The Golden Rule

OK, so not only am I a most excellent budding quasi-religious scholar (not really, obviously), but I'm also really good at math. And my stellar math skills have recently helped me figure out that if I continue this project at this pace, it'll take me 23 years, 29 weeks and 6 days to finish. That would be approximately in time for Hanukkah 2035. So I'll be about 49 years old - I'm working on it though.

But on to today's mitzvah....

Type of Commandment: Love and Brotherhood - it's # 26 on the list

Commandment: "To love all human beings who are of the covenant"

Where does it come from: Leviticus 19:18. In my bible, it says "Do not seek revenge or ear a grudge against one of your people, love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord."

How might you follow this?: I suppose it seems pretty straightforward, although most probably would seem so on the surface. Simply, I think, it's just saying that we should treat others with the same dignity, respect and love that we would like to be treated with. I'm sure there are lots of ways that people might choose to follow this one.

Why might this have been commanded in the first place?: This seems like kind of a silly question to answer - it almost seems like we should know why. I suppose even the best things in life can be reiterated to us. It just seems like such common sense, doesn't it? To treat others as we would like to be treated?

What are some benefits to following this today?: OK, let's be for real here. There are tons of benefits to following this. I feel like if we send more good (karma perhaps?) into the world and we'll get more good back, but it'll also create such an amazing community for us to live in. I guess I just think that the world needs as much good as it can get. So that's that.

What are some drawbacks to following this today?: Um, literally none?

So I think what I'm most interested in is the different language in my study bible and on the list. I feel like we should love all others - neighbours, those "who are of the covenant", strangers, and everyone else - as ourselves. So I have to say I dislike saying that we should only love others "who are of the covenant" as ourselves. I'm just not a fan of excluding others like that (which I'm sure wasn't the initial intent).

I started writing this on Saturday and then got lazy and didn't finish it, but I'm actually pretty happy about that because of an experience that I had yesterday.

Every year around this time, the Calgary Jewish Federation, specifically the Young Leadership Division, puts on an event where the community has the opportunity to hear the stories of Holocaust survivors. I volunteered to facilitate one of the discussions. I was very lucky to hear the amazing story of the extremely kind and interesting man that I sat with. As hard as the discussion was and as much as I know the survivor that I was with, as well as no doubt all others, would rather not rehash the horrific things that happened to them time and time again; it is important that we hear these stories from these strong, amazing people before we lose all of them.

I think I felt something new when hearing the stories yesterday that I haven't felt before when hearing these stories. I, as many of you, knew that "Never again" was the message to be taken away from the horrors that were the Holocaust. Yesterday, though, I felt disappointed in my generation that we are still so aggressive towards one another. I realize that many would see it as naive to think that there could be no war,  but I do wish for it (and I don't think it's entirely impossible). Because it isn't even only the Holocaust - we have done horrific things to one another over and over and over again and we never learn our lesson. One of the survivors had written a beautiful piece that her grandson read to the crowd that wished that we would have a next generation that would not know war. I'm frustrated that we do not necessarily have any plans to raise these generations who do not know war. I hope this isn't too ramble-y, I'm just really frustrated and disappointed in myself and my peers. Maybe partly because I have no idea how to do that.

I'm sorry to leave you on such an unhappy note. I'd be very happy to hear some of your comments about this. It's just such a tough issue - and one I haven't nearly exhaustively covered. Also something I wasn't planning on blogging about, but that experience was definitely applicable to what I am writing here.

Take care of each other,

-L.

The 4 cups

Last night, I went to my first real-live seder (which is the meal shared on the first two nights of Passover). When we were younger, my family sort of did seder-lite - we had kids' Haggadahs that we used to use for the seder. I think my dad sold it a little short when we talked about it recently - it seems to me that we pretty much hit all the high points of a seder.

In any case, what I experienced last night was still very, very different. And it leads nicely into the first mitzvah that I'd like to look at.


Type of Commandment: Times and Seasons - it's # 125 on the list

Commandment: "To discuss the departure from Egypt on the first night of Passover"

Where does it come from: Exodus 13:8 - in my study bible, the verse reads: "On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt'" - so the reference is not exactly as it's written in the list - although that could be because I'm using a Christian bible? Or maybe this particular mitzvah comes from a Talmudic discussion of the verse? Anyways.....

How might you follow this?: This question is pretty easy, I think. Er, probably as straightforward as it gets... You get a Haggadah and some friends and a LOT of wine and some great food and you talk through the story in the Haggadah!

Why might this have been commanded in the first place?: I think there are a few answers to this question:

• I think part of it is right in the verse. You do it because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt. Something I learned (mostly last night, but I think I've come across it elsewhere too) is that you discuss the exodus in experiential terms. Like YOU were a slave in Egypt and God brought YOU out of slavery and now YOU are free. Everyone at the seder is supposed to be like a king - you don't pour your own wine, you lean when you drink the wine and eat the matzah and you rest on a pillow on your chair. 
• I think there might also be some part of it to remember how God "dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how [He] performed [His] signs among them" (there was a reference to Exodus 10:2 in my bible's study notes, where that comes from). I'd say it's fair that part of the seder is to appreciate the things that God did for our ancestors in Egypt to take us out of slavery. Another cool thing about that, though, is that while the seder means for us to appreciate what was done for us, it also acknowledges that innocent Egyptians were harmed by the plagues that were sent to take the Jews out of slavery. 
• The notes actually point me to one more place: in Psalm 78:5-6, it says "He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children", which I think points to a pretty common theme in Jewish thought (at least modern Jewish thought, in my estimation). It's talking about Jewish continuity. I sure as heck am not going to touch that one with a ten foot pole right now because it's way too complex. But I think that's in there too. 

What are some benefits to following this today?: Well, firstly, it is a way cool night to experience. I really enjoyed discussing the exodus and I learned so, so much. My kind hosts knew so much (he happens to be a Masters student in religious studies) and shared so much knowledge with the rest of us. I almost wish I could replay the night so I could remember all the stuff they shared with me. I'm really grateful for all the way cool stuff I learned. Another benefit is that any night when you are religiously required to drink (chug, actually) four full cups of wine (as in "my cup overfloweth" - literally), is bound to turn into a super fun evening, no?

What are some drawbacks to following this today?: I would say that the only drawback that I can think of right now is that it is a pretty big practical undertaking. Once you cook a meal while being conscious of kosher for passover rules (if you choose to - no leavened bread products, which is even tough to find in Calgary). And then the seder itself is a pretty long process. All that said, I think (and this comes from a guest, not a host of the seder so I can't speak to the work that it takes) it's totally worth it. I, at least, had a great time.

All said, I don't see a problem with this particular commandment. People celebrate Christmas without thinking twice - and people seem to generally be OK with pulling that away (to various extents) from the original religious significance. Same with Easter - a chocolate egg hunt has little to nothing (I would suggest) to do with what Easter is really meant to be. In the end, there's nothing wrong with celebrating holidays. Maybe the best thing to do with a Passover Seder is to invite all people to celebrate the holiday and have a great time.

Actually, next weekend a friend from my Birthright trip is hosting a seder - there are going to be three of us from our trip and then a bunch of her non-Jewish friends. I think these kinds of things are probably the way to go. Everyone can celebrate freedom at Passover, and I think all types of people should do so. After all, it's a darn good time! Next time, smaller wine glasses though.

Thanks again to my amazing hosts and the other awesome people I shared the evening with. It was such a great time and I really appreciate it!

Vitals...

I'm thinking the best way to do this is to come up with some questions to answer for each commandment to try and figure it out. So, here is my first draft of what I'll be looking into to start each post. Of course, I'll probably ramble on for a bit after I've answered the questions as best I can to really try and figure out what I think about each one.

Here's what I'm thinking for an outline - if there's anything else that you think should be added, please let me know in the comments section! I'd be more than happy to add more to this. I'm sure it will change as I go through.

Type of Commandment:

Commandment:

Where does it come from:

How might you follow this?:

Why might this have been commanded in the first place?:

What are some benefits to following this today?:

What are some drawbacks to following this today?:

I'm getting the list of the 613 from this site, which may or may not be a good place to find it. In all honesty, I just tossed it into Google and that was the first place that it suggested I look.

I also wanted to answer a question that my dad asked me on the weekend about the blog. He mentioned that I said a few times that I'm "half Jewish". I did this for a couple reasons, I guess. One is that it's where I come from. I wasn't raised Jewish and I don't know much about the religion. The bigger reason, though, is that I don't want anyone to mistake me for someone who knows what they're talking about. I am absolutely no expert on this subject, especially when it comes to the religious aspects of Judaism. So please don't think I'm trying to distance myself from being a Jew or anything like that. I'm very happy with who I am, I just want to make sure I'm not portraying myself as a highly Jewishly educated person, because I'm not!

I believe this will be my last procrastinating post! I should get right into the 613 after this one, I think.

As it turns out, looking through the list that I found, this might be a bit tougher than I thought it might be. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about it - so please bear with me and comment away!

In any case, I read something nice in Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance today that I would like to share with you.

"The great sage Hillel was once asked by a potential convert to describe the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel's response was, 'That which is hateful to you do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is explanation; go and learn.'" (page 101)

I should probably start with a few mitzvot talking about Passover - which, as you may be aware, starts this Friday. So stay tuned!

Chag Sameach (I just learned online that this translates to "joyous festival" and is particularly appropriate for Passover)