirms that change is possible even if Jonah himself has a tough time understanding that truth. The story teaches the importance of ethical behavior as the means to saving our lives spiritually and literally. For all the physical power of Nineveh it is their humble changes of interpersonal behavior and quest for compassion that enables them to survive. The Assyrians destroyed the Ten Tribes and almost destroyed Jerusalem in the 7th Century BCE, but their legacy is a mixed bag, as also for Babylon: Great violence, but also great prosperity and hope for the human condition.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Where God Was Born 1
One of the books I enjoyed this summer while on vacation was Bruce Feiler's: Where God Was Born. It describes his journey exploring the spiritual/biblical connections in Israel, Iraq & Iran. Just a few things that moved me in his tale/experience.
King David. I had always been fascinated by David as master politician, master poet/singer, a true devotee of God, dynamic leader and immoral husband and parent. But Feiler expands this when he writes about David as a warning against power. David was the greatest King of Israel militarily and politically, but his personal life is a mess. He spoils his kids and is a murderer and adulterer. Yet the Messiah will come someday from his descendant. That leader will have learned the lesson of David's life. He will be meek and humble, honest, ethical and just. Real power is spiritual, it is interpersonal - political power does get things done, but lasting power is found in caring and moral relationships. They live on even after our lives are over.
The Temple. Biblical religion began with sacred places. The holy place was the spiritual destination for intense, beautiful moments of God's presence. But even before the destruction the prophets were articulating a different spiritual destination. God is found not in places but in the way we treat each other. God can be found anywhere and when the First Temple was destroyed Jews gathered and socialized, prayed and studied and Judaism evolved. Yes, we are physical beings and need places to meet and experience God together. But there is no one place for those sacred moments - since God is everywhere and people can be anywhere - together we can feel the Shechinah. Yes we can still go to Jerusalem and it's special. But we can go to a synagogue anywhere in the world or in the beauty of nature and feel the holiness of life. In the smallest minyan or a simple act of lovingkindness - God can be experienced.
More on this book very soon
King David. I had always been fascinated by David as master politician, master poet/singer, a true devotee of God, dynamic leader and immoral husband and parent. But Feiler expands this when he writes about David as a warning against power. David was the greatest King of Israel militarily and politically, but his personal life is a mess. He spoils his kids and is a murderer and adulterer. Yet the Messiah will come someday from his descendant. That leader will have learned the lesson of David's life. He will be meek and humble, honest, ethical and just. Real power is spiritual, it is interpersonal - political power does get things done, but lasting power is found in caring and moral relationships. They live on even after our lives are over.
The Temple. Biblical religion began with sacred places. The holy place was the spiritual destination for intense, beautiful moments of God's presence. But even before the destruction the prophets were articulating a different spiritual destination. God is found not in places but in the way we treat each other. God can be found anywhere and when the First Temple was destroyed Jews gathered and socialized, prayed and studied and Judaism evolved. Yes, we are physical beings and need places to meet and experience God together. But there is no one place for those sacred moments - since God is everywhere and people can be anywhere - together we can feel the Shechinah. Yes we can still go to Jerusalem and it's special. But we can go to a synagogue anywhere in the world or in the beauty of nature and feel the holiness of life. In the smallest minyan or a simple act of lovingkindness - God can be experienced.
More on this book very soon
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Parents' Anniversary
I'm back from my month off. It was a good vacation - great week at the Beach in Lewes, DE and the third weekend of July a nice party for my parents' 60th wedding anniversary in Boca Raton. I've been married for almost 26 years and the thought of completing 60 is possible, yet almost miraculous.
It was special to have all of us together - my sisters, their partners and all the grandchildren. We don't, with our busy lifestyles and distances, do it often enough. My sisters are in the NY Metro area and my parents are in Florida. The last time we were all together was for my niece's Bat Mitzvah three years ago, before that it was Tali's Bar Mitzvah in 2003, and 10 years ago my parents for their 50th - who took all 13 of us on a Caribbean Cruise.
The stresses of family - personalities and conflicting demands remain. Yet for all the mishugas: it's nice to enjoy unconditional love... my parents and my sisters have always been there for me. And it's incredible after all the things our parents have given us that we're able to give back a little in helping them with the challenges as they have gotten older.
Finally, while my parents are far from perfect - they're both wonderful human beings. My father's generosity and optimism have always been precious gifts. My mother's devotion and values of caring are part of each of her children. On most of my recent visits to FL, I have had a strange inkling that this might be the last time I see one of my parents. Although no one can know what life will bring, it was a good visit... feeling that there will be many more nice occasions in the coming years to spend good times with my loved ones.
It was special to have all of us together - my sisters, their partners and all the grandchildren. We don't, with our busy lifestyles and distances, do it often enough. My sisters are in the NY Metro area and my parents are in Florida. The last time we were all together was for my niece's Bat Mitzvah three years ago, before that it was Tali's Bar Mitzvah in 2003, and 10 years ago my parents for their 50th - who took all 13 of us on a Caribbean Cruise.
The stresses of family - personalities and conflicting demands remain. Yet for all the mishugas: it's nice to enjoy unconditional love... my parents and my sisters have always been there for me. And it's incredible after all the things our parents have given us that we're able to give back a little in helping them with the challenges as they have gotten older.
Finally, while my parents are far from perfect - they're both wonderful human beings. My father's generosity and optimism have always been precious gifts. My mother's devotion and values of caring are part of each of her children. On most of my recent visits to FL, I have had a strange inkling that this might be the last time I see one of my parents. Although no one can know what life will bring, it was a good visit... feeling that there will be many more nice occasions in the coming years to spend good times with my loved ones.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Kayaking with Dolphins
Went out early this morning on the Atlantic from Lewes, DE... kayaking out to where the dolphins feed in the morning. It was amazing. It was overcast so it was much cooler outside than the past few days. When we arrived at the point - there was a pod of dolphins swimming (maybe two). What was very special and not all that common is that they swam along with us as we paddled. Most of the time they were 10-15 yards away, several times they were 10 feet away. Once or twice I thought (although I'm not sure) that I heard them "talking." You could definitely hear them breathing from their air holes. One of them had a large chunk missing from its dorsal fin. We were out a little less than two hours and for the 2nd hour around 7-12 dolphins swam with us as we paddled south. At the end a big rain cloud came over and it poured - so we went in to the beach. Neat to use the waves surfing them onto the beach in Cape Henlopen State Park. All in all - a really fun morning. Not quite as good as scuba diving with dolphins (many years ago in Freeport, Bahamas) but wonderful exercise and great close up dolphin watching.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Eisenhower
I've almost finished yesterday and today (while on vacation) Eisenhower: Soldier & Statesman by Stephen Ambrose. I've always been fascinated by WWII, but always thought little of Ike. He was the President when I was born, but was never impressed with him as leader of the European campaign in the war or in what I had read of him as President. The book treated him positively but balanced. It pointed out his weaknesses and biases often based in his background.
But I was impressed with his warmth, his calm and his decisiveness in most crucial situations. His intelligence to analyze complex situations and see the essence of the issue - is a skill I wish I more often possessed. His ability to build teams, often of those who style and approach was very different from his, was a precious gift. In reading about his presidency I was most impressed with his constant striving to have a military that met our needs for self defense but not more. The ability to deter an enemy or strike an opponent does not require every piece of expensive military hardware. His immense prestige in leading the victory against Nazi Germany in the West enabled him to balance the demands with the needs and to save billions that helped the prosperity of the 50s and the relative peace of the latter part of that decade. Never having read about him before - an impressive legacy of military and political leadership.
But I was impressed with his warmth, his calm and his decisiveness in most crucial situations. His intelligence to analyze complex situations and see the essence of the issue - is a skill I wish I more often possessed. His ability to build teams, often of those who style and approach was very different from his, was a precious gift. In reading about his presidency I was most impressed with his constant striving to have a military that met our needs for self defense but not more. The ability to deter an enemy or strike an opponent does not require every piece of expensive military hardware. His immense prestige in leading the victory against Nazi Germany in the West enabled him to balance the demands with the needs and to save billions that helped the prosperity of the 50s and the relative peace of the latter part of that decade. Never having read about him before - an impressive legacy of military and political leadership.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Starting to recharge even before vacation
It's been scary not being able to read except for work requirements for several months. June has quieted down - to normal busy and I've been able read for myself now for several days. I'm really enjoying Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals." I've always been fascinated by Abraham Lincoln. The story of his political early failures, rise to leadership and ability to work with his former opponents under the incredible stress of the Civil War is truly inspiring. I knew he was one of our greatest Presidents, but reading about his humor, his ability to inspire, to listen to disagreement and see the essence - I wish I had some of these wonderful leadership skills. As I begin my vacation tomorrow I hope finish the book and maybe compose some more comments when I'm done.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Torah Portion: Spies
Painful portion in the Torah reading this week
Israelites on the verge of going to conquer the Land of Israel are filled with self doubt and inferiority – they would rather go back to Egypt that face the challenges of living on their own
The consequence … is the ultimate punishment – they will die and not enter the Land
I would have thought the Golden Calf was a more evil, more fundamental sin
But not understanding how to worship God is different from denying God’s spirit in one’s life
I paraphrase what our Bar Mitzvah said in his speech: you can’t live without hope – if you feel that life is futile, where do you find the strength to find joy in life.
Strangely: The Torah answers this existential question with information about sacrifices, the dough offering, sin offerings, the Shabbat breaker and tzitzit. Huh?
My old answer: these are things to be done when Israel enters the Land. It’s a message of hope – to those hearing it: you may not go in yourself, but your children will and do all these things.
As I was thinking about this strange juxtaposition in the portion … and baseball, … and came up with a different answer
What happens when you mess up? We all make mistakes.
Sometimes the mistake is devastating – a community believes the 10 spies, elects a Hitler … it goes down the road of its own destruction – for at least that generation.
Sometimes you do something wrong and you know it’s wrong – the community knows you can’t gather wood on Shabbat and make a fire and you’re warned and you still do it. Normally you just get cut off from the spirituality of rest – but not in our portion. It’s a capital sentence here. Another example hopefully not fatal: If you (the Bar Mitzvah) practiced a new, difficult gymnastics routine without a spotter – you’d certainly be putting yourself at risk of serious injury. Doing something you know is wrong (smoking, overeating) is just dangerous.
However: Most of the time our mistakes are not intentional – they’re inadvertent.
We’re driving and pick up our cell phone and boom.
Sometimes you’re an umpire in the 9th inning of a perfect game and you’re in position, but somehow you blow the call?
What do you do – when you just weren’t focused on what you’re doing and you blow it?
I think you do what Jim Joyce, the umpire, did Wednesday night. First you own up. If you can’t admit you did wrong – you’ll never be able to avoid the same mistake again. In this case, there’s nothing you can do to make it right, but one kind of forgiveness is possible … from admitting you’re wrong and then doing it right from that moment on.
You also hope (but there’s no guarantee) that if you’ve hurt someone else – when they know you and know you’re sincere that they can say – I could have made that mistake, I’m not happy, but I do understand. I think that’s what Armando Galarraga felt and it was certainly what he said. He was classy and gracious and because of that both the pitcher and the umpire have earned a tremendous amount of respect – not because their athletes, not because they’re great at their jobs, but because the both saw the humanity of the other person. I hope that because of what happened that Gallarraga’s perfect game will be as famous a Don Larsen’s or Harvey Haddix’s 12 inning masterpiece even though he then lost.
I think: That’s why the portion talked about the sin offering. You didn’t intend to mess up, but you did and then you realize later what you did. If it’s on purpose you can’t bring the sacrifice – you can’t do something symbolic to increase your mindfulness. When it is inadvertent you can… it’s a means of saying, I’m going to do better in the future. I’m going to pay attention to my life. Help me to do that God.
I also think that’s what the tzitzit are designed to do. Clothing doesn’t change who we are, but it can remind us of who we are and what we’re doing. Think about what we’re doing. Don’t walk through life thoughtlessly. Be mindful of what you say and do. Concentrate on what you’re doing. Be in the moment. Do what you believe is right – because you study and reflect. Slow down – live. Feel the wonders of life. Make the time to share your life with people you love. Maybe even feel the connection to the life flow of the Universe. It’s how you stand in the Presence of God.
Israelites on the verge of going to conquer the Land of Israel are filled with self doubt and inferiority – they would rather go back to Egypt that face the challenges of living on their own
The consequence … is the ultimate punishment – they will die and not enter the Land
I would have thought the Golden Calf was a more evil, more fundamental sin
But not understanding how to worship God is different from denying God’s spirit in one’s life
I paraphrase what our Bar Mitzvah said in his speech: you can’t live without hope – if you feel that life is futile, where do you find the strength to find joy in life.
Strangely: The Torah answers this existential question with information about sacrifices, the dough offering, sin offerings, the Shabbat breaker and tzitzit. Huh?
My old answer: these are things to be done when Israel enters the Land. It’s a message of hope – to those hearing it: you may not go in yourself, but your children will and do all these things.
As I was thinking about this strange juxtaposition in the portion … and baseball, … and came up with a different answer
What happens when you mess up? We all make mistakes.
Sometimes the mistake is devastating – a community believes the 10 spies, elects a Hitler … it goes down the road of its own destruction – for at least that generation.
Sometimes you do something wrong and you know it’s wrong – the community knows you can’t gather wood on Shabbat and make a fire and you’re warned and you still do it. Normally you just get cut off from the spirituality of rest – but not in our portion. It’s a capital sentence here. Another example hopefully not fatal: If you (the Bar Mitzvah) practiced a new, difficult gymnastics routine without a spotter – you’d certainly be putting yourself at risk of serious injury. Doing something you know is wrong (smoking, overeating) is just dangerous.
However: Most of the time our mistakes are not intentional – they’re inadvertent.
We’re driving and pick up our cell phone and boom.
Sometimes you’re an umpire in the 9th inning of a perfect game and you’re in position, but somehow you blow the call?
What do you do – when you just weren’t focused on what you’re doing and you blow it?
I think you do what Jim Joyce, the umpire, did Wednesday night. First you own up. If you can’t admit you did wrong – you’ll never be able to avoid the same mistake again. In this case, there’s nothing you can do to make it right, but one kind of forgiveness is possible … from admitting you’re wrong and then doing it right from that moment on.
You also hope (but there’s no guarantee) that if you’ve hurt someone else – when they know you and know you’re sincere that they can say – I could have made that mistake, I’m not happy, but I do understand. I think that’s what Armando Galarraga felt and it was certainly what he said. He was classy and gracious and because of that both the pitcher and the umpire have earned a tremendous amount of respect – not because their athletes, not because they’re great at their jobs, but because the both saw the humanity of the other person. I hope that because of what happened that Gallarraga’s perfect game will be as famous a Don Larsen’s or Harvey Haddix’s 12 inning masterpiece even though he then lost.
I think: That’s why the portion talked about the sin offering. You didn’t intend to mess up, but you did and then you realize later what you did. If it’s on purpose you can’t bring the sacrifice – you can’t do something symbolic to increase your mindfulness. When it is inadvertent you can… it’s a means of saying, I’m going to do better in the future. I’m going to pay attention to my life. Help me to do that God.
I also think that’s what the tzitzit are designed to do. Clothing doesn’t change who we are, but it can remind us of who we are and what we’re doing. Think about what we’re doing. Don’t walk through life thoughtlessly. Be mindful of what you say and do. Concentrate on what you’re doing. Be in the moment. Do what you believe is right – because you study and reflect. Slow down – live. Feel the wonders of life. Make the time to share your life with people you love. Maybe even feel the connection to the life flow of the Universe. It’s how you stand in the Presence of God.
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