Studies in Spirituality (Covenant & Conversation Book 9)

thrust upon

The Talmud (Nidda 70b) says it simply. It asks: What should you do to become rich? It answers: Work hard and behave honestly. But, says the Talmud, many have tried this and did not become rich. Back comes the answer: You must pray to God from whom all wealth comes. In which case, asks the Talmud, why work hard? Because, answers the

that God is waiting for us to act.

We do what we say we are going to do. If

No religion has ever held God higher, but none has ever felt Him closer. That is what Moses sought and achieved in chapter 33, in his most daring conversation with God.

The silence that counts in Judaism is thus a listening silence – and listening is the supreme religious art. Listening means making space for others to speak and be heard.

When we place the self at the centre of our universe, we eventually turn everyone and everything into a means to our ends. That diminishes them, which diminishes us. Humility means living by the light of that which is greater than me. When God is at the centre of our lives, we open ourselves up to the glory of creation and the beauty of other peopl

These are where the kehilla lives most powerfully: on Shabbat when we lay aside our private devices and desires and come together as a community; and the synagogue, where community has its home.

The righteous do not sit still. They do not have a quiet life.