A friend from Canada sent me a link to this video in an email today and I thought it was rather beautiful and worth sharing.

So enjoy!

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This morning I received an email from a guy over at the Awakened Heart Project (AHP) telling me about their new website. I decided to check it out and WOW, I am impressed with what I saw. It’s basically an online resource with the stated aim of enhancing peoples understanding and experience of Jewish meditation and prayer.

Here is a blurb from their about page.

The mission of Awakened Heart Project is to promote the use of Jewish contemplative techniques that foster the development of a heart of wisdom and compassion. Cultivating an awakened heart leads to acting in the world with loving-kindness towards all beings recognizing them as manifestations of the Holy One of Being.

The AHP provides opportunities for a focused effort at refining contemplative Jewish practices, such as meditation and prayer, as well as creating opportunities for intensive practice.

Also here is some of what the site offers, as listed on their welcome page.

• • Regularly updated podcasts
  • Essays and articles on Jewish meditation
  • Jewish meditation events calendar
  • Meditation and contemplative Jewish resources

I haven’t spent a whole bunch of time going through these resources yet but they do look good. So I’m sure to be, a frequent visitor to this site. If your interested in the contemplative side of Judaism this site is a must see. If you don’t know anything about contemplative Judaism but are curious, this site will get you up to speed in no time, so check it out.

Technorati tags: Contemplative Judaism, Online Judaism, Jewish Meditation, The Awakened Heart Project, Jewish Audio

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Well I’ve been here for almost 2 months now and I’d say things are going extremely well. That’s saying a lot because I?m not a guy who usually transitions into new situations all that great but all things considered I can’t complain. Yes indeed things are going smoother than I could have ever imagined possible. That’s not to say that there haven’t been bumps along the way Just that there have been few and those that did happen have been minor at best.

I managed to finish a summary report for the first part of my thesis project (albeit a couple of weeks late) and that’s taken a huge amount of pressure off of me.

Tamara and I are having a lot of fun and getting along very well in my opinion. We’ve had the opportunity to do a little bit of traveling and spend some time with her parents which has been nice. We’ve also managed to do a pretty good job of keeping off of each other’s toes, which is not always the easiest thing to do with new couples.

Los Angeles is an incredible city and there’s a lot for us to do and to my pleasant surprise there are lots of very cool things to do for little or no cost at all. We’ve been going on a lot of walks and completed our first rural mountain hike.

Jewishly we are doing a lot of socializing which is great for me because my last few months in Ottawa were spent acting like a Jewish hermit. We’ve been attending a few synagogues regularly as part of our “Shul Shopping” and I believe we have pretty much figured out where it is that we will be joining and that?s VBS. Having said that there are a few other places like IKAR and Knesset Israel where I’m sure will be spending a fair amount of time as well but it looks like we will be calling VBS home.

In terms of daily observance I think we?re doing an excellent job of keeping kosher both in and out of the home and that’s something I’m/we are both really proud of. Although (holy crap I just realized I’ve been keeping kosher at home for about a year now, wow time flies) I was initially very reluctant about taking on Kashrut Observance, I absolutely love it as a spiritual discipline and couldn’t imagine giving it up. Having said that, although Tamara is the one who pushed me in to the kosher thing. I think it’s been harder for her to adjust to keeping kosher out of the house than it has been for me but I’ve got to admit she’s really leaned into it and doing extremely well.

Also we have set ourselves up with one of those fancy hand washing cups and have been washing our hands and reciting blessings/prayers in the morning and although it can be difficult to remember what gets done when, I’m finding it very spiritually rewarding. I think we’re both hoping to gradually introduce more and more of this kind of observance into our daily life but we want to do it in a sustainable fashion, without making ourselves feel overloaded. One thing I know Tamara really is attracted to, is reciting blessings at meals, so we’ve started working on that. As of yet we haven’t been all that successful in this department but were making small steps and it’s getting easier.

As for Shabbat were far from being Shomer Shabbos but I think we’ve both come a long way in a short amount of time. Friday nights we try to have arrangements either to eat at someone’s house (preferably walking distance) or have guests over. If nothing is going on then we just keep it simple but do nonetheless light candles do Kiddush and Hamotzi. If we are just staying home I’ve committed to turning off my computer and staying off of the telephone. A lot of this stuff has been initiated by me but I’m trying not to be a bully about it, so I have also done some compromising. For example Friday nights if nothing is going on then we keep open the option of watching an “in the spirit of Shabbat Oneg” DVD and that’s ok. I myself turn off my computer and won’t watch any television other than the DVD if that’s what we’re doing. Ideally I would like to be a little more Shomer Shabbos in this regard but Tamara has made huge compromises so I’m willing to hold back on this one, until she’s ready to go a little deeper, that’s if she’s willing to go a little deeper. As for Saturday’s were doing very good. No television, no computer, no telephone, no movies, no buying, no radio and no car unless it’s driving to shul (which is acceptable according to conservative Halacha, which is our current measuring stick) and then it?s just to and fro with no radio. So that means driving when we go to VBS or Ikar but if it’s Knesset Israel then we walk about 25 minutes. I really do enjoy walking to shul on Saturday morning but both of us prefer the services at VBS so were still working it all out. However besides that we do not get into the car and I must admit I love it.

Also in the spirit of full disclosure and this is something I’m not exactly proud of because it feels like cheating, even though it was my idea. For the summer we’ve set fixed times for beginning and ending Shabbos, so we’re going from 6:30 PM Fridays to 6:30 PM Saturdays. Even though I realize that this is cheating I also realize that we’re doing much more than a lot of other Jews we know. More importantly we realize that our observance isn’t fixed or static and we both have a committed goal of deepening our connection and practice so it doesn’t feel like we’re being lazy. If anything, I guess the way we see it is where learning to crawl before we walk.

Tamara and I are even doing some formal Jewish studying. We’re both registered for something called “Everyday Holiness” which is an intro to Mussar course, something I’m sure I’ll be blogging a lot about in the coming weeks and months. Were also trying to do Saturday Torah study when we attend shul, which I forgot to mention we’ve committed to doing a minimum of twice a month. We’ve actually been going more but we thought we should put in a minimum just in case we get lazy but to be honest I’m the one who has a hard time with Saturday Shabbat services and not Tamara. I’m used to attending a Reform synagogue back home where there’s a lot of English now that everywhere we go have conservative style services I’m having a very hard time. Which although can be painful is good because it’s taught me that I really need to lean into my Hebrew learning a lot more. We are also attending a Thursday night Torah study series at VBS which is sure to be excellent. Then come October we will be doing the UJ Marriage Preparation course which I’ve already blogged about. I was thinking about starting an adult bar mitzvah course offered at VBS in September but I’ve decided that we just have too much going on. I do want to do an adult bar mitzvah but I think I’m going to wait until after we’ve gotten married so that means sometime next year I guess.

Wow, this post has gotten HUGE and although I haven’t managed to get through everything I wanted to, I think I’m going to wrap up here but try to follow up with another post covering our Jewishness for two’ishness probably sometime next week. There are a few other things I want to get to this week both in terms of blogging and real-world stuff.

Anyhow that’s it for now and as always if you were able to make it through this long-winded post please feel free to share your thoughts and comments because I love to get the feedback.

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A couple of days ago I stumbled upon this short interview clip in which Reb Zalman is asked if he could impart one thing about Teshuvah to his grandchildren what would it be.

Reb Zalman replied with a lovely little snip it taken(I believe) from some Hassidic teaching tale which went something like this.

G-D is more angry that we don’t take advantage of Teshuvah then he is over the sin.

Actually it’s so short and easy enough for me to embed into this post why don’t you watch Reb Zalman tell the story himself.

I can’t really speak for anyone other than myself but I feel this simple and pithy statement hits the nail right on the head. I’m often able to realize when I’ve made a mistake (after the fact that is). I can even take such insights and integrate them into my conscious mind so that I’m less likely to fall into the same trap in the future. However I don’t really like copping to my mistakes so much.  I mean I’m good with learning from the past and do my best not to repeat mistakes but I have a hard time stopping myself once I realize I’ve screwed up and then go apologize to the person.  I think it’s often a combination of pride and embarrassment.

Reb Zalman’s thoughts on the subject really hit home in that I unfortunately all too often engage in the exact opposite of what he’s suggesting. Anyhow I guess there’s always room to grow and improve. I think that I will end this post with a Thank you to Reb Zalman for gently and accurately shining a little light on one of my many blind spots.

Be well

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I wanted to do a follow-up on a post from a week or so back on Jewish arguments for adopting a vegetarian diet. I feel that my post was incomplete and may have even misrepresented what I was trying to communicate. It was after all something of a knee-jerk reaction to some pictures I saw online. That is not to say that I was upset by them but simply that I saw the images and impulsively replied with a post of my own. So before too much time passes and I completely forget about it I would like to clarify and expand on my original point.

Although my post focused on animal cruelty and vegetarianism it’s really just one part of a larger issue and is not a black and white situation. I for one do not think you have to be a vegetarian to be ethical. Although I personally feel it is the best choice (at least for me) for a couple of reasons. First by abstaining from animal products I am better able to guarantee that I am not promoting and supporting animal cruelty. Secondly by simply adopting a more plant based diet I lessen my ecological footprint which I believe allows me to be more environmentally responsible.

Although I used a PETA video in that post I am not a member nor have I ever been. I also do not agree with much of what the organization stands for. I try to work from a moral reference point that reflects both depth and span. For example I feel that it’s unnecessary to eat animal products in modern Western society. Most of the evidence seems to show that it is in fact healthier to eat a vegetarian diet. More importantly we have all sorts of veggie product alternatives readily available, so it’s no longer a question of hunting and killing to survive.

My basic moral intuition goes something like this. I need to eat to survive however whenever I can I want to do it in a way that has as little negative impact as possible. Animals are higher life forms with cognitive abilities, instincts and have highly developed central nervous systems capable of feeling pain. Plants are lower life forms with no cognitive abilities and to the best of our knowledge are not capable of feeling pain. Therefore it is better for me to eat plants than animals whenever possible as plants have less depth.

However on the other hand if conducting medical research on an animal is going to help cure my stepfather’s Parkinson’s disease, I completely support doing so. Human beings obviously have more depth than animals therefore it is a morally acceptable choice in my opinion. However I am sure many vegans would strongly disagree with me and thats OK.

Again let me reiterate that this is my own basic sense of moral intuition and I am not saying everyone else has to do it the way I do it. For me the act of adopting a plant based diet is one way a fulfilling my commitment to Eco-Kashrut but I realize that there are other ways of meeting this commitment and for some it may not be dependent upon vegetarianism.

I do think that as Jews whether we eat meat or not we have a responsibility to think about what it is that we are doing. We cannot just assume that what we are doing is truly kosher, even if there is a label on the package.

Arthur Green in his book “These Are the Words” describes Kashrut as the following.

Kashrut literally means “fitness,” referring in this case to fitness for eating, though the term is also used in many other areas of Halakah. Kosher (or Kasher in the Sephardic and modern Hebrew pronunciation) means “fit” to be eaten or used to prepare food.

Industrialization has made food both abundant and cheap but it has come at an expense. We have for the most part removed ourselves from the process so much so that we no longer even know what it is that we are eating. We no longer can claim to know what impacts the food we consume is having on the environment, how animals are being raised or even on our own health.

I will not go into cruelty issues here but I am going to suggest that the traditional Kashrut system does not take into account many of the new realities of food production. But because of this I (and many others) believe  it is now essential that we add a new set of criteria to the Kashrut equation, in order to meet the needs of the 21st century. For example Kashrut has no way of dealing with GMO’s and I doubt that the OU is taking into consideration any possible environmental impacts when they certify a plant.

Green’s defines Kashrut as something being fit for eating and I believe that in the 21st century we need to expand this from fit for eating to fit for consumption. We are a society of consumers we consume food, services, products like clothing. We buy vehicles which in turn consume gas and we give little thought to whether or not what we are consuming is actually fit for consumption.

This is why people like Reb Zalman are promoting innovations such as Eco-Kashrut so that we can begin thinking about whether or not the things we use are actually fit for consumption.

Oops it seems I have strayed a little off-topic, so let me bring it back to food.

Regardless of whether one wants to look at consuming plant based foods or animal products we need to come up with a better system for better assessing whether or not to these foods are in fact fit for consumption. I do not have any definitive answers and I am not claiming to be an expert but I personally believe that we need to update our approach.

• We need a system that takes into consideration not only the old criteria but also important new ones.
  
• We need to take into consideration whether the food we are consuming is healthy for us and unfortunately the current kosher system does not do that very well.
  
• We need to update the kosher process to ensure that the foods we eat are not promoting obesity, cancer, diabetes or a host of other illnesses.
  
• We need a system that insurers a minimum standard of animal welfare is met and unfortunately a Kashrut that allows for the current factory farming cannot meet such a standard.
  
• We need a system that promotes Environmental Responsibility with regard to all aspects of food production. Including pesticide use, ecological impacts of growth as well as food transportation and storage.
  
• We need a system that promotes economic sustainability and fair trade. We need to ask ourselves if food that is produced by workers who are exploited or live in poverty is indeed fit for consumption.

Kashrut is meant to sanctify eating and create a sense of holiness but how can this be done unless the above conditions are met?

Humanity has evolved and become much more complex than it was even a mere 100 years ago. We need an ethical system that reflects this new complexity because anything short of this in my opinion only diminishes us in the eyes of G-D.

And with that I will end this long-winded rant and wish you all a pleasant Shabbos.

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Update: I’ve received some feedback from a reader who has taken issue with some of my characterizations of Chabad in this post. I’m certainly not going to apologize for my attitude and views of Chabad because I am after all entitled to my own opinions on the subject. However I can acknowledge that a few of the Chabad comments appearing in the original version of this post, were not relevant to the point being made. I have therefore decided to remove them.

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A while back I was reading this Jerusalem Post Article which in of itself wasn’t all that interesting, however I was struck by one of the reader comments at the bottom of the article. It was a comment made by a ” Messianic Jew” living in Israel and was about her sense of isolation and discrimination at the hands of other Jews.

I don’t recall all that much about the article but something about it really stuck with me. She brought an interesting point worthy of consideration about what she perceived to be a double standard within the Jewish community.

Anyhow before I move into my own thinking about the topic let me share with you the actual quote so you can see for yourself what I’m talking about.

I can relate, as a Jew who believes in Jesus. Most seculars accept me. I keep biblically kosher, I observe all the feasts and the blood hasn’t changed in my veins just because I recognize Yeshua is the Messiah. However, I’m told I’m no longer a Jew and it’s not okay to ‘prostelytize’ other Jews. But, it’s okay for others to believe that Schneirson is the Messiah and go around in their “Torah mobile” and speak to little children (the very thing they say if I ever do they’ll put me in jail for five years) about their Messiah. The Orthodox will spit on Messianics, threaten to steal our children, throw fire bombs in our windows, burn our books and slash our tires. Seculars will say “whatever works for you” which I don’t necessarily agree with, but at least they accept me as being one on their team. I had free tickets to leave during last years Lebanon war and a free home to stay in the States. I chose to stay here, with my people, secular or Orthodox because we’re ONE people under ONE G-D. We are ALL Jews. Some observant, some not. Yes, we must be a light to the nations but hatred and name calling others who do not follow our practices will never, ever convince our fellow bretheren to walk the path of the righteous. Love, bottom line, is all we need. The Beatles had it right, All we need is love, G-D’s love.

Even reading this again now weeks after my initial read, I feel that she brings up several interesting points related to Jewish identity, cultural diversity and a double standard. In some ways what’s been bugging me about this is that this is not just a religious question. It is a much broader one at least when I think about it through the perceptual filter of Judaism as an evolving civilization.

It would seem that for many it is OK to reject G-D, Torah and any notion of religious truth and still be considered Jewish. Including secular humanists , Communists and the Israeli/cultural Jews. It’s also okay to believe in G-D but reject the word for word literal truth of the Torah and the binding nature of Halacha and still be Jewish. It is OK for organizations such as Chabad to run around to promote what they claim is authentic Judaism.

All of these are in some way considered to be legitimate expressions of Jewish identity. I am not suggesting that I or anyone else should take issue with this fact.

There are even Jew-bu’s and HinJews out there and they are for the most part considered to be Jewish. Yet someone who proclaims “I believe in Jesus” gets blacklisted, regardless of what that might mean for this person . Don’t get me wrong because I’m not a fan of Christian evangelical attacks against Jews(or anyone else for that matter) and am repulsed by what Jews for Jesus are doing.

My point isn’t that Chabad and Messianic Judaism are the same thing because I don’t believe that they are. Although I do believe that they sometimes share similar approaches to outreach. Anyhow that is all besides the point and I’m not trying to bash Chabad with this post I understand that they are a Jewish Organization.

I am able to distinguish between a Messianic Jew and a Jew for Jesus.

Jews for Jesus are an evangelical group bent on infiltrating and converting Jews and I believe that they’re willing to do anything regardless of how inappropriate it is, because they believe that the end justifies their means. Jews for Jesus are not a religion they are an outreach organization targeting the Jewish demographic and I think that’s despicable.

I also realize that there are no Jewish Buddhist organizations which are actively trying to recruit and convert Jews to Buddhism. Therefore I can accept that there is probably a huge difference between the average Jewbu and Jew for Jesus.

However I believe it’s a mistake to assume that a Messianic Jew automatically equates a Christian evangelical with a hidden agenda a.k.a. a Jew for Jesus. After all if were willing to still consider a Jewbu a legitimate Jew because they aren’t evangelical, should we not be willing to extend a similar level of tolerance towards a Messianic Jew if the same criteria are met? If not then shouldn’t we be reconsidering our laissez-faire approach to Jewish identity, one which has ample room for just about everyone except those who claim a relationship to Christ? Are we making a mistake by painting every Jew who brings up Jesus with the same brush?

I don’t know if the woman who made that comment is a Messianic Jew in the way that I have suggested one can be a messianic Jew, or if she’s just a Jew for Jesus trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes but I don’t think it really matters. I say this because I’m not convinced that the issue is really all about “ them” and not at least in part also about us, and by us I am referring to those who give a shit about this question.

I’m a progressive (a fancy way of saying post- halachick ) Jew by choice and to be honest I’m more bothered by Jews who perpetuate halachick forms of ethnocentric prejudice, homophobia, sexism, dogmatism and environmental irresponsibility, then I am by a Messianic Jew doesn’t proselytize (if such a person does in fact exists).

I don’t know what the answer to this question is but my own inner voice is telling me that something is not quite right with this picture. At any rate I haven’t formed any solid conclusions about any of this and for the most part this post is just a way of airing out some of my own muddled thinking on the topic.

Incidentally The Velveteen Rabbi put together a very interesting post on a similar topic a few years back.  Like I said it is a few years old but it read to me as still being relevant, not to mention that it ties in relatively well to this post.

And on that note as always your thoughts on the subject are welcome, however I ask that you do so with both tact  and respect.

Be Well

Technorati tags: Jews for Jesus, Messianic Judaism, Jews by Choice, Reform, Orthodox, Who Is a Jew

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I tend to see myself first and foremost as a spiritual person and that’s something I’m usually pretty proud of. I’m also a person who talks a lot about gratitude as an essential part of the spiritual path. I read about it and I think about how I can become more grateful towards myself, others, G-D and life. Unfortunately I often seem to fall short in this department. I think much of this problem is rooted in the fact that I’m so disconnected from many aspects of my life.

Anyhow today I spoke briefly with my mother on the phone and she told me a story that really hit home. Apparently one of her friends has a son who is roughly my age and overweight (but slightly smaller than me according to my mother) who was recently sent to the hospital for heart trouble. I didn’t get exactly what was wrong but apparently it’s serious and he’s going to need to be medically monitored and make some significant lifestyle changes. My mother is very cautious with me because of our history, so she didn’t say anything about my health and or weight but I could feel the concern in her voice.

Coming back to the idea that I am a “spiritual” person, over the past year (on and off at least) I’ve been trying to bring my body into the equation and it’s been a huge struggle. I’ve had a rough life and have overcome a lot including heavy alcohol abuse (oh by the way later this month marks my third year clean and sober, yay for me) so it’s not like I’m unable to master my addictions. It is just that for whatever reason this weight thing has been very difficult, frustrating and depressing.

My mother’s story has me worried because although I’ve been very fortunate even as an overweight adults in terms of health. I’m slipping into that age group now where things like weight can really start to get you into trouble.

I don’t want to come off as someone who’s unhealthy because I’m not actually at this point unhealthy I’m just fat. I mean compared to a lot of people I’m actually very healthy because I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs. Also for most of my adulthood I’ve lived off of a primarily plant based diet and as of last month I’ve given up what little meat I was previously eating. It’s funny because Tamara thinks I’m one of the healthiest eaters she knows she just always adds “your portions are just way too big” and she’s right about that. I really don’t think I’m unhealthy I’m just unfortunately pretty fat and that puts me at risk of becoming unhealthy every day I stay like this.

This week I’ve realized that I don’t need to change the foods I eat. In fact I don’t even think I need to change my attitude towards the foods I eat. I’ve realized that I need to change my attitude towards my body when it comes to food.

I’ve also realized that I need to move my sense of “Spirituality” out of my Neshamah, past my mind and into my body a little bit more because there seems to be a disconnect in this department.

I’ve never been super connected to my body in fact I’ve spent a lot of time trying to escape it, which is why I wound up neck deep in booze and drugs growing up. I guess the process of reconnecting to my body is something that has been slowly taking place for years and now it’s just time to kick it up to the next level or something.

I have been doing stuff on this front for a little while but I think it’s time to try something new. It’s time to bring G-D into this equation or rather bring my relationship with G-D into the process. Because up until now I haven’t done that, well at least not with any measure of honesty.

Okay so bringing it back to gratitude and its role in spirituality I’m wondering the following.

Can one honestly claim to be grateful towards Hashem if that gratitude isn’t reflected in the way we treat our own bodies? Can I truly be taking a sense of covenant to heart if I’m ignorantly destroying the very body that holds that heart? Do I have the right to criticize anyone for being environmentally unfriendly, when I mismanage my own physical environment?

Okay yes I’m being a little melodramatic but the basic points behind these questions are in my opinion worthy of some serious consideration.

Anyhow bearing the above in mind I have decided that it’s time for me to put more effort into connecting to my body as a way of connecting to G-D. I really don’t know how all of this is going to unfold but I think that reciting “Asher Yatzar” daily is a good start.

And on that note I leave you with the following lovely version of “Asher Yatzar” taken from a sermon at Temple Beth-El of Richmond, Virginia.

“Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, king of the universe, that created the human being with infinite wisdom, and created passages that are supposed to be open (like mouth and nose) and passages that are supposed to be closed (like stomach and heart). It is revealed and known before the throne of Your glory, that if those intended to be closed were open or those intended to be open were closed, we couldn’t exist and arise before You. Blessed are You, O Lord, healer of all flesh and who does wondrously.”

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I stumbled across this great video of Reb Zalman yesterday and thought it was worth sharing with others. It’s hard not to love this guy and by that I mean relate to him at a heart level. There are certainly things about Renewal that I have a difficult time accepting but Reb Zalman is not one of them. I don’t know if the Judaism which Reb Zalman speaks of is authentic but it certainly comes off as honest.

Please do check these two clips out and share your thoughts.

In this 1st clip from what I’m assuming is some kind of documentary on Reb Zalman and/or Jewish renewal . Zalman manages to cover a fair amount of ground and make some rather interesting points. Including the role of covenant and the importance of the ego in Jewish spirituality.

I often have a hard time with what I perceive as leftist mob rule within organizations such as Jewish Renewal. That’s not to say that they are always like that but simply that I’m often hit by that kind of a vibe when interacting with those involved in Renewal. However I don’t get that from Reb Zalman in the least and this video clip is worth watching just for the fact that he makes it clear that Jewish Renewal needs to be open to people of the right as much as it has been to people in the left. Listening to him I didn’t get the sense it was one of those we will save the people from the right but rather that a true Jewish Renewal is something which needs to be flexible enough to accommodate true diversity.

Anyhow after having seen these two short clips I’m definitely curious about checking out the whole documentary. If anyone has seen the entire thing please let me know what you thought of it.

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A couple of weeks back I found this quote by Mordecai Kaplan somewhere online and saved it for later use in a post. However it’s been so long that I seem to have forgotten just where I snagged it from. I know that it was online and I’m sure it was taken from a relatively reliable source. Come to think of it I have this vague sense that this quote may have originally been in Kaplan’s classic book “Judaism as an Evolving Religious Civilization” but I can’t say for sure.

Anyhow it’s a great quote regardless of where it came from so here it is.

“To believe in God means to take for granted that it is man’s destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation from human society.” 

This quote captures with great elegance and simplicity my own recent thinking on what it means to believe in G-D as well as the implications that such a belief holds. Of course if I want to be picky I can point out that his use of the term “man” is somewhat pejorative towards approximately 50% of those who believe in G-D. However considering that it was most likely written at least 50 or 60 years ago I think that it’s OK to let this one slide.

It is a quote that speaks to me in so many ways and on so many levels. It informs me that to believe in G-D means that I must elevate myself above my own inner darkness and lower nature. I read Kaplan’s words as a call encouraging all of us to stop engaging in violence against ourselves, each other and the world we inhabit. I believe this quote pithily points out the incredible incompatibility between a truly spiritual life and the willful engagement in exploitation, no matter how small it maybe.

I read this as a simple instruction to open my eyes, mind and heart, so that I can better see how it is that I am manifesting in this life I’ve been given. Also just beneath the surface of this quote. I suspect that Kaplan is imploring us to remember that we are but stewards here for a short time and are responsible not only for our Neshamah’s work in this life but also the legacy we leave behind for future generations.

I think Kaplan’s quote grabbed my attention because not only does it speak to the parts of me that I am aware of but also to the parts of me that are just now beginning to emerge as I work my way up the ladder one rung at a time. Reading his words today I couldn’t help but reflect on my last post and think to myself “ yes I understand what you’re saying and in my own muddled way, I’m indeed working on it.”

And on that note Shavua Tov.

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This showed up in my Bloglines this evening and suffice it to say I found it rather repulsive. Don’t get me wrong even though I personally feel such behavior leaves something spiritually and ethically to be desired. I realize not everybody shares that feeling and I also realize that they are entitled to approach things as they see fit. Sorry no offense intended Mottel but dude that was gross!

Anyhow that post contained the term “shecht” which was one that I was unfamiliar with, so I decided to look it up and here’s what I found. I was certainly disturbed by that picture but it did serve to refresh my memory regarding a recent accomplishment of mine. And that would be the fact that I have been off the chicken crack for well over a month now. In fact I’ve been off all meat/poultry since my nasty food poisoning incident back in March.

I won’t say that I don’t miss the taste of chicken but in all honesty it hasn’t been that hard to give up and I think it will even be easier to stay away from it after having seen those pictures. Also I like the idea of incorporating vegetarianism into my sense of Jewish identity and as an expression of commitment to practicing Eco-Kashrut.

PS: anyone else out there who is interested in getting off the chicken crack and would like to learn a little bit more about Judaism and vegetarianism.

Just click the image at the top of this post.

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