Recently in Spirituality Category

Starting this morning adds begin appearing in New York City subways which tell us that for millions of people, the answer is 'yes'. Following past campaigns in Dallas, Chicago and other locations around the nation this advertising campaign for Greg Epstein's book of the same name, is clearly meant to provoke, not educate. That may be good for book sales, but renders this initiative far less interesting than it otherwise might be. In fact, it looks and sounds remarkably similar to the kinds of pro-God campaigns which annoy those who sponsored this one!

The add campaign is mounted by the "New York City Coalition for Reason", whose name alone is problematic. It suggests, in precisely the way that pro-God groups with names like "union for decency" and "coalition for American values" suggest that atheists are amoral, un-American, or indecent, that atheists are reasonable and theists are not.

What do you think? Can be people be good without God? I ask in two senses and eagerly await the discussion that follows. First, can people be good, in the moral and ethical sense, without being grounded in some kind of faith in some kind of being greater than themselves? Second, can people be truly happy, as in "I'm good with that", without believing in something they call God?

It's clear to me that the answer is 'no' to the first question, but that in which someone believes may be far different from the standard personal "Guy-In-The-Sky" which many people think of when talking about God. As to the second, I am really not sure. I think it depends upon the circumstances of one's life and how seriously they take the concept of gratitude. Ultimately, it is gratitude which is the key to happiness and although I feel deeply grateful to God, I think the gratitude part is more connected to my being happy than the being to whom it is directed.

Your turn....

We all have loss in our lives. I wish we didn't, but we do. So the real question is where do we turn with our grief? From whom do we seek and receive comfort? What practices help us to heal? For more and more people, the answer is Facebook and other social networking websites. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor suggests that synagogues, churches, mosques, etc. have a lot to learn from the success such sites have in attracting young people especially as venues in which to share their grief and begin to heal.

The article's author, bereavement expert Diana Nash, makes some important points and also misses some as well. Not least of which is what places like Facebook could learn from traditional religious communities. More accurately stated, I think it's really about the ways in which different mourning communities meet different needs, and how making the best use of each of them is far more valuable than synthesizing them into some kind of magic bullet solution to grief.

Facebook is great precisely because of the anonymity which it affords its users. Mourners can pour out their hearts online to whoever is listening and there need not be any further exchange between them. They are bound by one thing and one thing only, a particular loss which they share. From the 150,000 mourners who posted on Michael Jackson's page following his death, to the equal number of Facebook matches one finds by typing in the words "in memory of..." the numbers are too big to ignore.

The question of whether or not Christopher Columbus was Jewish has been around for quite some time. And while it may not yet (ever?) be solved, its persistence speaks volumes. In fact, there are spiritual lessons to be found in the stories of Columbus' Jewishness which can benefit us 500 years later, whether he was or he wasn't actually a Jew. But first, let's review some of the interesting facts which point toward either toward Columbus having been Jewish, or from a Jewish family.

• There is evidence that Columbus spoke Spanish while still living in Italy, an unusual situation unless his family had originated in Spain. Spanish-speaking Jewish refugees from the Inquisition were numerous in the Genoa area.

• The form "Colón" which Columbus adopted as the Spanish equivalent of his last name was not the expected form (which would have been" Colom" or "Colombo"). It was however a common Jewish variation on the name.

• Columbus was known to frequent the company of Jews and former Jews, among whom were some noted astronomers and navigators, as well as his official translator. Marranos (another term for Jews forced to convert) figured prominently among Columbus's backers and crew. Throughout his life he demonstrated a keen knowledge of the Bible and the geography of the Holy Land.

• Columbus began the official report of his first voyage to America, addressed to Ferdinand and Isabella, with the following words: "And thus, having expelled all the Jews from all your kingdoms and dominions, in the month of January, Your Highnesses commanded me that...I should go to the said parts of India." This is a strange fact to mention in this context, and it is not even correct: The order of expulsion was not signed until March 31st.

• The fact that the expulsion of Spanish Jewry and Columbus' voyage coincided is telling. Even when Columbus was scheduled to set sail on August 3rd, he insisted that his entire crew be ready on board a full day earlier. August 2nd 1492 was the day that had been ordained for the last Jews of Spain to depart the country. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were departed from Spain on that dark day.

• When this coincidence of dates was first noted by the Spanish biographer S. de Madariaga, the English Jewish historian Cecil Roth also commented on the "coincidence" August 2nd 1492 coinciding with Tisha B'av, the Jewish fast of mourning. It was as if Columbus had arranged to remain on board ship for that ill-omened day, and to depart only afterwards. 4

• Columbus discussed particular dates and phrases unique to Hebrew people. When writing about the fall of Jerusalem, he said "the destruction of the second house," referring to the Temple.

So, why does this all matter?

What does it mean to be proud of who you are? What does a "proud Jew" look like?

In the case of Igor Olshansky, it means being a 6'6", 315 lb. Defensive End for the Dallas Cowboys who bears twin Stars of David tattooed across his shoulders! Surprised? Don't be, Jewish pride comes in many forms. In fact, there are as many ways to celebrate one's Jewishness as there are people who want to celebrate.

The 27-year-old Olshansky came to the United States from Ukraine as a child. His journey included years in an Orthodox Jewish school, whose Headmaster, Rabbi Pinchas Lipner declares that Igor is not only a "good Jew", but "a proper role model".

What, doesn't Rabbi Lipner know that tattoos, playing football on Yom Kippur, and eating shrimp are all forbidden? Of course he does. But he also knows that Igor is "a mentsch... and (because) if you feel good about who you are, it helps with everything else in life. Igor feels good about himself."

If this isn't the stuff of Jewish Pride, I don't know what is. And I hope that in reading this story, you take a moment to do to things, each of which will make you at least a little happier with both yourself and others:

Sukkot begins in just a few hours, and while you might not be able to build a sukkah as amazing as a group of architecture students as Wesleyan University, what they did is worth seeing because of the creativity, pride, and hope their project inspires. Just look at this:

Known as "WesSukkah", it was built by 15 students in a class called "Architecture II". While not entirely in accord with all traditional halakhic (Jewish legal) requirements, it reflects a level of awareness of that tradition and the spirit of the holiday in profound ways. That a group of contemporary architecture students, not all of whom are Jewish by the way, undertook this project with that kind of commitment to past tradition and an equally profound commitment to creatively interpret the tradition in ways that met the standards of post-modern architecture is something truly inspiring.

The builders of WesSukkah have bridged the gaps between old and new, Jewish and non-Jewish, private ritual and public space, and that's just to name a few of the often self-defeating division plaguing our culture. WesSukkah is a text for all of us to explore as we think about how our own spiritual journeys can not only deepen our inner lives, but connect us even to those taking different paths on their own journeys as well.

If you want some practical help on building a sukkah, I suggest the following: