continued from my examiner post . . . http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-the-season-of-lightThe season of light might be considered to have begun with the Asian Diwali . . . the pace picks up with Hanukkah, then Advent-leading up to Christmas and Epiphany for Christians . . . and all those December Solstice celebrations by Native Americans, Yule by Wiccans, and Tohji-taisai of Shinto faith traditions. There is also a lunar eclipse on the 21st this year.
It's important for humans to believe that light can triumph over darkness; goodness over evil, especially in the face of suffering, and especially in our frightening times. Through dedication, freedom fighters prevailed to preserve and re-sanctify what is holy and what is meaningful. That's the miracle of increasing light celebrated in Hanukkah. We use familiar expressions of hope that we soon 'see the light at the end of the tunnel'. In Judaism, the light is belief in the abiding presence and action of a monotheistic G-d and the story of His interaction and preservation of His peoples: an incredible narrative through the Torah.
Stephen Prothero says, 'Like the term dharma in Indian religions, Torah is a wonderfully expansive term. Though typically translated as 'law,' it actually connotes 'teaching' or guidance.' Torah refers in the first instance to the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Torah also means the entire Hebrew Bible, which Jews refer to not as the Old Testament but as the Tanakh' p244 God is Not One- which includes the Neviim or prophets and Ketuvim (writings). The Hebrew tradition is both oral and interpretive which then also include rabbinic texts such as the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud and Babylonian Talmud. Reading these commentaries is incredibly enlightening, as is walking through the Jewish calendar and customs. The Jesus of Judaism is lost in Christianity; it is a terrible price.
Judaism is a religion of remembrance of the ancestors, a tribal story, and their/our relationship with the law. By following the Lord's mitzvot (commmandments) one lives holiness and a life of meaning. 'Man's main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has a meaning.' Victor Frankl
In this country you will find three Jewish traditions: Reform, Conservative and Orthodox. Prothero says 'each focuses on one key element in Judaism: the Reform on ethics, the Orthodox on law, and the Conservative on tradition.' p268ibid (Hasidism is ultra-Orthodox). The most fitting way to encompass all of the Jewish traditions is with the Shema:
'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates' Dtr 6:4-9.
Check out the You Tube Hanukkah music video 'Miracle'. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=FjEOVZLPESY&NR=1 by MATISYAHU
and Happy Hanukkah; may you experience increasing light in your life!
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