I don’t know if you can say Happy Yom Kippur for maybe you’re really happy after it’s over? This is highest of the high holidays in the Jewish Calendar and trust me there are many other dates to compete with. For on this day the book is sealed and any chance for redemption/forgiveness is closed. Therefore we in the faith will fast (no food or drink) for 24/25 hours (depending on your tradition ) pray and pray again and…. your get the point.  It is a somber holiday which leads me to say may it be thy will G-D that me and my fellow tribesman have an easy fast, be forgiven for their sins, pass that forgiveness on to all your children from every other tribe as well as walk of life  and may we be happy after the holiday is done.

FOOTNOTE– By the way G-D would it really hurt if a little Manna and water somehow fell in our stomachs during said period…. I’m just saying.

You might be running against time but remember G-D has the real clock. Productivity might appear to be moving quickly until G-D decides you need a cliff to slow you down and look the other way. It could be a computer screen that suddenly goes blank, a storm that isn’t expected,  the employee that never really showed up, spilled Milk that went your way or G-D forbid a sickness that suddenly took prime stage for you to realize who the real time keeper is.   All our plans our mute if we don’t recognize who is holding our time score. I thank G-D for the moments that I’ve been given to move forward and pray no cliff appears in your or my future in the days, hours, minutes or even seconds ahead.

The Torah/Bible writes a great deal more about the tribulations which will occur if one “leaves the faith” then if one stays in the fold because let’s face it many who have it “too good” look to evil instead.  They get “bored” with what they have and desire some other “stimulation” which is down a path they know they shouldn’t travel.  G-D knows that when many have it “too good” that it can be a curse as history continues to prove  so G-D puts out the curses in bright red so everyone is truly warned.

They say that opposites attract maybe that’s why the Sabbath and me go perfectly together. For let’s say I created the word ADD and I’m hyper on caffeine where sitting is hardly an option (mostly figuratively) except on Shabbos. For during the week I’m running as if my last day has already arrived and on Shabbos in a sense it has. This is the time I give myself to slow down the engine so it can crank it up in 24 hours or so again.  My mind and body go in the opposite direction they do during the other 144 hours of the week and if it didn’t I don’t know if I’d be running again. A time of reflection and calmness that are so foreign to the rest of the week come alive during Shabbos.  Opposites do attract at least in this lifestyle.

The Hasidic Jewish Brother, Christian Sister and Sunni Islamic Child are all right and maybe a bit wrong. For they are all on different paths to the same goal of being closer to the one G-D. Their paths might have different obstacles and potholes along the way but as long as it’s focused on the basic truths they will all end up together in some  way. G-D had a stringent play book when the book was being written and played out but I believe G-D has allowed other pages to be added or modified after it was written.  That is until the time the when the one truth will be revealed and the playbook will be set for all of us to read together.

I will never tell those individuals who observe the traditional two day observance of holidays such as Shavuot that they are incorrect I just believe that two or three paths are also correct. Whether my 1 ish day of observance puts me on a path that is a bit more bumpy only G-D knows (literally) I just believe that if they observe 1 day sorta in Israel  for this holiday then that’s fine with me. For G-D knows what I can do in the 2nd day and since my days here on earth are short shouldn’t I keep the clock running instead of putting it on stop watch mode? Furthermore by taking a 2nd day off  I would be making it more difficult for loved one’s and liked one’s so I’m sure G-D will put that in my equation.  My traditional brothers  and sisters are correct because they are doing what they believe G-D wants of them and I’m correct as well because I believe the same plus add the human element just in case I need  the extra credit.

You are more religious then I if you believe that somehow these creatures were haphazardly put together without some intelligent and funny design. If you believe  there is no G-D in their equations then I believe you’re in a creative writing class then one based on science and logic. Just looking at these bizarre creatures has to make you think twice and realize that not only G-D exists but has a bit of a sense of humor as well.

There is a role for the formal,spontaneous and even incorrect. The formal means that you are taking the time and effort to try and pray to G-D in a way that separates you from the mundane and contribute to a community.  The spontaneous on the other hand is acknowledging G-D’s presence  in the ordinary and the most serious moments in one’s life.  Yet what occurs to those who make a mistake during a prayer, for example by asking for G-D’s help for someone who is sick but put in the wrong name and/or time? These individuals have their prayers listened to as well because of the effort to connect to the divine and G-D knows what’s past the brain and what is in one’s heart and soul.  The point is all prayers count even as some might be more direct then others as long as they are done for the right motivation and with a modest heartfelt voice.

There is something about water that unites all of faith.  Whether it be Christianity, Judaism or Islam water truly cleanses the soul. Rituals from the first days to the last involve some form of H20 with these faiths and more. G-D’s simple formula means so much to so many people. We could say it is because this liquid is plentiful and needed for one’s survival but in today’s times as everything else appears to change I’m sure another liquid could have been substituted.  Yet maybe the truth lies in  water simple purity in a world where dirt is only a step away. Water leaves us feeling that we can start a new and continue to go grow strong even as we wave the dirt of the past away.