Mindful Torah...and more

This evening we begin the observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Many Jews who never step foot in a synagogue during the rest of the year will do so this evening and/or tomorrow, even though they are unsure why. Perhaps it is guilt. Perhaps tradition. For everyone the reason is different. But I would would expect that for many, it is not because of the meaning of the liturgy. For so many the patriarchal, hierarchical God imagery found in the liturgy can be off-putting. The idea that we are like sheep being led before a God that sits on a throne in judgment deciding whether or not we shall be “written in the Book of Life” holds little or no meaning. This is unfortunate. I suppose if one views the liturgy in a more literal sense, it can indeed seem anachronistic and downright silly. But the texts were always meant as metaphor or allegory. Whatever one's view of God might be, I don't think anyone ever believed in the image of the old man on t...