In honor of the Jewish High Holy Days, which start with the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) on Sep 13 and conclude with the Day of Atonement (At-One-Ment) on Sep 23, these words from my favorite living rabbi (teacher), Rami Shapiro:
“To me, religions are like languages: no language is true or false; all languages are of human origin; each language reflects and shapes the civilization that speaks it; there are things you can say in one language that you cannot say or say as well in another; and the more languages you learn, the more nuanced your understanding of life becomes. Judaism is my mother tongue, yet in matters of the spirit I strive to be multi-lingual. In the end, however, the deepest language of the soul is silence.”
What religious languages to you speak?
What was your religious mother tongue?
What religious languages would you like to study together?
Eric Jaworowski and I are planning a monthly Bible study to return again to the religious mother tongues of our culture. We’ll meet on Sept 17th and subsequent 3rd Thursday evenings, 7-8:30 p.m. at Olmsted UU (and perhaps on 2nd Thursdays at Oberlin UU, to start in October). Please let me know if you’d be interested in participating.
