To The Uncommitted Reader

No doubt there is much sanctimoniousness in the world and a lot of empty mumbling is passed off as devotion.  A man of urbanity may feel embarrassed at taking part in ceremonies where that sort of thing can occur.  I am not sure my urbanity is quite up to the mark.  Sometimes, all too often, my own praying has been depressingly mechanical.  But sometimes I have felt a sense of communication with the Force that took the trouble to give me life.  The uncommitted reader will overlook this as auto-suggestion or mental ailment.  Something too much about the author here;  but it seemed less than honest to proceed on this subject without a certain clearing of the ground.
—    Herman Wouk
From his book:  “This Is My God“
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On This Day In:
2017	Not Yet That Well-Organized
2016	Probably Whatever Was Sought Yesterday
2015	What We Choose To Divide Us
2014	Peace With Honor
2013	Dangerous Systems
2012	Useful Science
2011	Say It, But Please Don’t Make Me Listen

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Which Generation Are We?

Economist know that, contrary to the popular impression, slaves do not work hard.  A slave civilization is slow moving and easygoing;  we still have traces of one in the American South.  Take away a man’s rights in himself, and, he becomes dull and sluggish, wily and evasive, a master of the arts of avoiding responsibility and expending little energy.  The whip is no answer to this universal human reaction.  There is no answer to it.  The lash stings a slave who has halted dumbly, out of indifference and inertia, into resuming the slothful pace of his fellow slaves.  It can do no more.  The slave’s life is a dog’s life, degraded, but not wearying, and  —  for a broken spirit  —  not unpleasant.  The generation of Jews that Moses led into the desert collapsed into despair and panic over and over in moments of crisis.  Broken by slavery, they could not shake free of improvidence, cowardice, and idol-worship.  All the men who had been slaves in Egypt had to die in the desert, and a new generation had to take up their arms and their religion, before the Jews could cross the Jordan.
—    Herman Wouk
From his book:  “This Is My God“
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On This Day In:
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2021	One Year Later (Now 604,000+)
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2020	115,000+
2019	One Generation’s View
2018	The One Thing
2017	Never Give Up
2016	Which Generation Are We?
	Congratulations, Kyle!
2015	Centered
2014	Economic Trinity
2013	At Both Ends
2012	Holding Allowance
2011	The Power Of Good

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Jumping Into The Dark

There has never been any decisive proof either way about God’s existence.  Ours would be a decidedly queer world if the Creator of it were as visible as, say, a playwright at his opening night.  Here is the universe, a dazzle of orderly wonders, which seems to imply a Maker.  Here is human life, full of sadness and disaster and futility, ending always in black death;  and it seems to many people to refute any notion that a God could exist.  To assert anything about God — that he is there or that he is not, that we can know him or that we cannot —  is to jump off into the dark, either way.
—    Herman Wouk
From his book:  “This Is My God“
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On This Day In:
2021	An Impossible Situation
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2020	#45 Never Shuts Up
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2019	Silly Pooh Bear
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2018	Very Few
2017	Or The Candidate Who…
2016	The Happiest People
2015	Jumping Into The Dark
2014	I Would Be Sillier
2013	It Keeps Happening Anyway
2012	Take Time
2011	A Mother’s Lesson
2010	3rd Pair – Shoe Review (DOA and Final)

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Lend Your Hand

The work is not yours to finish;  but neither are you free to take no part in it.
—    Rabbi Tarfon
From:  “Ethics of the Fathers“
As quoted in:  “This Is My God“
Written by:   Herman Wouk
[The path to equality in America has not been completed.  There is still much work to do until all are able to share in the philosophy that all Americans are equal under the law.  Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!   —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Biden Starts His Second Year
2021	DIY: Outdoor Gym Modifications (2)
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2020	Posting As A Continual Exercise
2019	Border Security – Yes, Border Wall – No
2018	Supporting Survival Values
2017	Inauguration Day 2017   [Sometimes, I hate it when I’m right!   —   kmab]
2016	Or A Pot Of Gold After The Storm
2015	One, Two, Three…
2014	Lend Your Hand
2013	Amnesty, n.
2012	Best Resolv’d
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2011	Magic

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I Ain’t Who Am

There is no use in talking about religion with anybody who is sure that God does not exist.
—    Herman Wouk
From the Prologue to his book:  “This Is My God“
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On This Day In:
2022	Just Waiting
2021	Tomorrow: Will Republicans Choose Democracy Or Tyranny? (Well, I guess we know which one they chose…)
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2020	On Killing Foreign Generals…
2019	Patient Understanding
2018	I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Form
2017	Fashionista
2016	A Faulty Model Of God
2015	Non Sequitur
2014	No Flags League
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2013	Spoiling For Fame?
2012	How Many?
2011	Too Tired To Chat Much
2010	I Must Be Crazy!!

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Risking Truth

…I intend to speak of my faith and my people as well as I can, and I will tell the truth.
One note on style:  if I sometimes write here with a light hand, it is not because I am the less serious in what I say.  It is no service to the reader to load him with technical jargon to convince him that my words have weight.  I have risked being as clear and pleasant as I could, and I have worked very hard for clarity.
—    Herman Wouk
From the Prologue to his book:  “This Is My God“
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On This Day In:
2021	Almost, But Not Quite
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2020	The Definition Of A Modern Republican Senator
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2019	Just Rewards
2018	Diet Resolutions For The New Year
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2017	Daily, Mr. President, Daily
2016	We Did This
2015	I’m Talking To You
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2014	We Are Not A Fearful Nation!
2013	Risking Truth
2012	Working On Reality
2011	Massive Contradictory Changes

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From The Book

A couple of months ago, I was talking to my nephew and he told me he was a Jew.
I asked if he had ever been to a synagogue.  No.  I asked if he had ever read the Torah or the Talmud.  No.  I asked if he had ever read the complete Old Testament from the Bible.  No.  I asked if he had ever spoken to a Rabbi about the Jewish faith.  No.
After chuckling, I asked him why he thought he was Jewish.  He advised me that Jesus was Jewish and he was a follower of Jesus, so he was Jewish, too.  Needless to say (after another chuckle), I advised him that declaring yourself to be of a certain faith does not “make” you a member of that faith if you do nothing else to demonstrate your beliefs.
Later, though, it occurred to me that I know almost nothing about the Jewish faith either.  Yes, I’ve read some of the Old Testament, but I’ve never read any of the Torah and would not be able to tell you the first thing about any differences between it and the Old Testament.  So, when I was visiting my local second hand book shop and I stumbled upon a copy of a book which professed to be an “everymans” guide to orthodox Judaism, I picked it up and added it to the reading list.  As it happens, I rested the book close to my computer and it “called” to me repeatedly – so I bumped it up the list.  I finished it last week and the rest of this posting is my review…
The book is titled:  “This Is My God” (1988©), and was written by Herman Wouk.  The book was originally published back in 1959, but this is a republishing with a chapter update about Israel (the nation-state).  Mr. Wouk wrote the book because a friend came up to him and said his son knew next to nothing about Judaism and the friend knew Wouk to be a practicing Jew and could he recommend a good “starter” book for him to give to his son with the hope the son might gain some appreciation for their heritage.
Now Wouk admits to not being a Rabbi (a teacher of the Torah) and could not think of (or find) such a book – even after asking around himself – so he decided to write one.  After about a year or so of intense research, he did.  And this book is the result of Wouk’s effort.
I have not read any of Wouk’s other works, but he is a terrific writer!  The book is obviously a very simplistic introduction to Judaism.  That does not mean it is not worth reading.  It merely recognizes there are whole libraries devoted to the various aspects of Judaism and anything other than an overview would have taken many, many volumes.  Having said this, I felt reading this book was an insightful introduction to this faith upon which my own was based.  Indeed, it is the faith on which both Christianity and Islam are based.  All three faiths are the “children” of Abraham.
Although I don’t usually attribute such sentiments to books, this book has been a blessing to my own personal faith.  (I am a practicing Roman Catholic.)  Wouk’s words are kind and wise, yet humble and moving.  And most of all, they are educational.  There were several times I said to myself, “Wow!  I never knew that!” or “So that’s why…”
Two quick examples are: there is no requirement for a person to be a Jew to enter Heaven.  One only needs to live a good life to be judged worthy of Heaven.  And second, not all the stories in the Bible are about Jews.  Some “holy” men are not Jews at all.  Job for example.  This was a real “Wow!” moment for me as I’d always just assumed Job was Hebrew.  Wouk explains why this is not so, but I still could hardly believe it so I had to do some additional research on the internet.  As near as I can tell, there is no proof he (Job) existed let alone that he was Jewish.  Like I said, the book is full of little “gems” to help you explore your faith (if you are a Christian).
The book is a fast read at only a little over two hundred and eighty pages and is so well written it doesn’t even feel that long.  There is a fifty page “Notes” area which has clarifications and recommendations for further readings and an eight page Glossary at the very end.
So, final recommendation:  Highly recommended!  You will, of course, see several quotes from this book over the next few months as I try to share some of Wouk’s writing with you…
So I called up my nephew to thank him for “prompting” me to learn about Judaism as the basis of my own faith.  His response:  “Uncle Kevin, I never meant for you to read a book about it!”  I guess he just doesn’t know me that well…
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On This Day In:
2021	Seeking Emergence
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2019	#Impeach45: Once A Buffoon, Now A Bad Joke
2018	Good Sense
2017	E Pluribus Unum
2016	Lacking
2015	Chip, Chip, Chip
2014	nom de plume
2013	The Real Reason
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2012	When Young
2011	14 Ways To A Better Judgement

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