ReJEWvination #12:  Boundary Crossers, Religion & Wayne’s World

ReJEWvination #12:  Boundary Crossers, Religion & Wayne’s World

(Way, No Way!)

No Way! – Wayne

Way!  Garth

Wayne’s World

          Exodus was ‘the route’ for the Israelites from physical slavery to Sinai.

Sinai was command, connection & a covenant to free the Israelites from both physical and spiritual slavery.

           Way!

           The ‘YES and NO’ Way!

Religion =‘religio:’ (Latin) – bind, bond, connect; religare: -to reconnect

Schwing (from Wayne’s World – the film) a physical response to visual ‘inspiration’ (& not sacrosanct or hallowed)

           Thus, the Hebrew religion, as in binding & bonding to Hashem, was given & forged at Sinai.(1) as the way to connect to Hashem & bring the One and only God to the world as an assignment.

Religion is ‘a way’ – not just a route, or avenue – but a path – a process and content for linking – connection (how one lives spiritualizing the material, materializing the spiritual)

Yet too too often we want content.

Content?

“THE’ answer.

The expert telling us what to do – & we want it NOW!

This answer NOW – without process – often leads to an expert (or Google) with a solution that is in search of a problem. Result: ‘if all you know is a hammer, everything looks like a nail’ and client/customer etc too frequently gets nailed by ‘THE wayward” answer.’

Thus, ‘The’ Way?

No Way?

Sidebar: A Process Example

99%++ (despite assertions otherwise) personal financial planning (whether on commission, fee and commission, fee only) is about The Way of More. Practiced by more-ons – which one, what kind (stock, bond, insurance, etc etc ). To paraphrase Al Davis former Oakland Raiders  owner, “Just Win, Baby”—‘it’s all about The More’ which one, what kind – external comparison -beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average – otherwise, to quote Wayne’s World ‘We’re not worthy.’

T       This Sissphusian  ‘more’ is never ‘enough’

No Way!

No –Schwing!

ENOUGH(sm), in contrast, is a process – aligning means with meaning.  In particular ENOUGH(sm) is healing personal financial anxiety to transcend, connect & align to one’s significance, assignment – what one was meant to be, meant to do with enough to live on for enough to live for – aligning means with meaning to count!

By design ENOUGH(sm) is a process which leads to framing and typically reframing the content contextually by defining & prioritizing the ground rules, criteria and boundaries for the personalized financial objectives. In essence, the ENOUGH(sm) process was that of retrofitting and aligning the means – stocks, bonds, insurance – which one what kind etc  – with meaning  – the natural result created by the methodology.

ENOUGH(sm) swings in step in contrast to the More-on Schwing-ing for the fences.

Ends and Means

Religion is both process and content. But when the cup (the structures of religion OUTside IN) become more important than the coffee (i.e. process and content INside out) – the re-ligion’s binding, bonding, and connection is loosened – losing its ‘causeway.’

Way?

No.. be-causeway…(Garth-funkled over troubled waters!)

Process is a causeway which frames and leads to hopefully a more custom tailored content answer (and yes, often even more questions).

And so when:

• the building fund for a new wing takes precedence and time.
• rituals become perfunctory instead of meaningful and representational,
• pecking orders become entrenched & calcified (big shots – ganzer machers at the top – best seats High Holidays) due to monetary contribution,
• individualized meaning is asserted but cannot be delivered due to form following structure and constraints of time

The result is: alienation, reduced affiliation, indifference, wandering Jews and wondering rabbis. Thus, the process and content of religion its bonding, binding, connecting, reconnecting is left at the altar (altered)– the ends sacrificed for the means (golden calves).

Way?

Unfortunately, Way – losing the Way

Judaism On Purpose’s™ process model’s mission focuses on 1 thing – meaning – as ‘a’ stepping stone. Specifically: reJEWvination© – re-igniting personalized individualized meaning IN one’s life INside out to matter thru Judaic connection – again —- as a (not the) stepping stone springboard for return (teshuvah)…to count!

Judaism On Purpose™

 ‘a’ Way For The Boundary Crossers

 

Rabbis & Cantors

For more information about Judaism On Purpose™ & its programs

Contact Mordechai Levinson

levinsonmordechai@gmail.com