It is Here

“Are you saying that Judaism is devoid of spirituality?! You must be another one of those mayvins who graduated cum laude out of Hebrew school and since then have not gone beyond a pre-pubescent's level of understanding of our heritage. Sit. Sit down next to me. Come here, I will not bite your head off. But listen. Really listen.

”Some of the world’s religions pride themselves on deep spirituality. They teach their followers to reach down into the depths of their psyche and draw out the best. Usually they follow the form that the deeper you go into yourself, the greater power you will discover. So they impart mantras and train acolytes in paths of super-consciousness. Wonderful.

"Everyone could benefit from using those normally dorm right brain cells and discovering the powers that we all possess but seldom utilize.

“Other religions emphasize sharing and comradeship. They draw people into the fraternal like structures remember support one another. In times of grief they visit the bereft. In moments of joy they celebrate with one another. I see you nodding your head. Yes, this too is wonderful.

"Some preeminent religions are attractive precisely because they seem to be universally observed. When the whole culture appears to be wrapped up in a single holiday and we remain of the few that light sickly looking candles on Hanukkah, we begin to ask ‘who is right?’

“There are many, many more. Each religion, culture and organization has its own merits based upon where the individual is coming from. Just as there is no shortage of different kinds of people, there is no dearth of possibilities for the religious explorer.

"Listen, my friend. You know about this; that is why I am talking to now. But did you realize that there is a Jewish mediation?  That we have been practicing this art for centuries? Perhaps you were also not aware that God still speaks?

”If you learn some of this that perhaps I can introduce you to the secret society of Jewish mystics. They too, have been around for a very long time. Perhaps, my friend, you were also unaware of the reams upon reams of ancient texts that that detail Jewish law, lore and practice.  And maybe, if the interest since you, we can get together and share some of the most magnificent tails in storage the world has ever known. Judaism is soon as the world’s best kept secret. And that is a shame. Because it also is the secret to you.

”Is that all?” you ask. “Of course not. I was just giving a moment to digest enormity of the situation.

“The zodiac. Did you know that the zodiac is based on the Jewish calendar? What about healing? What do you looking for the kind dispatch my doctors of the flash four of the show, it can be found here. Thousands of years of accumulated knowledge herbs and curious, amulets and miraculous recovery’s. Philosophy? Do you prefer Aristotelian (Rambam adored his approach to logic) or Helelian (take a look at Solomon Maimon)?  Critical scholarship?  Mathematics?  Aphorisms?  Parables?  Natural sciences?  Physical sciences?

“Look at this rich tradition hidden from view in bulging basements full of memories and attics overflowing with old world knowledge and scholarly pursuits. There it has laid away fast, awaiting the moment of discovery, waiting for you.  The possibilities of new worlds unfolding before your eyes; the wisdom of martyrs and saints yearning to have their stories told are ready. Spanning the epochs are magnificent tales from countless generations. There were travellers throughout the primitive world hundreds of years before Columbus was even conceived. Hoary prayers and lofty incantations wait your discovery.

“Somewhere in the loft of an uncaring relative lay books, holy books. In some dusty alcove, showcase or a moldy attic chest sits a Menorah aching for life it once new reuniting it with God. It waits for the sacred moment when it shall once more touch the portals of the Holy One’s chamber.

“When you are ready to come home all this will be waiting.  And much, much more.”

The Way

I often use the word halakha.  Taken non-literally, halakha means Law.  We speak of the Laws of Judaism (traditionally numbered at 613) as the binding concept of the Jewish people.  The halakhot govern the way in which courts function, how we daven; they cover rules of relations and discourse.  In effect, halakha dictates not just the way our society functions but how we relate to God, as well.

Halakha is the practical application of the Written Word, i.e. the Torah.  That which makes the Torah more than an interesting narrative, more than just good fireside stories, is the way that it leaps into the realm of living.  As a matter of fact, one of the primary functions of a rabbi is to breathe life into the Divine text, to make it available for usage.  That is why the Torah is more than a book of ideas or theology.  It is a handbook for life. 

And yet, if you have ever read the Torah for more than three minutes, it is clear that the Bible is not a completely useable document.  Example:  What does the episode of Noah teach us about life?  Sure, it’s a neat story and has fascinating insights and morals but how can it be used as a yardstick for living?  That is where human reason comes in.   Toward the end of the tale of the flood God tells the survivors, “…but flesh with its soul, do not eat its blood.” (Genesis 9:4).

Peering intensely at this passage the Rabbis deciphered several messages.

1). We are allowed to eat meat.

2). We are prohibited from eating living flesh.  That is, implicit in the words ‘flesh with its soul” is the idea that God does not want us to tear a limb from a living animal.  That is cruel.  As an extension of this interpretation comes the law that any part of an animal that is severed while it is still alive negates the whole beast.

3).  As blood is also mentioned in the same verse, that too, is equated with the soul of the animal.  So we have the halakha that any hint of blood in an animal renders it unfit for consumption. 

Our religion is a fusion of both God’s will and human insight.

The literal meaning of the word halakha is way.  For us halakha is the path to the living, organic faith that was born millennia ago.