Thoughts on Rosh Hashanah

This past weekend was the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.  This holiday is unique in Judaism for quite a few different reasons.  The first of these is that this is a predominantly known holiday even outside of the Jewish Community by the rest of the world.  A second thing to note that this is one of the two holidays that Jewish people in general tend to go to synagogue for (the other happens to be Yom Kippur which is ten days later) The third thing to note is that this holiday is a symbolic as well as physical new year to the Jewish people.  This tends to grant us funny looks from other passerbys as the new year for a majority of the human race is on January 1st.

Being a new year for the Jewish people however, entails all of the feelings invoked from any other new year festivity: A sense of a new start, reflections on the year that has ended, and thoughts on where to improve.  Being also ten days from the earlier mentioned Yom Kippur which is the Day of Atonement, it is the start of our final chance to right wrongs committed the year before.

Of course, Rosh Hashanah is much more than that.  It is a couple of days of prayer and lots of food which is a custom of Judaism in general.  In addition, observant Jews also apply the same rules of Shabbat to this festive day.  As I outlined in another post, this entails no usage of electronic devices as well as not doing any work or creating new objects.  Instead of doing the things we would associate with an ordinary day, Rosh Hashanah like Shabbat, is a day of reflection and a chance to relax and enjoy the world we live in.

This new year of course is very significant to me.  I have a new book on the way, this blog is still relatively new in fact.  With a renewed stride, I am moving into this new year with sweetness, and not just with honey which is a customary food consumed for the new year.  Indeed, this New Year, I hope to take what I have experienced the last two years and apply myself to reach new heights.

In the words of Steve Jobs "Figure out where you want to be and figure out how you can get there today.  Every day you wait is another day you are not where you want to be."

L'Shana Tovah!  May your new year be sweet and help you reach new heights, and if you do not observe Rosh Hashanah for whatever reason, use this time as a chance to reflect upon your goals in an aspiration.

The Meaning of Shabbat

As I continue to explore my faith with Judaism, I have been coming to terms with ideas I have been grappling with almost my entire life.  First and foremost of these ideas is the belief that Torah is outdated and religion in general does nothing more than hold us as a species back.

The more and more I understand about Judaism, I am finding more and more that this idea is completely false.  Years ago, a close friend of mine set me on a path to self discovery with two simple sentences: The Torah has all the answers. We just don't realize it yet.  These two sentences have formed the basis for my understanding of Judaism and so, today I will explore my newest discovery.

For the first time in my life, I attempted and succeeded to keep the Sabbath as instructed by the Torah.  What this means, is I went 24 hours without lighting a flame, which by proxy means I used no electronic devices.  I also did not handle any money or do business of any kind.  The last aspect of Shabbat is to create nothing new.  Instead were are commanded to rest and enjoy what has already been created on this earth.

Obviously this sounds really difficult in the modern world.  After all, many claim that we as a race are notable for staring more at our phones than at actual people.  That the internet must always be within reach to have sound discussion.  Most of all though, we feel we must always be connected via social media to those we care about.

On one hand the internet has allowed us to see the world in ways that never were possible for us.  On the other though, thanks to our dependence on technology, we are able to view everything, but are we really able to ever see anything?

Shabbat was an eye opening experience for me because for the first time in quite a long while, I got to view the world in a way that I had forgotten was possible.  I chose to spend part of my time disconnected from social media observing the natural world around me  by sitting outside the synagogue I was attending and just listening to sounds as well as looking around.

The earth is alive although we depend on technology most of the time to remind us of it.  On the seventh "day" of creation it is told in Genesis that G-d rested on the seventh day to view his work.  In a mirror of what was done then, Jews are to do the same on the seventh day of the week which is Friday night to Saturday night.

Back years ago, families and friends mostly kept to Shabbat customs with ease as life was more centralized around community and micro towns and life.  While technology has turned our world into a much smaller place and allowed people from all over the world to connect, it also has had the adverse effect of preventing us from taking a moment of rest to just admire the world.

So as I found this last weekend.  Keeping to Shabbat in our modern day in my opinion is even more important than it has ever been.  If we do not take time to admire our accomplishments, then what is the point of all the toil and work in the first place?

Properly Using and Understanding Cynicism

I frequently hear day to day that cynicism is a destructive thought behavior.  While at times I am led to believe this is true, I still cling to my thought process.  This has led me to look deeper into the issue for I do not believe that I am a fatalist, so their must be a reason that benefits me that I retain my cynicism.

I began my search by starting with the people who were giving me the advice to be more optimistic especially in regards to trusting others.  Quickly I realized the cause of many of their beliefs stemmed from one of three causes:

The first was that the person was simply naive.  This was admittedly quite rare, but when applicable, I just took the advice for the grain of salt it was worth and moved on.

The second was that the person did not really experience extreme shifts and problems in their life that would warrant more of a grim outlook on the world.  When dealing with this person, it is important to note that just because their experiences of life are different does not mean there is nothing to gain from their council.  Being optimistic does have its merits and there is a time for joy.  It is finding that balance that is key, and the advice given by this person is a step towards that goal for the hunkered down cynic.

The third group is in my opinion the most important for they can empathize with a cynic mired down in their beliefs.  This third type is a former cynic that has found optimism where they thought there would be none.  This person in most cases has the most to share as they have experienced life in a way close to the cynic seeking advice.  I have found that this type of individual is normally the person a cynic envisions of themselves.  Not optimistic to the point where it borders on stupid but also happy enough with the world and trusting of their fellow man to the point where a fulfilling life is very possible and probably a daily occurrence.

Taking what I have learned from these three types of people, I still had some doubts about why I was a cynic and was still inclined to believe that I just had trust issues and the behaviors were still quite destructive in my life.  Still I refused to give up on the answer, so I decided to look inward instead and really understand what being a cynic means and after much trial and error, came up with the positive traits of cynicism.

Surprisingly, there are quite a few benefits to being a cynic I found.  Willing to question everything, practice more, and really putting in an effort to understand people were just a few of the benefits I found.  Of course I also discovered that letting negativity weigh you down is quite destructive and clearly as both the second and third groups of optimists showed me, you have to find the balance. That does not just mean being more optimistic, it also refers to how to properly use cynicism.

Questioning everything is a hallmark of both science and Judaism as well as a cornerstone of our entire society, being optimistic does not lead to the change that these powerful forces can bring.  To be a Cynic is to dream, to not be content with what you have.  Dreams create new realities.

As far as knowing when you have let the cynic inside overwhelm, once you have decided that the dreams you anticipate have become impossible, it is time to edge a little more towards optimism

Hello World!

Welcome to my blog.  This is my Pilot Post, or my first post for the world to see.

Does the world see what is before them, or are they consumed by blindness?
Does the world hear what is around them, or are they deaf to the senses?
Does the world smell what is wafting at them, or are they plugged up?
Does the world touch their surroundings, or are they too numb to know?
Does the world taste flavor, or are they too subdued to note?

I intend to explore these answers and many more.  I hope you will join me.

Cheers!
Praughx