Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Work and Rest

Six days we are to work and one day to rest. That's the ratio; 6 to 1. The model given in the Bible is that humanity must work. But work is not a curse or punishment placed on humanity for the sin of eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to ... what? "to work it and take care of it." Gen 2:15. Work was ordained BEFORE Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. And the Sabbath was ordained before that sin as well.

Work is not a curse or a punishment-although many see it that way. Not everyone is blessed with attitude of looking foward to work. Not everyone likes their job. It's something we HAVE to do. I know that I don't look forward to Mondays. Oy, it's Monday. That means another work week about to begin. Grah. It's often hard to pull myself out of bed. But I go. And I suspect many others go because we don't like the alternative-not working. Not working means no money to pay bills or buy groceries or buy medicine or support your family. Not working means you're not a productive member of society. As much as we may not like our work (and God bless those who do) I think that we don't like the alternative more.

But thanks be to God that He gave us a respite from our busy work week. Six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord. Rest is meaningful and welcome after the six days of labor. If it were the other way around, how much would we appreciate the rest?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

We celebrated Simhat Torah last night

at shul. This holiday falls on the 8th, or 9th day following Sukkot, depending on what tradition you follow. Or, if you're Reform like the shul I attend, you can celebrate it whenever the rabbi decides to celebrate it, even in the midst of sukkot! I really don't know why the rabbi chose last night for Simhat Torah, but it was a fun time nevertheless.

Simhat Torah (Joy of the Torah). We finish the annual cycle of reading the Torah and immediately go to the beginning and start over again with Genesis 1:1. The holiday of Simhat Torah is not prescribed in the Torah. But, we felt that God gave us a truly wonderful gift in the Torah that it is our duty to study it faithfully and thank Him for it.

Being in the klezmer band, I played with the band while congregants walked through the sanctuary holding the torah scrolls. Only adults (13 and older) get the privilege of processing through the sanctuary holding the Torah scroll. These processions are called hakafot.

It's a pretty neat thing to see people rejoicing in the Torah.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Happy Sukkot!

This past weekend, I went to six different sukkahs. Five on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Saturday excursion was called a 'sukkah hop' because we went from one sukkah to another throughout the area. Each family had decorated their sukkahs differently with corn stalks or branches or dried fruit or gourds or drawings or paintings on canvas walls or paper chains. Each was distinct and beautiful in its own way.

Sukkot is the festival harvest in the fall and is also the holiday that reminds us of the exodus from Egypt. A sukkah is a temporary dwelling place-also known as a booth or tabernacle. In Leviticus, God says that we are to dwell in sukkot (plural of sukkah) as a reminder that God made our ancestors dwell in sukkot during their journeys in the wilderness.

This is contrasted with the fact that sukkot occurs in the fall at the time of the harvest. The first Thanksgiving in America was probably modeled on the festival of sukkot. FYI, Thanksgiving Day in Canada was on October 13, the first day of Sukkot. In any event, we contrast bounty with desert. Even while we enjoy our harvest we must be mindful of those who are not as well off as we are. The sukkah, this temporary structure that is open at all sides and does not have a closed roof, calls to mind how exposed to the elements people who don't have houses to live in really are. We are reminded of the fragility of life.

The evening prayer hashkeevaynu l'shalom (cause us to lie down in peace) asks that God spread over us His sukkah (shelter) of peace. Peace, too, is fragile. Only by working at justice-sharing with the less fortunate-will we have peace.

Monday, October 13, 2008

I assume the existence of God

as does the Bible. The opening words of Scripture say 'beresheet bara Elohim' (in the beginning, God). Where God came from is not mentioned. The absolute sovereignty and holiness and awesomeness and power of God is taken for granted. The proof of the existence of God is not the Bible's aim. (But see Psalm 19:1) Rather, it is assumed that God exists, that He rules over us like a king and loves us like a father and asks that we take care of ourselves, of each other and the earth.

What proof, scientific or rational or logical can be proffered to eliminate doubt from the skeptic's mind? I doubt that any such proof can be had. For whatever we can point to as 'proof' of the existence of God can also be pointed to as proof of something else. The heavens declare the handiwork of God? No, they merely show that there are other stars and planets and galaxies in the universe. People are willing to die for their beliefs? That merely prooves they hold tightly to what they believe. For people of conflicting faiths will hold just as firmly to their own faith no matter the circumstance. The diversity of nature, the complexity of the human body, these are taken as proofs of evolution, not as proof of God. What about the miracles as recorded in the Bible with the sea splitting and the dead being resurrected and the bread and fish multiplying and the widow's oil supply not running out and the sun standing still? And again it will be argued that there is no extra Biblical evidence to support these claims. People have heard God speaking to them? Really? How do we know they weren't hallucinating? A person who spoke as the prophets did of old would probably be classified as mentally unstable.

And to all this, what can we say? I say, I don't have to prove the existence of God to you or anybody else. My belief in God rests not on scientific proof. It is not logical. The objection could be raised as to why don't I believe in any of the other gods that are worshipped? Or why not just bow down to the Flying Spaghetti Monster or believe in the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus? It would seem to make just as much sense to believe in any of those (for which we have no proof) as to believe in the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.

But there is a fundamental difference between all the other pagan gods and fairies and monsters and whatever else is worshipped as a god and the God of the Bible. For none of these other idols can be compared to the Great God, mighty and awesome Who demands justice and righteousness and love and mercy and is not moved by vain oblations and human sacrifice but asks that we love each other as ourselves.

The difference that my assumption of God makes for me is in how I view the world. The Bible makes clear that God created the heavens and the earth in an orderly way with purpose and meaning and created us in His image and therefore our lives have purpose and meaning. We are not here by accident. We are to walk in His ways. We are to revere Him because He is the Supreme Judge and King. We are to love Him because He showed us special love in creating us and redeemed us from bondage. This can be seen either in the physical sense of freedom from bondage to Pharaoh or in the spiritual sense of freedom from bondage to sin. In either case, we owe God a tremendous debt that cannot be fully repaid. He is infinte, we are finite. His glory and holiness and majest far transcends our puny existence. And yet, He deigned to create us and call us for His glory. We are to love each other as ourselves. We are all created betzelem elohim (in the image of God) and when we hurt one another, we tarnish that image. We are to take care of the earth and its inhabitants for so He commanded us.

What other entity worshipped as a god-pagan diety or idol or fairy or goddess or sun or moon or plant or animal or river-is like our God? As it is said, mi chamocha ba'alim Adonai (who is like You, among the gods, oh Lord?) Exodus 15:11