Monday, December 21, 2009

Exposure



They say that at the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, the sun can be enjoyed without any of its harmful effects- the distance being too great for the harmful rays to travel. So you get the warmth, the joy and the caresses without having to lather up, cover up or take care.

I don't know if this is actually true, but it made me think as I looked out at the barren desert landscape, beauifully harsh and devoid of tree or grass and the ever evaporating sea. I wonder if in order not to be hurt we have to be distanced, empty and barren. If being protected also means being removed, somber and desolate.

The sea is gorgeous. All greens and blues- it looks deep and full and refreshing. But get closer, touch it. It is oily, hot and sharp.

It exploits the slightest weakness.

To be fair, the waters are also healing and theraputic- but even then almost exlusively at the surface level. They smooth skin and soothe joint pain.

But, internalize the bitter waters and they cause a great deal of lingering pain.

Too much exposure leads to burning.

Does this mean anything? I dont know- I wonder if in Moshiach's time the landscape around the sea will bloom and green and if likewise we'll be able to leave ourselves exposed to love without the fear of getting burned.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

I love Chanukka/Living your truth

Its not the sufganiyot (donuts), or the latkes , nor is it the presents (thank God that is not prevelant here).

Its the holiday that is embued with the power of fighting for what you believe in. How many people get to do that? How many people get to make their life about something that means everything to them? Be it family, justice, peace, truth, freedom, civil rights- something that defines who you are?

Chanukka is full of heros. Everyday people who fought for truth and justice and right and freedom.

Beginning with the bride who stood before her assembeled guests and tore the front of her dress open. She raged against her horrified brothers. 'Why should this bother you when in a few hours you will be giving me over to the Greek general?'
The Greeks practiced Prima Nachta- every bride was raped on her wedding night by the Greek overloard. Her rage at the general passivity instigated the rebellion that we all know as Chanukka.

Her father would later raise a flag and call out- "mi laHashem Ali' . All those who are for our one true God- join me.

Her brothers then lead the battle that beat the greeks, but before all that- there were many more heros.

All the mothers who gave their sons a brit and then jumped from the walls of Jerusalem committing suicide rather than letting the greeks kill them. All those who kept Shabbat, lighting candles and making kiddush. All those who learned Torah despite the death sentence.

Channah & her seven sons who each refused to bow to an idol and were killed for their refusal. They encouraged one another, gave each other the strength to hold strong and defy those forces looking to break them.

I know many will not agree with me. But I care more for the opinions of those throughout the centuries who refused to compromise who they were for what others wanted them to be.

In Spain, christians thought of the most vile tortures to force Jews to renounce their faith. All a Jew had to do was to claim to believe in their teachings and he/she would be spared the suffering of severed limbs, ripped out guts, flayed skin and eventual death.

But then, what would they be? Empty, constantly in hiding, in fear and terror and in tremendous agony as body and soul wrestled with the choice they made to go against what they are.

Thousands died rather than betray themselves, their people and their God- their Truth. Its an incredible testiment to the strength of our people.

Hitler learned from it- He didn't bother trying to change the Jew. He knew only death would remove their truth and all that it brought to the world.

Yehudit, a young widow, convinced the men of her beleagered and starving town to let her out into the surrounding enemy camp. After claiming to want to give the Greek general Holifornus information to capture the town in exchange for mercy, she was allowed free reign in the army's camp. After a few days of gaining trust, she dined with the general feeding him cheese and wine- taking her lead from Yael who had done the same to the general Sisera hundreds of years before.

When he had passed out, she brought his own sword down upon his neck. Returning to her city with hishead, she rallied the Jews and they won in a surprise attack against the leaderless army.

She put her life at risk to save her people. How many of us will ever get the opportunity to do something like that?

Those that serve in the Israeli army do this every day. Mothers and fathers send their children off to defend this country- knowing full well the risk. Gilad Shalit still sits in the hands of barbarians. Jonathan Pollard sits in isloation 27 years! after giving Israel information that Should have been shared with them by the US according to agreements. An offense usually given 2 to 3 years- He was given a life sentence!!

I think that this is the bottom line, that is what I love best about living here. Just being here means I am doing something I believe in. I am living what I know to be true and what I know is right. At the core, that is why we could not stay in the US even though our family and friends, who are so very wonderful and whom we miss painfully, are there.

Living what you know to be true and right cannot be substituted by anything. Nothing can take its place, nothing can fill its void. It is what keeps us going and feeling like we have the right to go on. My kids know it, even at the age they are. Kids see truth when they aren't blinded by GameBoys and PSPs and all the shiny things that lead most around like zombies.

I do not tell them these things- really I don't. And of course, they love stuff as do we all and that's fine and normal. However, they have perspective.

No thing feels as good, as fulfilling, as right as living your truth.

Course, I didn't say its easy, its not meant to be. But it is worth it and much easier than trying to justify to yourself and your kids saying one thing and living another.

I know I kind of got off Chanukka, but not really, because it is all about what you believe and what you fight for.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Because the Goat Has The Bell

Over Sukkos, we ate at the home of some very close friends and from their porch enjoyed a majestic view of the opposing hills. Over said hills a Beduin sherpard walked far ahead of his flocks of sheep who grazed serenly, enjoying the weather and walking slowly but steadily onward.
I asked "How do the sheep know where to go?"

A flock of goats ahead of the sheep was pointed out. The one in the lead walked with the sheperd. "They follow the goats."

Me: "Why do they follow the goats?"

"Because the goat has the bell."

For the next month, that became the tag line for anything we didn't understand occured. We used it to answer all inquires for which there was no better reason.

4 weeks later, I had a discussion with a friend about people and their tendencies to do what others do, or tell them is the right thing to do, or what somone claims someone else did/does do the exclusion of any independant thought.

It didn't hit me until a few days later- Its 'because the goat has the bell'. There's no damn good reason that people do half of the crap they do. But here is the thing.

Do they know that they are following the sheep who are following the goats following the bell? Its all good and well for a sheep. It needs to follow the bell because the bell is on the lead goat which is beside the sheperd who sustains them. It is the sheep's bell, its his job to follow it. But what if the cows started to follow the sheep? And the dogs and cats and llamas and orangutangs- there would be a lot of animals doing the wrong things and a lot of things not getting done- at best.

At worst it would lead to conflict, confusion and a lack of progression. Yet, this is exactly what is going on in the human population.

The bell rings and people follow. Exceedingly few question who/what they are following and even fewer get out of line.

Whether it is CNN, Obama, the latest book/craze/fad, their religious leader, the cool kids in high school or Madison Avenue- they just follow.

And they don't look around as they are lead. At the things they pass by, at the options and opportunities ignored- at the alternatives, the forks in the road, the consequences- at those left behind and and those trampled on. They don't look at the covered signs, the turn offs concealed and the side roads unpaved.

Why don't people want to think for themselves? To evaluate and make the call? To gather their own information, make an informed decision? To admit that they don't know?

At the very least- acknowledge the goat and the bell being followed. Acknowledge the blinders, so nicely fitted in the latest style.

And accord others the right to follow their own goat albeit different from yours, or even better- none at all.

It is the lack of doing so that leads to such things as conflict, religious intolerance, human rights abuses, the brain drain, fat stupid kids, the Goldstone Report, ignorant smart people, rich idiots and all the rest of man's ills.

Go ahead, ask the sheep next to you why s/he does what s/he does. They may be hard pressed to answer. Ask yourself- you may be surprised at your own goats.