The Covenant

There are indeed many gods. A god, of course, is anything that is worshiped. Therefore, Hashem is not G-d to those who do not worship him. So, if I say I worship Hashem, how can it be determined that this is true?

Hashem is G-d. We are not. Therefore, the only way we can have a relationship with him is by Him giving us commandments and by us following them. There is nothing else we can do to worship our G-d. We cannot give Him anything he does not already have because everything is His. We cannot really have a conversation with him because a conversation is an exchange of ideas. He can give us ideas, but we cannot give Him ideas. He can give us wisdom and knowledge but, we cannot give Him wisdom and knowledge. We cannot embrace Him, nor kiss Him, nor see Him, nor hear Him. Therefore, since He is so vast, extending beyond limit from eternity to eternity; since he is so lofty and grand and we are so meager, there is nothing that we can really do to worship Hashem as G-d unless He establishes a way.

Yes, we are made in the image of G-d but, in our current state, our attributes are far from being divine. Therefore, this covenant that G-d has instituted is the only common ground we have with Him. It is very extensive, thorough and meticulous. There is a mitzvah for everything and there is a blessing for everything. It extends to every aspect of life so that we have the opportunity to be obedient in everything we do, not ever forgetting about G-d. If we transgress a mitzvah, we know we transgress and we still remember G-d. Of course, it is different if the transgression is deliberate, but in inadvertent transgression, the mitzvah still serves its purpose.

It's not about cleanliness, sanitation or health. It isn't even really about morality or justice. Though there are certain mitzvahs that address these things, it isn't really about any of these things. It's just what G-d said to do and we do what He says to do because He is our G-d and we are His people. Each mitzvah is a memorial of G-d and what He has done and is doing and will do for us. He brought us out of Egypt for this purpose so that we can be a holy people, distinct and set apart--peculiarly His own people. We meticulously examine the Law so that we can meticulously examine ourselves hence knowing where we stand in His presence and G-d does not withhold His mercy from any humbled and contrite heart

People believe what they want to believe. People who believe in G-d do so because they want to and people who are atheist don’t believe in G-d simply because they don’t want to. Judaism, initially, is not about following a bunch of commandments. Judaism, initially, is about the belief in G-d but, believing in G-d is about following a bunch of commandments. The covenant is meant to bring us joy. If one doesn’t enjoy being in the covenant, if it doesn’t make him happy, what good is it to him? It should, however, be the joy of every Jew and others can find joy in it if they see your joy. If you observe the mitzvot, and you enjoy them, naturally you would want others to join you in your celebration. That is what true observance and worship is and celebrating G-d, life and this covenant is how we do that.

The Word of G-d

Bloging on a Thursday night. Thinking about something I have thought about for a long time.

Many people use the term "divine inspiration" or "divinely inspired". I have used these terms in the past and have tried to figure out what they mean. To this day, I still do not honestly know. What does it mean when something is divinely inspired and If I know what it meant, would it be obvious if something was or wasn't the "inspired word of G-d"? Many people argue about the origins of scripture and about which ones have the credentials to even be called scripture.

The conclusion that I draw is that it doesn't really matter. Some people say G-d wrote the Torah. Some people say Moses wrote it and some people say it was written by various people over the course of hundreds of years. What matters is not who wrote it but what it says. Does it speak truth or wisdom? And if it does, is G-d not the only true and first source of all truth and wisdom? Conclusively, if anything is true or wise, it is from G-d regardless of who was holding the pen when the words were eternalized on paper. What should be kept in mind, however, is the words being tainted with the opinions and agendas of the marque. These should be easy enough to weed out by the open mind and if it is unnecessary, good for the marque.

With this liberating thought, I feel I can approach anything with HASHEM's divine spirit and be divinely inspired myself with whatever comes into or goes out of my life.

Now I've created a blog. I don't know if anyone will read it except the people I tell about it but at least it's my space to jot down my reflections on life here and the hereafter. Of course my thoughts are merely speculation but I'm interested to see how I will be inspired by it; maybe it will strike up inspiring conversations that will leave me more enlightened than I could be just thinking about this stuff.