Wednesday 19 September 2012

Rosh Hashanah: What Has Become Clear To You?

I grew up in England under the notion that I lived in a "Christian" country and went to a "Church of England" school.  So I cannot really speak about Rosh Hashanah with any credibility. However, I am happy to see that this holiday is acknowledged in social media.  

The message is probably simplified in the interfaith community, whereas the deeper meaning and discipline more rigorous for the truly observant.  Yehuda Berg says "The Kabbalists teach that Rosh Hashanah is not a religious event, but a cosmic opening where we can plant the seeds that will determine how our reality will unfold in our new year."

I do feel a newness in September. But the idea that we examine our own actions, for our own judgement, as Berg points out, is very helpful when there is so much violence resulting, in all probability, from our judgement towards the other.

Easy to believe that I am powerless to do anything about the big events, I am brought back to earth by Yehuda Berg's words: 


"Every action we perform is a boomerang we fling out into the universe. Each Rosh Hashanah, all of these many boomerangs return to our lives—all the positive ones and all the negative ones. Moreover, this experience of Rosh Hashanah is not exclusive to any one religion. According to the kabbalistic sages, all humankind shares a heightened experience of Cause."

So who has influenced whom? Who can say that throughout the centuries, our civilization, and our survival has not depended upon inspiration and communication between faiths? Who can claim that our values are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, or Unitarian, exclusively?

May the Universe be blessed by this cosmic opening, and may judgment remain within my own capacity to do what the universe most needs. 



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