David of Rishon-Rishon (aka "First Things First") has a post about the reasons for doing good and living a Shanah Tovah that are very appropriate for this coming Day of Atonement. He quote Maimonides, who invites us to be:
"One who serves out of love
Practices Torah and commandments and walks in the ways of wisdom
Not because of..."
Well, you'll want to read it yourself, won't you? I'm sure the Sufi Rabi'a would agree.
But the most compelling example I've found belongs to one of the Kantonisten. They were Russian Jews forcibly removed from their shtetls as children, and forced to serve extended terms as trainees and then as soldiers of the Czar when they turned 18. Cantonists faced severe pressure by all means, including torture, to accept baptism. Years later, one of them returned to a synagogue on Yom Kippur. But he had forgotten almost everything. What could he do, and how shall he pray...? On that Yom Kippur, at the holy moment of Ne'ilah, a congregation received its reckoning of love and fear in the heartfelt words of a true hero.
Hi.
I just want to say that I love all this stuff. I like good news Saturday too.
I usually don't comment on it. That's because I have nothing to say. But that doesn't mean I'm not listening.
Thanks, David. I've often wondered if people found these kinds of posts useful or distracting, but really I do them for myself.
Still, comments like this one and stories like Margie's Graceland are always appreciated. It's nice to know that others are getting the same kinds of benefits from them as I do.