Posts
"Chapter Two: A Life Without God
Before you can convince yourself that you want to renew your Jewish Spirituality, you must convince yourself that life without God is not worth living.
Those who proudly proclaim to be atheist or agnostic have never truly thought about what they are missing without belief in a Higher Power. We have found plenty of reasons to deny God and to live without Him. We have seen wars fought in His name throughout history. "Deus vult" (God wills it), said Pope Urban II and the cruel Crusades began. The religions of the world all claim to know the way to God or the way into Heaven, and all of them speak of peace and love of thy neighbor, yet we see almost nobody practicing this. So we throw up our hands and say, "I've had it with all this God stuff!" But this is the folly of humans, not of God. He hasn't gone anywhere. It is the religions and people who have lost their way.
As the catering staff clears up after Adam's bar mitzvah party, they notice that one of the gold spoons is missing – and it is the one that was placed at Rabbi Bloom's seat. They report the missing spoon to the hosts, Moshe and Sadie.
"Can you believe it, Sadie?" says Moshe. "But how can we call our Rabbi a goniff (thief)? We'll just have to keep quiet about it."
A year later, Moshe finds himself standing in line next to Rabbi Bloom at the bagel store. "Moshe, I'm glad we've met," says Rabbi Bloom. "It has been such a long time. I feel that you've been avoiding me. Is there a problem, Moshe?"
Moshe replies, "Now that you ask, Rabbi, I've been avoiding you ever since we discovered one of our gold spoons missing from
Rabbi Bloom says, "But why didn't you ask me about this? I put the spoon in Adam's tefillin bag. He obviously hasn't opened it since his bar mitzvah day!"
When we live a life without God we are letting our will direct us. The problem with this is that our will is derived from our wants and our desires and leads to a self-serving life. We can rationalize and say that we are doing some societal good when we yearn to be president of the Sisterhood of a synagogue, but if our will is directing us, we will invariably come into conflict with somebody else's will.
In Judaism our selfish will is called the "yetzer ha ra" (evil inclination). If we let the yetzer ha ra direct our lives instead of God, we will find ourselves living like dogs, always having to mark and protect our territory. We'll see the world as a giant pie and ourselves in competition with everybody else for a piece. If we see somebody with a piece of pie we don't say, "Well, good for that fellow. He has his piece of pie." Instead, we look at him and say, "I want that piece of pie." On the other hand, if we manage to get ourselves a slice of that coveted pie, we guard it to keep for ourselves rather than share.
Two beggars sit on a pavement in
A priest who has been watching from nearby approaches the two beggars and speaks to the one with the Star of David. "Don't you realize that this is a Christian country? You'll never get any contributions wearing a Star of David."
The beggar with the Star of David then turns to the beggar with the Cross and says, "Hymie, look who's trying to teach us marketing!"
Selfishness is more than not sharing material things with others. It is a self-absorbed life in which everything is "all about me." Anyone who intrudes upon our selfish will makes us angry. Rather than let others enjoy the game with us, we take our ball and go home.
Self-seeking is a bit different. It means that everything we do is with an eye toward our own benefit. When we do things that on the surface appear to serve others, such as sitting on a board or heading a committee, our ultimate objective is often to receive something in return. You can usually spot these folks by looking at a synagogue bulletin. The same names are always there. The synagogue's motto may say that it is inclusive, but few are ever allowed to break into the clique that runs it.
There is no altruism in the life of a Godless person. Hence, living a life at the mercy of our selfish will puts us in conflict with others and makes us the foolish servant of, instead of a leader to, those who understand the truth. We live a life of delusion, running with people we believe to be friends, but are as self-seeking as we are, and are looking to get something from us just as we are from them.
When we live a life without God, we are dependent upon our finite selves and upon other finite humans who will invariably let us down. Even the most pious person can disappoint in one way or another. Hypothetically, Gandhi himself might promise to give you a ride to your doctor appointment, and then stand you up because it was his day of fast or for some other reason. Besides, I don't think Gandhi had a car so what's he doing promising to give you a lift in the first place?
If we depend on our finite selves, we will always fall short of the mark. We might think that we can love our fellow man without believing in God. But sooner or later someone will annoy us so much that we just can't get past our yetzer ha ra to love this person. We might think that we can be honest without God, but it is possible that sooner or later our accountant will point out a gray area in the tax code and we will choose to take advantage of it. Our yetzer ha ra will rationalize to us that if there was ever a self-serving, Godless bunch with a big yetzer ha ra problem it's the
Rabbi Rabinovitz's phone rings. He answers, "Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Rabbi Rabinovitz?'
"It is."
"This is the IRS calling. Can you help us?"
"I'll try."
"Do you know Sam Cohen?"
"I do."
"Is he a member of your congregation?"
"He is."
"Did he donate $10,000 to the synagogue rebuilding fund last year?"
"He will!"
Our finite selves may have strong willpower and strong self-knowledge. Sooner or later we will come up against something in life such as a major fear or situation that our finite selves simply cannot handle.
When we depend on only our finite selves our source of dependence has boundaries. This is why I use the term finite. Adding other finite humans to the mix only makes things worse. We are likely to find them lacking and usually end up having resentments.
The Godless rarely keep friends for long. They are judgmental because their own selfish wills put roadblocks in their paths. They hold grudges. They hate. They see others as resources to satisfy their own selfish wants. They do not see people for whom they can do acts of love and service and expect nothing in return. Friends, to the Godless, are like bank accounts. For any deposits made into the friendship account, they expect some kind of interest payment in return. And they believe that they can withdraw their deposits at any time.
A life without God is a life with low self-esteem. The Godless constantly seek approval and search for love. Their egos are easily bruised and they need to bandage the bruises with accolades, awards, kudos, and one's name in the paper or praise from others. To feel fulfilled, they make donations to charities that publicize donors' names, or vie to be the head of a benevolent organization so they can be recognized as a name on the letterhead. They volunteer for this and volunteer for that, and pose for pictures with all of the other volunteers. In the end, their "volunteer" work is not volunteer work at all. Rather, it is done for pay, not monetary pay, but for good public relations. They tell folks they are doing mitzvoth, but are really self-seeking "employees" with low self esteem whose wages are "ataboys."
Our ego tries to mend our low self-esteem. It can be so influenced by our yetzer ha ra that it drives us to puff up our curriculum vitae or résumé with lies and exaggerations. Even some rabbis, who are human just like the rest of us, have self-esteem issues. They will teach that God doesn't exist or will minimize the worth of our sages in an effort to improve their own images.
A new graduate rabbi, at the bottom of his class, was forced to take a job at a Duracell factory. His job was to stand on the production line and as the batteries go by say, "I wish you a long life."
A Godless life will find us gossiping and putting other people down, thinking that it makes us appear better. It will find us coveting what we do not have rather than appreciating what we do have.
A life with Ego, without God, will have us continually trying to please everyone, while always being fearful that somebody will look at us and say, "the king is naked."
In a life without God we will eventually develop grudges and resentments of which we cannot rid ourselves. We wake up in the middle of the night with that pithy comeback or insult that we wish we had unloaded on somebody when we had the chance. Some hold grudges for decades or harbor resentments for people who have long since passed away. Many of us learn via Jewish Spiritual Renewal that there are 300 or more names on our list of resentments. What we fail to recognize is that resentment does no harm to the person to whom it is directed. It only harms us, inflicting its destruction from the inside out. Resentment is like an acid eating away at its container.
Three Jewish mothers are sitting on a bench in a
Sadie says, "You know the Chagall painting hanging in my living room? My son, Arnold, bought that for me for my 75th birthday. What a good boy he is and how he loves his mother!"
Minnie says, "You call that love? You know that Mercedes I just got for Mother's Day? That's from my son Bernie. What a doll."
Shirley says, "That's nothing. You know my son Stanley? He's in therapy with a psychoanalyst on
When we live without God we are at odds with the flow of the universe. Life is ever-changing and we cling to the delusion that we are in control. We foolishly think that we can control our lives, the lives of those around us and our environment. This is folly. In reality, all we are ever able to control are our actions and reactions to events in our lives. When we are at odds with God's universe, we live a life full of fear. We worry. We become anxious. We get angry. We see the world in terms of that which we believe is taken from us and that which we believe is kept from us. As a result, we become anxious or depressed.
Thinking that there is nowhere else to turn, some fall into substance abuse or other addictions to get through the day. It might be prescription drugs, but most often it is tobacco, alcohol, narcotics, food, gambling or having sex without emotional commitment. Some turn to other self-destructive behaviors like compulsive shopping, gossiping, keeping up with the Jonesawitzs, or other mind- numbing activities.
It is Saturday night and Sean is in an Irish pub. He strikes up a conversation with the fellow next to him at the bar. Sean says, "I must stop drinking all this Irish whiskey."
"Why do you want to do that?" asked his companion.
"Because every Saturday night I go out and drink half a bottle of the stuff, go home drunk, make mad passionate love to my wife, wake up Sunday morning and go to church."
"What's wrong with that?" the friend asks. "A lot of good Irishmen go out on Saturday night, drink a half bottle of good Irish whiskey, go home drunk, make love to the wife and go to Mass on Sunday."
"I know," said Sean, "but I'm Jewish."
A Short Snap Shot of Rabbi Arthur Segal
 Click to Order | THE HANDBOOK TO JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice into a step-by-step process to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality in a concise easy-to-read and easy-to-follow manner. If you find yourself wishing for the strength to sustain you through the ups and downs of life; if you want to learn how to live life to its fullest without angst, worry, low self-esteem or fear; or if you wish that your relationships with family, friends and co-workers were based on love and service and free of ego, arguments, resentments and feelings of being unloved...this book is for you. Price: $19.99 254 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge |
| | |
 Click to Order | A SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL COMPENDIUM TO THE TORAH AND TALMUD Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us. This companion to The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew brings the Torah alive with daily relevance to the Modern Jew. All of the Torah can be summed up in one word: Chesed. It means kindness. The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to go and study. The rest is commentary. This compendium clarifies the commentary and allows one to study Torah and Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace. A must read for all Jews and deserves a place in every Jewish home. Price: $24.99 494 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge |
Welcome to Rabbi Arthur Segal's Jewish Spiritual Renewal bookstore. We invite you to create an account with us if you like, or shop as a guest. Either way, your shopping cart will be active until you leave the store.
You can purchase each book individually, but if you purchase them together as a set with the Tzadakkah Bundle, I will donate a portion of the sales price in your name to a tzadakkah of your choice, such as your synagogue.
Simply provide the donation information in the "Special Instructions" box during checkout. When doing so, please include the following:
- Name of Organization
- Contact Name and eMail Address
- Organization Mailing Address
- Organization Phone Number
Thank you for visiting.
-
(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal
-
In The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality.
- Price : $19.99
-
(002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud
-
A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us.
- Price : $24.99
-
(003) Tzadakkah Bundle
-
The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud. Purchase both books as a set, and I will donate a portion of the sales price in your name to the tzadakkah of your choice. -- Rabbi Segal
- Price : $44.98
