The Gates are Closing
and there is not much time left for us sinners...
This had been a frustrating week as a commenter in the jblogosphere. I have never realized how many people have created their own religion and call it Orthodox Judaism. Talk about denial... In general people seem to be getting snappy and edgy. Let's hope this is a seasonal overload thing...
I've been re-reading the old posts on evanstonjew's defunct blog. I think I am beginning to understand where he's coming from...
I don't feel good about where I am right now. I feel like I have been pigeonholed in a sense by positions I have to take in these discussions, yet in many ways I share many of the emotions of my adversaries. I don't want to deny God, or the Mashiach, or the fact that the Jews are a special people, and that there are huge upsides to living in an Orthodox community. At the same time, I cannot rationally accept things that are not rational.
So because of this, I get labelled a rationalist by evanstonjew? But there is a difference between a rationalist as an adherent of a philosophy and simply being a rational fellow. You can drink tea from an empty cup, yet in the end you will still be thristy.
I am not unsympathetic to those who feel rationalism is not the way. Heck, I imbibed Russian literature and art with my mother's milk. I appreciate Harms and Mayakovsky, Malevich, Kandinsky. Yiddishkeit runs through my veins. My ancestors came from the shtetls around Zhitomir. They were neighbors with Bialik and Sholom Aleichem. I stood on top of the graves at Babiy Yar.
So what to do? For now, collect my thoughts and harness my emotions. The Day of Atonement is near. That's it for now. Guys, take it away...
This had been a frustrating week as a commenter in the jblogosphere. I have never realized how many people have created their own religion and call it Orthodox Judaism. Talk about denial... In general people seem to be getting snappy and edgy. Let's hope this is a seasonal overload thing...
I've been re-reading the old posts on evanstonjew's defunct blog. I think I am beginning to understand where he's coming from...
I don't feel good about where I am right now. I feel like I have been pigeonholed in a sense by positions I have to take in these discussions, yet in many ways I share many of the emotions of my adversaries. I don't want to deny God, or the Mashiach, or the fact that the Jews are a special people, and that there are huge upsides to living in an Orthodox community. At the same time, I cannot rationally accept things that are not rational.
So because of this, I get labelled a rationalist by evanstonjew? But there is a difference between a rationalist as an adherent of a philosophy and simply being a rational fellow. You can drink tea from an empty cup, yet in the end you will still be thristy.
I am not unsympathetic to those who feel rationalism is not the way. Heck, I imbibed Russian literature and art with my mother's milk. I appreciate Harms and Mayakovsky, Malevich, Kandinsky. Yiddishkeit runs through my veins. My ancestors came from the shtetls around Zhitomir. They were neighbors with Bialik and Sholom Aleichem. I stood on top of the graves at Babiy Yar.
So what to do? For now, collect my thoughts and harness my emotions. The Day of Atonement is near. That's it for now. Guys, take it away...
posted by e-kvetcher at 7:19 PM
5 Comments:
I was sitting in Starbucks this morning reading this Kugel article from hell(on and on)and a beautiful woman walks in looking confused and walks over to my table and asks "Are you John?", to which I said "For you, I'll be whoever you want me to be." She giggled.
Actually I just reread the few comments I made here and I didn't see anything about rationalist. I did use that term to describe the views of my opponent over at GGG's blog. His views as he went along are so repugnant and foreign to me I had to restrain myself from calling him much worse epitaphs.
So, first of all I want to ask mechilah for anything I said that caused you any pain or unneccesary sefikot. This internet is so quick and the conversation is in uncharted waters one can never be careful enough.
Wishing you and yours a gemar chatima tova.
>I was sitting in Starbucks this morning reading this Kugel article from hell(on and on)and a beautiful woman walks in looking confused...
College towns are great, aren't they ;)
ej,
I got the sense that you consider me a rationalist by association, due to my comments on other blogs. Perhaps I was mistaken.
Regarding AlreadyGone, I still don't understand why his opinions being foreign and repugnant should cause you to call him names. As far as I could tell he was being civil and he has a right to his opinions.
You did not lead me astray in any way but I accept your request for m'chila and I request the same of you.
G'mar chatima tova and an easy fast.
I hope your Yom Kippur gave you some answers, or inspiration. I sometimes wonder if the discussions on the Blogosphere are too negative to bother reading. They do serve some purpose, but sometimes, I feel there is argument and negativity just for it's own sake and no higher purpose. And yet, I continue to read and write...
I think the problem with rationalism is that we're human, and not completely rational. And how to accept and balance that is not always so easy.
I didn't understand the music video. I like the song, but I just kept asking myself "why?" why the overalls? why do they live in such an ugly and depressing place? what's the deal with the accordion anyway?
I know how you feel though. I felt very similarly all during my chag as well...
>I hope your Yom Kippur gave you some answers, or inspiration.
Unfortunately, no. But thanks for the kind wishes.
>but I just kept asking myself "why?" why the overalls?
Miri, according to Wikipedia, this video was referred to as "a tribute to the armpit".
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