Rabbi Lipman's Monthly Message
Rabbi Lipman's Message
October, 2002
It happens at least once a month. Someone comes up to me and says, "Rabbi, I'm not religious, but…." Some people may be telling the truth, but for most of us, we are letting ourselves down. What most of us mean when we say, "I'm not religious" is "I don't attend services very much," or “I enjoy shrimp and lobster sauce.” We measure "religious" by "practice." We fall into this mental trap when speaking about Orthodox Jews; we'll frequently refer to them as "religious." They may be religious; they may not be.
Being "religious" doesn't mean coming to services a lot. It means feeling grounded and connected to God. If we can do this at the Grand Canyon, then that is a "religious experience." If we do it mountain climbing, it's a "religious experience." If we can feel it when we gaze at our sleeping children, it's a "religious experience." The necessary ingredient to making these moments "religious" is awareness. We have to let ourselves be aware that what we're doing is making a God-connection in our lives.
Rabbi Meir said that we should say at least 100 blessings a day. He wasn't talking about our formal prayers; he was talking about pausing in our incredibly-busy lives and letting ourselves become aware of the moment-to-moment miracles we call "living."
If we can stop to become aware of what a miracle it is that our bodies work the way they do, That's Being Religious. If we gaze with wonder at the glorious lightning and wind during a monsoon, That's Being Religious. If we can pause to realize what a miracle it is to love and be loved, That's Being Religious. But it's only Being Religious if we really let that feeling of wonder and awe sweep over us.
Try a small experiment. Write down on a piece of paper all of the true miracles that surround you in one day. I'll bet you'll have more than a hundred before you even really get started. If you can say before each of these miracles, "Blessed are You, Adonai, for…." then (miracle of miracles!) you're Being Religious.
Services give us an opportunity to pray together as Jews. There is a special feeling that accompanies group worship. But it's only one small way of being "religious." Praying without thinking about God and our lives isn't religious. Doing traditional ritual acts without that sense of wonder isn't religious. And not being able to see the Divine Spark in others isn't being religious.
Let's give ourselves credit for who/what we really are. The vast majority of us are religious. We may not come to services very often; that's a choice we make in our lives. We may not study Judaism and its texts very much. But the first step to doing those practices more often is to recognize that we are filled with wonder if we let ourselves. We are naturally religious; it's part of being human. How much we acknowledge that part of ourselves is our choice. How much we respond to that part of ourselves is our choice. But the first and most important step in the whole process of being "religious" is to give ourselves the chance. May we all become more aware and more responsive to all of the miracles around us.
Rabbi David E. Lipman
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