Type of Commandment: Love and Brotherhood - it's # 27 on the list
Commandment: Not to stand by idly when a human life is in danger
Where
does it come from: Leviticus 19:16 - in my study bible it actually reads "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people.' 'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD'"
How might you follow
this?: I think that this could take a lot of different shapes, but it's probably a bit of a mindset. I think it's being willing to fight for others rather than be a bystander through their suffering (especially when their life is in danger)
Why might this
have been commanded in the first place?: I hate saying that these things are obvious, but I definitely think this one is pretty easy to see why.
What are some benefits to
following this today?: It's clearly good to have other people's backs - especially when their lives depend on it. It's the right thing to do and I think we owe it to one another to stand up for each other.
What are some drawbacks to following this today?: Um, it's really flippin hard! I'm thinking more on a smaller (non life threatening) scale for the most part here. Just speaking in generalities, I think we can all think of at least one time (if not many times) when we felt that we should have stood up for another person and we failed to do so. I saw a really great documentary at the Calgary Jewish Film Fest quite a few years ago called Wrong Side of the Bus. Basically it was a story about this man (who happened to be Jewish, which is why it was at the Jewish Film Fest) who grew up in South Africa during apartheid. He was reasonably young but he felt really guilty about not having done anything about it. So he went back to South Africa (he later moved to Australia) with his son to make the documentary as well as for his college (I think) reunion. It was an interesting, thoughtful story about how he feels about his behaviour as an "innocent bystander". It's definitely worth watching if you get the chance, although I bet it's super difficult to find.
I've heard a couple of times that Jews believe that if you save one life you save the whole world. I think it's a nice thought and we should consider it in more instances than just life and death situations. I sort of feel like as one human race we should do whatever we can to look out for one another. It might help us live together so much better, so I feel like it would be worth a shot. Like maybe it's not just if you save a life you save the whole world, but if you help feed a hungry person you feed the world or whatever else there is. I also think it applies to people's rights and stuff, like if we stand up and be counted for those who cannot or those who could use some support (like being supportive of same sex marriage and animal rights and whatever else there is), we would be so much better at living together.
I'm not totally sure that that last rant is really related to this topic, but there it is anyways! :)
Have a wonderful day everyone - Calgary has been just so darned beautiful today I hardly know what to do with myself. Oh, and Happy Mother's Day! Hope everyone was able to give and receive a little love in honour of the day - no matter who you shared it with!
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Monday, 23 April 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
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:
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!
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!
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
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)
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)
Saturday, 31 March 2012
The Project
So here are some basics to the background of the project.
Jews have followed the same rules for centuries upon centuries. Some of the practices that some Jews still keep (take the Sabbath day, for instance) are literally ancient.
The world that we live in now is so, so, so different than the world that these ideas were originally put together in. Why do we still follow them? (and by we, I don't really mean "we" - I certainly don't follow them). Are they still applicable today? Do we help or hurt ourselves and others by following the rules (and maybe even by following them to different extents).
I think that who I am (as a half-er, as I usually say) says a great deal about where the Jewish community in North America is. Alan Dershowitz argues in The Vanishing American Jew that intermarriage and assimilation are ending Judaism in America. So really, these two trends (upon which my existence is dependent) are killing Jewish culture in (North) America, according to Dershowitz. I own the book but I haven't been able to actually read it past maybe the first 20 pages because it makes me too angry. Anyways (as far as my understanding goes), he is saying that since Jews are accepted in general (North) American society (e.g. there isn't any systemic discrimination anymore - discrimination in employment, social club participation, and that sort of thing) we have begun to lose our roots. I have to say that I wouldn't be surprised if I could never finish his book because that idea makes me so frustrated. It makes me feel like I am unwanted in Jewish society, which I think is opposite to how I've felt about it being raised the way I was, even at arm's length of any Jewish community.
Enough about me though. How the project will work is that I will look into one (or a few - if they really go together) commandment and try and see how one might practice it and try and figure out what the point of it might have been originally. And then I will try and theorize to see if and how it can address issues that are going on today.
I would also like to see if I can get some other people to weigh in about what I'm talking about. I might be able to ask some questions of a few Rabbis, friends and family members who know about Judaism, and who knows who else!
Hopefully I will figure some things out and provide some interesting (and maybe even helpful) commentary. I would really appreciate that if you stumble across any of my thoughts and would like to leave a comment - please do! I would love to engage in some discussion about this because I really don't know what I'm doing or what I'm talking about.
With that, I'd like to leave you with a quote that I found in a great book today (Hope, not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance, by Edgar M. Bronfman and Beth Zasloff). I started reading this today on the train and after about 15 or 20 pages I had already highlighted two passages and had goosebumps about a million times.
(In the preface to the new edition, page xi)
"The signs that the American Jewish community has indeed begun on a path to Jewish renaissance can be read not in the financial health of Jewish organizations, but in the energy and commitment of Jewish youth"
I would like to see us (young people, but specifically young Jewish people) take charge of our own destiny and do what we can to make this world what we think it can and maybe should be. I think that we have great potential and we often waste it, so I suppose this blog is my way to see if any of these ancient Jewish ideas (ideals?) can be translated into action that helps us make this world a more amazing place. We've inherited a lot of good and a lot of bad from our parents. Let's see if we can do a little better than they did, shall we?
Wish me luck folks - and keep me posted about your thoughts in the comments section.
Jews have followed the same rules for centuries upon centuries. Some of the practices that some Jews still keep (take the Sabbath day, for instance) are literally ancient.
The world that we live in now is so, so, so different than the world that these ideas were originally put together in. Why do we still follow them? (and by we, I don't really mean "we" - I certainly don't follow them). Are they still applicable today? Do we help or hurt ourselves and others by following the rules (and maybe even by following them to different extents).
I think that who I am (as a half-er, as I usually say) says a great deal about where the Jewish community in North America is. Alan Dershowitz argues in The Vanishing American Jew that intermarriage and assimilation are ending Judaism in America. So really, these two trends (upon which my existence is dependent) are killing Jewish culture in (North) America, according to Dershowitz. I own the book but I haven't been able to actually read it past maybe the first 20 pages because it makes me too angry. Anyways (as far as my understanding goes), he is saying that since Jews are accepted in general (North) American society (e.g. there isn't any systemic discrimination anymore - discrimination in employment, social club participation, and that sort of thing) we have begun to lose our roots. I have to say that I wouldn't be surprised if I could never finish his book because that idea makes me so frustrated. It makes me feel like I am unwanted in Jewish society, which I think is opposite to how I've felt about it being raised the way I was, even at arm's length of any Jewish community.
Enough about me though. How the project will work is that I will look into one (or a few - if they really go together) commandment and try and see how one might practice it and try and figure out what the point of it might have been originally. And then I will try and theorize to see if and how it can address issues that are going on today.
I would also like to see if I can get some other people to weigh in about what I'm talking about. I might be able to ask some questions of a few Rabbis, friends and family members who know about Judaism, and who knows who else!
Hopefully I will figure some things out and provide some interesting (and maybe even helpful) commentary. I would really appreciate that if you stumble across any of my thoughts and would like to leave a comment - please do! I would love to engage in some discussion about this because I really don't know what I'm doing or what I'm talking about.
With that, I'd like to leave you with a quote that I found in a great book today (Hope, not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance, by Edgar M. Bronfman and Beth Zasloff). I started reading this today on the train and after about 15 or 20 pages I had already highlighted two passages and had goosebumps about a million times.
(In the preface to the new edition, page xi)
"The signs that the American Jewish community has indeed begun on a path to Jewish renaissance can be read not in the financial health of Jewish organizations, but in the energy and commitment of Jewish youth"
I would like to see us (young people, but specifically young Jewish people) take charge of our own destiny and do what we can to make this world what we think it can and maybe should be. I think that we have great potential and we often waste it, so I suppose this blog is my way to see if any of these ancient Jewish ideas (ideals?) can be translated into action that helps us make this world a more amazing place. We've inherited a lot of good and a lot of bad from our parents. Let's see if we can do a little better than they did, shall we?
Wish me luck folks - and keep me posted about your thoughts in the comments section.
Who am I?
Firstly, when I say "who am I?" in the title of this post, I do not mean it in a philosophical way. I just mean that this post is a way of me to share what events have happened in my life that I feel have led me to this project. I really hope that I will answer the "who am I?" question in more philosophical detail a little bit by doing this crazy project, but I'm trying not to expect it.
This project is very close to my heart. And to who I believe I will be one day.
I just wanted to give this project as honest and comprehensive an introduction as I could muster so that you, my hopeful potential readers, have a decent understanding of where I'm coming from.
To start with, my father was raised Jewish and my mother Christian. My whole life I've been "half-Jewish" (whatever that actually means) or Christian or Jewish or somewhere in the middle. I know little about either of these religions, at least from my parents. I did attend a Lutheran church for about five years when I was a teenager, so I have a decent understanding of Christianity from that point of view, but Judaism is far more difficult to learn in a way that you can really understand it, from my point of view. Really, it's not that difficult to walk into a church and get what I always viewed as the main thing to know about Christianity. Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and you are saved; you are a Christian. The rest is really details, as far as my understanding ever was (although attending other, more traditional churches may give a different understanding, I might think). Judaism, especially as a religion (less so with the cultural aspects, I find) is much more complicated: there is always so much more to learn. I feel like these details, when summed up, give more of an idea of what religious Judaism is about. I don't mean this as a compliment or a sick burn to either; it's no better, no worse, just different (like a nominal variable, for those of you who took Social Statistics with Dr. Linda Henderson).
Anyways, that is all to say that I don't understand much about religious Judaism. I separate this, in my mind, from the cultural aspects of Judaism because I am a cultural Jew. My mother, even, is a cultural Jew. This is far harder to explain, but easier for me to understand. Also something I will address a little later in this introduction.
So, back to religious Judaism - I have had little experience in synagogues, only having gone to actual religious services three or four times for High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur - the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement), and never understood much of what was going on. Essentially, my synagogue experience is not eating for a day for reasons I do not really understand and trying to follow along as best I could with the Hebrew (there is always an English translation, but that doesn't make you any less lost), standing up when other people stood up, sitting down when other people sat down.... I'm sure you get the picture.
Anyways, I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, and in my third year I started to become interested in the sociological study of Canadian Jews because of some papers I wrote for a couple courses, namely on Diasporic and Transnational communities in Canada. Some background - the word "diasporic" or "diaspora", for those of you who do not already know, refers to an ethnic community that is spread all over the world, or at least away from their "homeland" (I use the word homeland in quotation marks because in some cases, like with Jews before 1948, the homeland that is referred to - Israel in the Jews' case - may not exist politically). In any case, Jews are the original example of a diaspora and since then most ethnic communities also have diasporic elements as well.
Part of my journey here has included a great deal of reading about Jews and as many assignments as I could make about Jews in Canada. Through all of this, I started to realize a constant name in the authors' lines of most of the articles I was reading. Dr. Morton Weinfeld is a professor at McGill University and studies North American Jews as his research interest. One very important book to me, written by Dr. Weinfeld, is Like Everyone But Different: The paradoxical success of Canadian Jews. This wonderful book has quite literally changed my life. I would recommend it to anyone on earth, but especially Jewish Canadians. Another book that led me here is called Stars of David, and it is written by Abigail Pogrebin. I'll spare you the reading list, but I just really need to share those two, because it is really where I came to this whole thing from. I will hopefully mention many more along the way of this project, but I would highly recommend those two as a starting point if you're wanting to get inside my head a little.
In the interests of keeping this post a near reasonable length, I will also quickly mention that I live in Calgary, Alberta. Calgary has a fairly small Jewish community. Both of my parents are from Winnipeg, Manitoba (which has the third largest Jewish community in Canada), where we spent a lot of time while I was growing up. That is where my Jewish roots are.
I would be extremely happy to answer any questions you might have about me or this project or really anything, so just comment and let me know.
Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope you take a look through my posts in the future as well.
Next up: what is the project then?
Cheers, L'Chaim,
-L.
This project is very close to my heart. And to who I believe I will be one day.
I just wanted to give this project as honest and comprehensive an introduction as I could muster so that you, my hopeful potential readers, have a decent understanding of where I'm coming from.
To start with, my father was raised Jewish and my mother Christian. My whole life I've been "half-Jewish" (whatever that actually means) or Christian or Jewish or somewhere in the middle. I know little about either of these religions, at least from my parents. I did attend a Lutheran church for about five years when I was a teenager, so I have a decent understanding of Christianity from that point of view, but Judaism is far more difficult to learn in a way that you can really understand it, from my point of view. Really, it's not that difficult to walk into a church and get what I always viewed as the main thing to know about Christianity. Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and you are saved; you are a Christian. The rest is really details, as far as my understanding ever was (although attending other, more traditional churches may give a different understanding, I might think). Judaism, especially as a religion (less so with the cultural aspects, I find) is much more complicated: there is always so much more to learn. I feel like these details, when summed up, give more of an idea of what religious Judaism is about. I don't mean this as a compliment or a sick burn to either; it's no better, no worse, just different (like a nominal variable, for those of you who took Social Statistics with Dr. Linda Henderson).
Anyways, that is all to say that I don't understand much about religious Judaism. I separate this, in my mind, from the cultural aspects of Judaism because I am a cultural Jew. My mother, even, is a cultural Jew. This is far harder to explain, but easier for me to understand. Also something I will address a little later in this introduction.
So, back to religious Judaism - I have had little experience in synagogues, only having gone to actual religious services three or four times for High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur - the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement), and never understood much of what was going on. Essentially, my synagogue experience is not eating for a day for reasons I do not really understand and trying to follow along as best I could with the Hebrew (there is always an English translation, but that doesn't make you any less lost), standing up when other people stood up, sitting down when other people sat down.... I'm sure you get the picture.
Anyways, I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, and in my third year I started to become interested in the sociological study of Canadian Jews because of some papers I wrote for a couple courses, namely on Diasporic and Transnational communities in Canada. Some background - the word "diasporic" or "diaspora", for those of you who do not already know, refers to an ethnic community that is spread all over the world, or at least away from their "homeland" (I use the word homeland in quotation marks because in some cases, like with Jews before 1948, the homeland that is referred to - Israel in the Jews' case - may not exist politically). In any case, Jews are the original example of a diaspora and since then most ethnic communities also have diasporic elements as well.
Part of my journey here has included a great deal of reading about Jews and as many assignments as I could make about Jews in Canada. Through all of this, I started to realize a constant name in the authors' lines of most of the articles I was reading. Dr. Morton Weinfeld is a professor at McGill University and studies North American Jews as his research interest. One very important book to me, written by Dr. Weinfeld, is Like Everyone But Different: The paradoxical success of Canadian Jews. This wonderful book has quite literally changed my life. I would recommend it to anyone on earth, but especially Jewish Canadians. Another book that led me here is called Stars of David, and it is written by Abigail Pogrebin. I'll spare you the reading list, but I just really need to share those two, because it is really where I came to this whole thing from. I will hopefully mention many more along the way of this project, but I would highly recommend those two as a starting point if you're wanting to get inside my head a little.
In the interests of keeping this post a near reasonable length, I will also quickly mention that I live in Calgary, Alberta. Calgary has a fairly small Jewish community. Both of my parents are from Winnipeg, Manitoba (which has the third largest Jewish community in Canada), where we spent a lot of time while I was growing up. That is where my Jewish roots are.
I would be extremely happy to answer any questions you might have about me or this project or really anything, so just comment and let me know.
Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope you take a look through my posts in the future as well.
Next up: what is the project then?
Cheers, L'Chaim,
-L.
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