Okay. Welcome, come on in.
If you're Jewish I can introduce you to a fresh way to experience Judaism. Really the old way, the very old way. Or if you're not Jewish, and don't have a satisfying faith, one that really works for you, I can introduce you to a fresh way of experiencing what you might be looking for - no drugs, no agenda.
As a start some people can't reconcile the idea of religion with the mechanics of nature and what we know today about how the world really works. If that's not your problem, skip ahead.
If that resonates, here's a quick glimpse at the linkage between science and religion, a linking of left and right hemispheres. Enjoy.
String Theorists believe the underlying make-up of all matter and sub-atomic particles are tiny vibrating strings of energy. String Theorists surprised the world by claiming there were ten dimensions, maybe eleven. For centuries everyone believed there were only three; length, width and height. Beginning of last century, Einstein demonstrated there was a fourth dimension adding space/time as a companion to our familiar three dimensions of length, area and volume. Most of us, me included, still don't fully understand this mysterious fourth dimension, and now there are six or seven more?
It's hard enough being a scientist in four dimensions. The rules of science require science deal only with things that can be measured and tracked by our physical senses, whether by telescopes searching the stars or microscopes looking for quarks. Physical measurability is the iron rule - and shackle - of science. Three dimensions are tough enough. Four has challenges. But the next six haven't even been named yet!
Fortunately, religion has been dealing in all ten dimensions for over two thousand years. The dimension discussion is where religion and science can meet. Religion deals with the entirety of human experience, not just those experiences measurable by our physical senses. I think there are answers to what the next six or seven dimensions might be. Let's look at the familiar three dimensions.
Length, or line is the first dimension. A line is the simplest of dimensions. All the points between two points. The distance between your front steps and the sidewalk, say. You can think of a line as containing an infinite number of points.
Width, or area is the second dimension. Area is made up of both length and width. Think of your lawn. You can think of area as containing an infinite number of lines all stacked across.
Height or volume is the third dimension, which together with length and width make volume. Think of your living room. You can think of volume as containing an infinite number of areas all stacked up.
Time, or duration is the fourth dimension. Think of your house yesterday, today and tomorrow morning. Time is made up of an infinite number of volumes. This fourth dimension we now call Space/Time, ever since Einstein. Most of us have difficulty understanding this fourth dimension, Time. We are often confused by the idea of Time as a dimension since it has no clearly understandable physical boundaries, as do Length, Breadth and Height. But even those who are comfortable they understand the concepts of time and event horizons usually see Time as the final dimension. But String Theorists think there are a total of Ten or Eleven Dimensions, with the Eleventh a Master Dimension containing all others.
Let's do a brief introduction to the other six or seven dimensions:
Expansion, or Infinite acceleration The fifth dimension comes after the fourth dimension of space/time. Infinite expansion. Infinity means, "no end." Not just "very big, or very long", but no end to time, no end to space, no end to acceleration, no end to expansion. No ruler or spectroscope or nuclear microscope can show our eyes where "no end" is. No end is No end. Once we can really imagine that there are no limits or bounds to infinite space, and our underestimate of the nature of the 'big bang', we can conceive of other unusual ideas, such as infinite expansion and infinite acceleration.
This dimension suggests gravity may just be the result of infinitely accelerating expansion. Everything may still be expanding at an accelerating rate. Not just at the edges. All the atoms and the spaces between them. The big bang is still going strong. Always has been. You may not need a grand unified theory to explain gravity; maybe it’s not an attraction, maybe it’s the “push” of infinite expansion. Like the g force when you hit the accelerator in your Ferrari.
The concept of infinity. It’s something Religion has been talking about for millennia. Faith asks us, challenges us to wake up and step into eternity, to imagine the reality of Infinity. We can think of Infinity as Time and Space with No End. No end to motion, no end to space, no end to time. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am". And as we sing in the Gloria, "World without end." Amen?
Mind-stretcher, this 5th dimension of Expansion Infinity. But there's more. What's after "No end"? Well, it's not after, because dimensions intersect. All the dimensions, all ten, all are present and operating at the same time. Right now. We just don't see them very clearly. Although we do see and feel their impact on us and the world around us.
Opposition, or inertia The next, the Sixth dimension is Opposition. We know, scientifically, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Newton described this as inertial resistance. Yes, but this resistance, or opposition extends to all forces, all energy, thoughts and motives as well. Every thought and intention has an equal and opposite counterpart. In religion, opposition is called The Opposer, Abbadon, the Devil, or Satan. He, or it, is always with us. In the scientific arena, the impact of the Opposition dimension is visible in Black Holes and maybe White Holes, in the existence of anti-matter and anti-particles. You can think of Opposition as trying to limit or define Infinity. You can also think of Opposition as infinite inertial resistance. Resistance with no end. Not a bad description of Satan.
Equity, or Justification, The Seventh dimension is Equity, or Justification. Equity is the natural balance point of action and reaction. Science understands that Nature seeks a balance of opposing forces. The breakdown of complex into simple. Gases try to level out and fill all available space equally, for example. Scientists call this entropy. You can think of Equity as a balanced result of an infinite number of actions and opposing reactions. In the human arena we call Equity, Justice. Humans are capable of equity or justice in human interactions, but our animal nature opposes it. We instinctively want to maximize our own pleasure, our own safety and our personal control, no matter what. This maximizing of our personal safety, our personal pleasure and personal control is often called sin. One of the great roles of religion is to teach us to overcome certain instinctive original animal drives by a new action of human intention, a will to overcome these drives and practice equity or justification.
In religious teaching practicing Equity is also called Righteousness. You know, the Justification setting where the page margins are equal, the words are balanced left and right? That's also the principle of Equity. Balance. Equity is a movement to balance opposition. At a human level, we sense when injustice is being done, and we resent it – particularly when we are the sufferers of the injustice or distortion. Our moral sense wants "Justification, Equity, Fairness." We sense when things are wrong and want matters corrected. When the energy of the field in which we live is distorted by inequity there is tension straining to be unwound and released.
Sacrifice, or Surrender The eighth dimension is Sacrifice, or Surrender. Once having achieved the Equity dimension, we are poised to reach the eighth, to surrender to, to accept the willing death of self. We can think of self-sacrifice, the surrender of self, as infinite Equity. We value others as much as or more than ourselves. Jesus demonstrated this for us all. For us, it’s a slow process of killing our egos and placing others ahead of ourselves, creating the desire to serve. The road to diminishing our sense of a separated self is arduous and narrow. The ego does not want to die. It must practice and learn to give itself up willingly. The Old Testament taught us to sacrifice our possessions. It also taught us that life is in the blood and sacrifice of blood was critical. Abraham's binding of Isaac foreshadowed the sacrificial death Jesus would willingly accept in the New Testament. This was preparation and training for us. The Gospel teaches us to surrender ourselves, sacrifice ourselves in happily willing service to others.
Love, or Caritas The Ninth dimension is Love, Caritas, a dimension or state not achievable by anything in nature except human beings. Humans have received the capacity to make conscious decisions about whether to practice Caritas or not practice Caritas. Perhaps Caritas is infinite surrender. Paul defines Caritas for us in First Corinthians. Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastful, never conceited, never rude; love is never selfish, never quick to take offense. Love keeps no score of wrongs, takes no pleasure in the sins of others, but delights in the truth. There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, its endurance.
Nature, as well as humans, demonstrates and enacts the first eight dimensions, even Sacrifice. But Love is the first dimension that can only be reached by human beings. Nothing else in nature is capable of expressing and experiencing this unnatural, conscious and empathetic identity with all God's creations. Dogs, dolphins, horses and elephants may be intelligent, intuitive and even instinctively sacrifice themselves for another. But they cannot willingly decide to love. Caritas is what makes humans human. Here is an important point about dimensions; you cannot advance to a higher dimension without manifesting the prior dimension. You cannot have area without lines, you cannot have volume without area, and we cannot fully Love until we reach a state of Sacrifice and surrender. You cannot Love without being willing to put yourself last. You can think of Love as infinite Sacrifice.
The New Testament teachings on Caritas represents a clarification of the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets were given to Mankind to prepare us for the Gospels. We were not ready for the Gospel teachings on Love until we understood the meaning and practice of Sacrifice and Forgiveness. Pagan, feral mankind had little sense of equity, and regarded sacrifice as a bribe to a higher power. The Gospels teach sacrifice is a willing acknowledgment and acceptance of the gift of sacrifice given for us. But persuading us evolving humans to adopt the values of the Sermon on the mount is a little like teaching sharing or self-denial to a two-year old.
However, in God's time, the importance and meaning of the dimensions of Equity and Sacrifice have been revealed. Only after absorbing the dimension of Sacrifice is mankind – and Man – ready for the higher dimension of Caritas, Love. As you cannot proceed from one dimension to a higher dimension without fulfilling the earlier dimension, so we cannot proceed directly from Opposition to Love. First we must learn and practice Equity and Sacrifice.
The first 900 pages of the Christian Bible are the Jewish Law, Prophets, and Writings. Only then can come the explanatory 300 pages of Gospel and Letters. The Old Testament focus teaches us about Opposition, Equity and the principles of Sacrifice and forgiveness, release. It hints at human Caritas in showing the mercy and compassion of God. The New Testament opens us fully to experience Caritas, Love in Jesus. Line must go before area; Sacrifice must precede Love.
Peace, or Shalom The Tenth dimension, the dimension beyond Caritas is Shalom, Harmony, Peace. The mystics call this Unity and Union with God. This Tenth dimension is also called the Kingdom of Heaven. We can think of Peace as Caritas without end, Infinite Love.
You can laugh at this rough definition of the dimensions, but it does help me think about the multi-dimensionality of both nature and religious experience. Parables are practical examples of isomorphism, analogy, which teaches by example. We notice similarities of relationship between huge planetary systems and tiny atoms. Parables teach us that as it is in one matter or system, so it is in another matter or system. Parable has no regard for the size of the system. Only the relationship of elements within the system. The tiny and the huge are the same. So, when we do even small things like preserving the life of an annoying insect in the room, or picking up someone else's trash, or even aligning the window blinds, we are "in a small way" attuning ourselves to be instruments of balance, or Equity. As the song says, "Little things mean a lot." Even the little acts we do affect the cosmos. Almost as if somehow more than particles might be entangled.
That's Ten. The Eleventh? Mathematicians believe the Eleventh dimension, the M dimension, is a Master dimension which contains the other ten. This is a reasonable way to meditate on the infinitely loving Creator.
So, here are the ten dimensions:
Length
Breadth
Volume
Time
Infinity
Opposition
Equity
Sacrifice
Love
Peace
?
The Eleventh is outside of and contains the Ten. God contains all and is. This is worth exploring.
IF you are Jewish and not as happy as you would like to be...
Psalm 36: With you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
The Books of Torah, Prophets and Writings give us a new light by which to read as well as hints and glimpses of the purpose of Existence.
Tanakh is concerned with opening our minds to wisdom rather than just knowledge. Many of us have lost the idea that scriptures were written to communicate the meaning of this great mystery to individuals, us, rather than just reporting events, rules and genealogies.
We have forgotten that God is with us. No more will you be forsaken but My delight, No more a land called Desolate, but a Land who is married Away with pagan objectifying God, seeing God as outside us. God is here, inside us, through us above and below us. And God will rejoice
We know the Bible is more than a history book. While the events are true, they are recorded in a way designed to engage both our conscious thought and our deeper, subconscious minds. The magi and rabbis of the Old Testament taught we need to study scripture as if it were a five layer cake.
The top layer, the one with frosting, is a literal recording of the actual event. What happened. What happened physically, recorded such that that observers would agree that’s what occurred. We call this the Literal level. The Old Testament scholars say, “Woe to the man who only reads Torah at the Literal level.”
The second layer is Exegesis or the Moral level. What is the contemporary meaning, the modern lesson in this story - sort of like the morals Aesop’s fables were written to illustrate. Like, “Slow and steady wins the race.” Most sermons are written at this level.
Then there’s a third layer, Allegory, an understanding of the connection to other events or lessons in scripture or the life of the church. The Bible gives “Hints and Glimpses” by saying one thing, meaning it, but quietly prompting us to stretch our thinking to also see another meaning. An example of allegory is seeing Noah’s ark as both a literal vessel and also seeing it as illuminating the role of the church in salvation of souls. Another allegory is Jonah in the belly of the great fish for three days points to Jesus’ three days in the tomb before the Resurrection.
The fourth layer of our scripture cake is a Mystical level. At the mystical level we look for hints and glimpses that help forecast or interpret future events or eternal truths. Prophecy, Psalms, The Book of Splendor and Kabbalah speak to these mysteries. This sounds pretty woo-woo, but there’s an even deeper layer.
This deepest layer is a Mystery level. Mystery goes even beyond the mystical level. The Mystery level contains meanings completely unknowable to human conscious mind. The Old Rabbis called it the “Yod” level, pure and unknowable, the mystery our mind’s light can never penetrate at the conscious level. However, at an unconscious level our divine souls are fed by this mystery and are nourished by this level in a way we cannot understand. Some also believe reciting the scriptural prayers and Psalms accesses this level, even if you don’t understand the Hebrew.
The New Testament is a very Jewish book written by, for and about Jews which also contains multi-level readings. The presumption of the Gospels is that the Messiah came exclusively for the Jewish people. The role of the Jewish people has always been to be a “Light to the nations,” educating and being living examples to the gentile nations of what G-d requires of his people to elevate us to the next stage in humanity’s evolution. It can help to think of the New Testament as a reintroduction of Torah and Prophets to the Jewish community. We needed it.
After the high point of King David and his son Solomon’s reigns, things went downhill for Israel. The Roman occupation was a low point. John’s Gospel, the last of the Gospels was written after the lowest event of all - the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus’ army.
The second chapter of John's Gospel opens with an account of a wedding...
First the Literal level. Mary, Jesus and the disciples are among the guests at a wedding at the synagogue in Cana, a small town in Galilee not far from Nazareth. Synagogues then were God-oriented community centers. Not just for Jews, but for God-loving gentiles. The wedding party is in full swing and the guests are jovial, but the wine runs out. Wedding parties back in first century days went on for seven days, so this was social disaster. Mary points this out to Jesus, indicating she expected him to do something about it. Jesus tells her it’s not yet his time. Instead of arguing with her son, she turns to the empty-handed caterers and says, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now; six big jugs used for the ritual Mikveh purification baths are standing there. Jesus, responsive to his mother Mary’s initiative tells them to fill the jugs with water. So they fill them up to the brim. All in, probably over 120 gallons. Jesus tells them to take a sample to the chief steward, who tastes it. The head steward in amazement declares it even better wine than the first wine served, usually the best wine available. The wedding reception was saved, with the guests now even happier than with the first wine.
A moral sermon would speak to how important it is to turn to Jesus in all situations. Things will turn out better through Jesus help than they would if the problem had not happened at all. And this is very likely true. But, let’s go deeper.
At the allegorical level John’s Gospel is picking up at the end of the Old Testament as the Jewish people are enslaved and occupied by the expanding Roman Empire. The people are without immediate hope, faith has cooled for many. Most are waiting impatiently for the Messiah, a promised Savior who will rescue them from this desperate situation. Mary, perhaps speaking for the enslaved Jewish people as a whole says, “They have run out of wine.”
Jesus turns to Mary and reminds her the time and situation is not yet ripe. “What is this to you and me? My hour has not yet come.” Mary, feeling the desperate need of the situation takes the initiative. She turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you to.” Warning the faithful servants that something new and unplanned for is coming. They are unprepared for the unusual directions they are about to be given, but Mary assures them to “act on faith. Forget the old temple instructions, they have run dry. Listen to the new instructions.”
Now the allegory. Surprisingly, the new is not totally new. Jesus uses the old to both illustrate and connect with the new. Jesus points to the old ritual jugs, the jugs whose waters cleanse the bather from sin, and tells them to fill them to the brim. Jesus is signaling that the Old is about to be transformed, supercharged. Same mission, same vessels, New instructions. Jesus is pointing to a new baptismal cleansing by new powerful waters refilling the Old Testament ritual vessels And it begins with ritual repentance from sin. This time, really mean it! Not just go through the motions of ritual obedience, but a repentance of the heart.
Jesus is directing us to prepare for a new way of living, a new purpose. This new way of life is written in Torah, lived by Abraham and Moses and explicit in the Prophets. The disciples had difficulty understanding it at first.
I can understand this because I grew up Jewish. I was a more or less typical Jewish child except my family owned a dairy farm in a town in eastern Massachusetts. Early September meant not just the start of school, but the coming of the High Holy Days and the Jewish New Year. During these High Holidays I would get to skip a week of school. I was supposed to contemplate my sins. I really tried to follow the Law of Moses to the letter. The traditional way of life. It’s not easy to avoid sin as a Jew. I certainly believed if I didn’t do things right, bad things would happen to me and my family. If I did everything right, bad things might not happen.
My faith was centered on avoiding catastrophically bad consequences, on following many, many religious daily behavior rules, like never eating meat and drinking milk in the same meal, no bacon ever, keeping Kosher. Six hundred and thirteen rules in scripture; many more added by tradition. You had to think about what you eat or drink all the time, so I was constantly edgy and stressed. Like the Jewish people of biblical times, I needed a Savior, a king or ruler who would make everything right, who would change all this or at least explain it. But I had no immediate hope. Things are what they are. I’m stuck here on the farm. Following rules, hoping I don’t screw up too badly.
When Jesus begins teaching, it’s a new message. Jesus taught change. Dramatic change. Not at all what was expected. Fill the jugs with water? Isn’t that what we’ve been doing? But Jesus’ teaching was mysterious, very untraditional. Even Jesus’ disciples had trouble understanding him. Jesus message was not what was expected. People expected change, but Jesus didn’t just change things. Jesus transformed old familiar things into something completely unexpected and new.
Speaking allegorically, it was sort of as if the old teaching was only water and we didn’t know it was intended to be wine. We thought that was it! But this was just the beginning. Obedience to God because He says so! So while the Old Testament water was necessary and useful I never expected there could be more. Jesus helped us see the Old Testament water in some mysterious way becomes transformed it into New Testament wine. Inexplicable! Except it happens in the presence of Jesus at the word of Jesus.
You have to ask yourself whether many modern Christians may have somehow forgotten the transformation power of Jesus teaching. Maybe some have become lukewarm or cold. Maybe begun to see Christianity the way Old Testament Jews see the Law. A a set of rules. Do missions, community work. Pledge contributions, do charity, do rituals.
Jesus teaching was complete inversion. Seek the lower place. Not the higher. Be everyone’s servant, not their Lord. Serve willingly, support. Lose yourself, do not exalt your identity. See the sameness of all people. Stop focusing on your identity as differentiation. Learn from your identity, then look for commonality with others.
I am a Jew. Being a Jew I understand the emptiness of action without real faith. By real faith I don’t mean believing in the fact of God. Even Satan knows God really is. By faith I mean believing the reality of God’s teaching. God taught us through the Law in the Old Testament. God taught us by the examples of the patriarchs, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, David. We kept the rituals and forgot the Why.
Why didn’t all the Jews alive at the time of the New Testament believe? As Jesus answered Mary, “My hour has not yet come.” Now it has.
For me, I believe Jesus. Give it a try. It’ll make you a better Jew.