thread: 2005-08-09 : The New Open House 2: Religion
On 2005-08-09, Ninja Monkey J wrote:
I am a practicing Jew. The Mitzvot are a guide to my life and I give credence to Jewish thinkers disproportionately because I understand the language pretty well (the metaphorical language, not Hebrew or Yiddish). I was brought up in a Reform Jewish household by a Jewish father and a post-birth-converted Jewish mother, which meant that many Hebrew schools and synagogues wouldn't accept us. My dad thought they were petty, small people, so we started a Jewish community of our own in my hometown where we learned things from books, visiting rabbis, and other smart people.
Unlike Clinton, I don't believe than answers are ever any more than a working solution. The Ultimate Answer is an idol. Anything you can think of, that's not God. Given the mystical rigor that's been required to even see God in Jewish tradition, the idea that somehow I can understand what God is through a casual understanding of the process is just, I dunno, weird.
In fact, that one, Commandment Numero Uno, is probably the one that guides me most: "I am the Lord, your God. Have no other gods before me." Many people have interpreted this to mean that there are no other "gods" in the Universe. Not only is this not supported by Torah, but it deprives us of an avenue for examination of the Universe; it makes those gods larger than they are.
What that means to me is "There is a God, a creative intelligence to the Universe. Don't think that you are smaller than anything but that. Certainly not symbols like Hermes, which are obviously powerful symbols that you control yourself."
Submitted for your consideration: there is a sign for Hermes, but no sign for HaShem; that every "name" we have for God isn't a name tag, but an arrow pointing in a direction, and that other "names" point in different, orthogonal directions. Like a sign that says "New York ->".
Traditionally, Jewish thought is pretty quiet on the afterlife - every rabbi I've ever met has said, "Well, no one's been there and back. We live Judaism so that we do the right thing today. Leave death to the dead." There's a strong tradition of reincarnation in Judaism before the 18th century, but, again, it doesn't have much applicable value, except to mystics, so it's not something that comes up much. Certainly, I don't think of Hell as anything but a Christian (and, surprisingly, Buddhist) concept.
To me, religious practice is perpetually moving closer to understanding the Universe. Scientific study is religious practice. Making things is religious practice. Playing music. Dancing. Eating. Laughing. When done mindfully, these processes are mystical in nature, in that they give us a chance to burn our idols at every step.
This makes TM go "Some "me toos""
I don't believe than answers are ever any more than a working solution.
That's my view as well. I suppose I'm a Pragmatist (in both the mundane and the philosophical senses).
"Well, no one's been there and back. We live Judaism so that we do the right thing today. Leave death to the dead."
I find that sentiment very agreeable.
