Monday, July 21, 2008

God, gender, and next Sunday's sermon illustration

Check out this AWESOME interview with Rabbi Mark Sameth.

"Who is He? He is She: The Secret Four-Letter Name of God" will appear in the summer issue of the CCAR Journal, published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, an association of Reform rabbis.

Sameth's theory is not as outlandish as it might seem to the uninitiated. For one thing, Jewish mystical traditions have long found levels of meaning in the Hebrew Bible beyond those that come from a literal or metaphorical reading. For another, there is a deep tradition in Jewish prayer and thinking, particularly among the so-called mystics, of seeking to reconcile the male and female elements in the universe.

Sameth's article includes this: "What the mystics called 'the secret of one' is the inner unification of the sometimes competing, sometimes complementing masculine and feminine energies that reside within each of us, regardless whether we are male or female."


And, they really have nothing to do with each other, but you might also want to check out this video from some fed-up pastor's wives from Florida. Cant decide if it's funny or, well, not. You decide.

3 comments:

Jules said...

I think it's plenty funny!

Jennifer Garrison Brownell said...

hey cheese, if you think it's funny then I"m making it so :)

Unknown said...

Well, I'm laughing.