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January 11, 2005

Chukim and mishpatim

Glen Wishard proves the existence of God:

Circumcision proves the existence of God. It beats all of the other proofs hollow - forget all of that Ontological and Teleological stuff. Get the hell out of here with your Thomas Aquinas. The practice of circumcision is the proof that settles the question once and for all.

If you were going to invent a religion, would you start by cutting off the end of your genital apparatus? Only God would have thought of such a thing, and only an almighty God would convince people to do it. Would you do it for Elron Hubbard? Hell, no. And this, by the way, also proves that God has a great sense of humor.

From the ridiculous to the sublime, Eve Tushnet understands the virtues of praying a set text:

. . . there is nothing less repetitive for me than repeating a traditional prayer.

. . . Traditions remind us of the things we wouldn't say of our own accord. Most times, when I pray the Hail Mary or the Angelus or what have you, I find that the words of the prayer act like prisms refracting my own concerns and shedding unexpected light. (The rosary is especially good for this, since it's keyed to a series of different events and experiences that might seem remote from our own lives but that always, always have relevance. How does the Nativity respond to what I'm praying about? What about the Assumption?) Part of the point of traditions is that they break us out of our obvious concerns, the worries and beliefs we know we carry, by offering a different and initially alien perspective.

Another part of the point of traditions is that they tell us what to do when we're shaky and unsure. . . . I fall back on traditional prayers when I really don't have the strength or self-confidence to shape my own sentences--when I just feel desperate, composed entirely of need.

I emailed Eve with the following, which she was gracious enough to post:

Ahhhh. This is the Catholic version of the daily Amidah. . . .To me it is an immense relief to not have to make up my own words, to have a checklist prepared for me. Esp. since the sages were much smarter than me.

Several contemporary Jewish sages agree.

Judith | 01/11/05 at 09:53 PM | Categories: Doing Jewish

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???? ?????? | January 12, 2005 07:22 AM

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