i've been reading some really top knotch writing on the web lately
and a lot of it has really inspired me to think and write and delve into my own soul searching
one such writer is the hasidic rebel, yep he's on my link love list
and you who have read me for awhile know im a big fan of the rebels
you see not only is he a brilliant writer but he's also living a dangerous double life
by day deeply imbedded in chasidus
by night the secret teller of tales
the blogger who is spilling the beans from the inner circle
well anyway
i just came across a deep honest and very frank post on his own journey in this thing called religion
religion
as many of you know is one of the three big boo boos
in socializing
one should never discuss religion, politics or money
when in a social setting
yeah
thats why in blog land
we simply roll in all three
cause we love to do
the things that polite society
tells us not too
anyway
i digress
let me share a paragraph with you from the rebels post
and then i suggest when you're done reading my post
thank you very much
you go over to rebel land
and read his entire piece
a lot of you may ask
FYI
why i dont punch in the code
here in my post and not force you to REACH
two inches over to click on my link
well partially thats cause im a lazy bitch
and partially it is as
i have told you many times
because i am technologically retarded
ok?
anyway heres that slice from the rebel
"My intuition led me to believe in the existence of G-d, one supreme creator of the universe who cares about each human being and listens to our prayers. I established my personal philosophy that humans have an ability and an imperative to lead spiritual lives through prayer and contemplation of G-d and his creation, and by adhering to the universally recognized good deeds. I believed that distinctions between good and evil and between right and wrong were within each human's conscience if they are truly sought out. And I believed that no ideology's truth can be so wholly absolute as to require its adherents to compel everyone else to join."
Lord I love me that rebel
you know
a special person in my life
spent 40 of 46 years in the jehovahs witness religion
when she left that religion
she has to start a whole new life
she had to walk away from her friends
her family
everything that had protected and imprisoned her
she felt lost and angry
and depressed
she felt as though she'd wasted 40 years of her life
and i told her
that what she had experienced was a unique platform
a spectacular background
of unusual experience
from which she could spring forth
and become almost anything
from a therapist
to an inspirational speaker
to a poet
to a politician
oh you name it
i understand her experience
because it is much like
how it feels to leave chasidus or ultra orthodox judaism
i was not raised ultra orthodox
only what you might call
lowly orthodox
we kept kosher
went to shul
i was only allowed to date jewish boys
i was pressured to keep jewish friends
sent to a yeshivah when i was 11
and promptly expelled
and ultimately sent to live
with a community of chasids
(read return to kingston avenue in the memoriable section for this story dears)
the end result
honey if i wasn't jewish
i would have become anti-semitic
it took me years to want to go into a synagogue again
and i still wince with the pain of
some super bad memories when i see a chasid
you see what i saw in that community
mixed in with the joy and love
and true spirituality was a huge chunk of hipocracy
a huge chunk of fear
and the world's largest chunk
of following the masses
a new friend of mine
is also an ex jehovahs witness
he now gives sermons
to former witnesses looking for a new path
he left a recent sermon for me to read
and the part that got me
was where he said any religion that
forces one to lose ones individuality
is wrong
we are all different from one another
different dreams
different wants
we can not be shoved into one
mind
so here's where i come in with my own take on all of this
i do believe in one god
i do believe in good vs evil
i feel that the frame-work that works best for me
is judaism
its in my blood
it feels like home to me
but i also must say
that the bible however truly inspired it may be
or may not be
depending on your own beliefs
was passed down by men
was written by men
was interpreted by men
how can any sane person
think that these men would not have colored it
now let me ask you this
and think deeply on this question
how would the bible
the old testament
the new testament
the koran
whatever you read
be different
if it were written by women?
open your minds and think about this
would there be less blood
less sacrifice
less war written about
and more about love
about children
would there be more female heroes??
would kings who kept many wifes and many lovers
be written about as cruel
rather than brave?
would the killing of anyones first born
hebrew
egyptian alike
be called a holocaust of the worst kind
even if those were the first born of your enemy??
who is to know
so here i am
with this
i believe in a higher power
i know in my heart that a truly good person goes to a truly good place
i have chosen to stay with my born faith
and my faith of my ancestry
of judaism
but i do not denounce your faith
i will not try to convert you to mine
i will not try to stamp you out or call you a lost soul
if you don't believe in god
i will not rise to the office of president of the united states
and then attempt to inflict my religious beliefs on my
country
i will simply be the best person i can be
and beg you to do the same
this is the godly way
