Last week I experienced my first truly religious Shabbat meal. I went to the Breslov synagogue in Tsfat full to bursting, and saw and heard the most amazing group act of praying I’ve ever felt. Mostly it was a complete jumble of people saying the same Hebrew words in their own time but ever now and then it fell into unison and was unbelievable. There were also a couple of sessions of a conga-like joining of hands and walking in big snakes all round the room.
I was able to follow along a little (with an English translation thoughtfully given to me) and what struck me was that these people (my people) are praising God, talking about love and thinking good thoughts towards others. It was so non-threatening and I was welcomed even though I was (as you might imagine) dressed completely differently from the crowd (I had what I would call a “settler yamaka” but the rest was strictly Ralph Lauren Chinos (kahki) and a light wind breaker. Most certainly not a black hat and coat and not a hint of fur.
After the service we climbed the hill in near total darkness up the windy alleys of biblical Tsfat back to my friend’s little house where she lives with her husband and 7 kids, the oldest 14 and the youngest almost 2. Good grief, its a hell of a way to live but I know one thing for sure: these people are not a threat to anyone.
The secular proponents of the “all religions are equally bad” line are just plain and simple ignorant and malevolently so. If a scientist thinks he knows something about religion without extensively studying it, he would be just as wrong as a Rabbi who summed up modern astronomy with the phrase Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
If you don’t know me, I’m Brian of London, from the Shire Network News podcast. Our most recent show features an interview with LGF’s Charles Johnson.
