A Tone Mint...

...is neither about music nor candy. Discuss....

Seriously, though, this is a somber time for Jews (I mean, who would get excited and celebrate the New Year as a happy event?). Yom Kippur is the holiest non-weekly event of the year for Jews, a time for reflection and renewal. The central theme of the holiday is forgiveness:

"If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why you're worshiped." (Psalm 130, 3-4, The Message)

This holiday does wonders for releasing humans from their obligations to God, and in fact opens with a prayer to that effect. I can't resist, however, reminding readers that just as almost every rabbi says on this holiday, Yom Kippur does NOT atone for those sins made against another human until the other party has granted forgiveness.

Likewise, while God may be eternally forgiving, that doesn't give anyone the excuse to act badly. God forgives those that are repentant, welcomes everyone into grace, and loves every single human, but be sure that your heart is open to receive those gifts.

So please spend this holiday season opening your hearts to God and your fellow humans as we all strive to make this a better world.

Chappy New Year!!!

"Blessed be the Lord - day after day he carries us along" (Psalms 68:19, The Message).

(Incidentally, is that correct typefacing? You'd think that since I'm reading Eats, Shoots, and Leaves I'd know, but I still can't get a consensus on how to cite Bible passages, i.e. what gets italicized, etc. Oh well.)

Happy New Year to all my Jewish brethren, and a warm wish for renewal and growth to all.

With tonight's festivities, Kehilla NYC starts it's first full lunar new year, and I've decided to get things rolling again as such. This blog is supposed to be about religion and community, so this year I'm going to help foster such. Every week (ideally sometime around Shabbat), I will try to post a provocative something or other - perhaps a Bible passage, a quotation, or just something on my mind. In other words, I'll give you a topic, you discuss (with a nod to Linda).

To start, let me briefly recount yesterday as I saw it at the time. My experiment didn't work but the other student's did, proving that it's something I'm doing but we have no idea what. Additionally, our new kitchen table order was cancelled due to permanent item discontinuation, but I'd already assembled the matching chairs. I was overwhelmed by responsibilities in lab, coursework, my teaching assistant position, and my personal life (both private and in relation to other groups). It was not a happy day.

However, in looking back, the experiment worked just fine, I had simply looked at the one bad sample. The chairs are being accepted back as a return for full value, including S&H, and we found a new set that saved us money! I got all my errands done in record time. My course let out early today. I have time to stop and breathe and appreciate life. Sometimes, it just takes that step back.

This is the point where you should ask, "Mike, what does this have to do with religion?" Well, I'm glad you asked (if you didn't, go back to the start of this paragraph and try again). When I made it back to my desk, I found myself today saying, "Thank you, God." Why did I say that?

Scriptural (Ancient) Judaism traditionally represents God as an entity that can act in every day life personified (God is omnipotent, afterall), although only a select few every see the Creator directly (although, are they only seeing Metatron?). In Talmud, God becomes more distant (I personally believe this starts in the middle of Prophets, around the time of the first Diaspora). In these later cases, God is there always, but acts more subtly, either through the world around us or through people themselves, rather than as a personified player.

So, does God act in daily life? Let's accept that God is omnipotent, and CAN do anything. With that said, what role did God play today in each of our lives and how? Did the Creator talk to us directly (George Burns style)? Did God act on our hearts and minds to influence our way of being? Did God act through other players, be they people or nature? Is everything that happens a manifestation of God? Is the Creator just a great watchmaker, only fixing things when they're broken, otherwise letting things run? How broken need things get? Does God exist only because we ask these questions?

I have no concrete answers. I know I don't expect to be hit by a lightning bolt every time I laugh at Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but likewise I did thank God for whatever happened today - was I thanking the Creator for making things go right in the world around me, or in my mind, heart, and soul?

Happy New Year, and (if it's something the Creator does) may God bless us all.

Good Times and Bad

I feel it appropriate given tomorrow's date to post a brief word about the role that religion might play in the hard times in our life. A large body of evidence suggests that religiousity helps with coping, and given the horrors the world faced on Sept. 11, 2001, I can only suggest prayer and introspection as appropriate paths to healing and reconciliation, as only a power as awesome as God and the united good of humanity can bring us back from those dark days. May all faiths and approaches to spirituality come together tomorrow to remember that love and faith can and will conquer all. God bless America and all the world.