Issue 186 - Affirming the Holy
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November 2018
This year, we will celebrate Thanksgiving amidst anxiety. Mass shootings and natural disasters claim the headlines. A recent
column by Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, responding to the October 27 massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, inspired these thoughts on approaching the holiday.
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Overcoming Evil with Good
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“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
These words came to mind after reading Rabbi Salkin's
column. He writes, “
I believe this: the attack on Tree of Life Synagogue was an attack on all that we Jews hold as holy.” He then asked, “How do we ‘fight back?’” His answer: “Affirm the holy in our lives. Holy places, like the synagogue and the home. Holy times, like Shabbat and the festivals. Holy ways of eating, giving, and speaking.”
By
one count
, there have been 16 mass shootings in the United States since the one in Pittsburgh (as of Nov. 14). There is great anger in our society – great anger, great violence, great fear, great distrust, great evil.
We want to fight back. But as Martin Luther King
reminded us
, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” So, yes, protest against all violence and bigotry. Yes, advocate for needed changes in public policy. Yes, raise your voices in lamentation over all that is wrong. But first, never forget to treasure what is holy, never forget to celebrate what is good.
After finishing a first draft of this essay, I stumbled across Jonathan Hiskes’ review essay, “
In Praise of the World
,” about Peter Spier’s illustrated books for children. Although his children love the books, Hiskes was somewhat troubled by what seemed to be the excessive materialism of Spier’s works – the “rituals of consumption,” for example, with gifts piled upon gifts, in
Peter Spiers’ Christmas
.
His view shifted after Hiskes learned that Spier had spent part of his own childhood in a Nazi concentration camp. Rather than directly confronting the evils of human society, Hiskes writes, Spier chose to celebrate the good, “to work in the mode of praise, affirming the goodness of the world by rendering it skillfully, with humor and delight. The body of work that emerged forms a stunning response to the nihilism of the Holocaust.”
There are no easy answers to the problems of our society. But this is a good way to start: Affirm the holy. Celebrate the good.
Bill
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Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, who writes for the Religion News Service regarding being Jewish today, poses the question, “Is this a time of persecution?” With the recent attack on worshipers in Pittsburgh’s
Tree of Life synagogue, killing 11 people and wounding others, one might think so. Nonetheless, Salkin and other rabbis draw strength and support from ”how ministers, priests, lay people, imams, the entire Muslim community, have reached out to them.” In return,
Salkin suggests that we: “Affirm the holy in our lives. Holy places, like the synagogue and the home. Holy times, like Shabbat and the festivals. Holy ways of eating, giving, and speaking.”
As Christians, we should join with our Jewish ancestors in like respect and affirmations. We read from Hebrew texts nearly every weekend and we call these sacred texts our own as well. Our Jewish and Christian festivals share similar rituals, affirming our faith. Let us be thankful during this season for our rich religious inheritance.
Years ago, I participated in regular meetings of the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue in San Antonio. Maxine Cohen, Director of Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation and Director of the
Holocaust Museum, and Catholic theologian
Bernard Cooke, enriched the group with frequent invitations to respected rabbis and theologians. The dialogue focused on our similarities and the elements and rituals of our religions that we share and reverence. Through education and mutual respect, the focus was to “affirm the holy in our lives.” Let us as believers share a mutual respect with all our brothers and sisters of all faiths. And within our holy places -- the home -- attend to the holy in our lives this Thanksgiving season. Holy times, holy ways of eating, giving, and speaking.”
Jan
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In memory of those killed at
Tree of Life Synagogue,
we post this interview with the congregation's Rabbi.
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Recent Issues
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Copyright (c) 2018 Soul Windows Ministries
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Sincerely,
Bill Howden and Jan Davis
Soul Windows Ministries
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