The Curse of Blessings

In Jewish tradition, these are the days of counting. Those of us in the "Diaspora" who live outside the land of Israel usually have two seders for Passover. During the seder on the second night, we begin counting "The Omer", the days between Passover and the second of the Three Biblical Festivals called Shavuot, which means "Weeks" The word "Shavua" in Hebrew means “week.” Seven days times seven weeks totals 49 days. The 50th day is recognized as the day the Israelites, and all those with them, stood at Mount Sinai and "Received" The Torah.  For me, Torah means Instruction and Teaching. I know from my studies, that "all" festivals were probably originally agricultural in nature. At that time, most people were intimately tied to the land. 

The Jewish Sages created Biblical connections to ancient Israelite traditions. Passover and Shavuot may have marked the Barley and Wheat Harvests. Sukkot (Tabernacles or booths), the third Pilgrimage Festival, happened in the fall when fruits and vegetables were harvested. It  was connected to the Israelite's time in the Midbar (Wilderness). They dwelled in a "Sukkah" a booth made of some wood and covered in branches. Today, we eat in “booths” as part of the ritual that recalls Israel's sojourn and eventual preparation to enter the Promised Land.

The Days of Counting unfortunately are virtually unknown to many Jews. Passover and Sukkot are each 8 days long. Shavuot is celebrated for two days outside the Land of Israel. The counting is known to Christians as the Pentecost. Over the years, the idea of "Counting" has grown with me spiritually. We count days all the time. Counting towards a graduation, a birth, something good and also to things that we fear, or are not so good. I've seen a number of challenges on Social Media to do something, or try something for a week, for a month or maybe even longer.

There is a wonderful book by Mitchell Chefitz called "The Curse of Blessings." There are ten tales told, each teaching a unique wisdom. My favorite is The Curse of Blessings. In the title story, an arrogant, uniformed officer of the law encounters a wise man in rags who puts a most unusual curse on him: to find something new to bless each day-or die at sundown. He finds something new to bless every day and eventually his life becomes a blessing to himself and to others. Others are drawn to him and the recognition of blessings changed his attitude and his actions. I try and incorporate this idea into my own life. It really has made a difference, enabled me to be happier and recharges my energy.

Every day, I count my blessings and recognize new ones I never noticed before. As the Psalmist wrote: "Teach us to number our days and help us achieve a heart of Wisdom." As you count your days, count the blessings, because eventually we will all stand at Sinai and commit to values and actions to create a better world.

Count your blessings every day!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

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Where Are We Now?

Humans experience the world like many other living creatures with senses that make them aware of the things around them. We're aware of whether those things are moving or stationary, their size and speed at which they move and whether they are moving towards or away from us. We process much of this sensory input subconsciously and often react instinctively like the other creatures. In another way though, we are very different from all other creatures. We do not only observe things around us and react -- we change those things and the environments in which they exist. This is "human creativity." Other creatures do not flatten mountains, build lakes, manufacture vehicles to transport themselves, or create weapons of mass destruction.

We're able to do the things we do because we were endowed with brains that think and we have a special ability – we think and communicate in symbols. It is through those symbols, that we possess the ability to create images in our minds, communicate them to others and then join together in collectives to turn those mental images into physical realities. Human collectives are important foundational blocks of society. But, over the past few decades, many of the foundational collectives in our society (as well as in many others) have been breaking down. The glue that has held collectives together has been stable long-term relationships between people. Technology has now intruded on past stable relationships and that has changed the very fabric of society, not in a good way!

In the past, relationships were created by face-to-face interactions between people in the places they lived. People interacted at home, work, stores, religious institutions, schools, post offices, markets, libraries, etc. Today many individuals spend their majority of time in cyberspace. Just look around and you will lots of people who are in the same physical space and not interacting with each other -- they're disconnected from those people – but they are connected to their phones, tablets & laptops.

Opportunities for face-to-face interactions with others have declined sharply. Instead of going to stores, they shop online. Instead of going to bookstores and libraries, people are finding information online. Instead of writing letters -- a lost art – they text, message, email, etc. Instead of going to college classrooms and interacting with professors and fellow students – they take courses online. Instead of going to the office, more and more people work from home. Instead of visiting face-to-face with others -- they communicate through social media.

Nearly 60% of Americans now have a Facebook account -- that's over 192,000,000 people. The expansion of social media is driven by one thing, -- the desire to increase profits. Let's get something straight!

People are the "Products" that social media corporations sell.

Today, powerful algorithms (bots) track everything we do when we are online -- down to every move of the cursor. They are constantly feeding the information they are collecting about us and creating and updating our individual profiles. They let us provide the information they sell to advertisers or anyone else that wants to buy it. It is absolutely essential to understand that all of those games and apps being offered are not for your enjoyment -- they are the bait the corporations use to catch the "fish"! The moment you use them, they begin to track you -- even more is that this predatory tactic is tracking our children too and that’s very scary. Who is protecting us? No One is Regulating Them!

This technology has produced billions in profits for the corporations, but its unintended consequences are destroying the RELATIONSHIPS-BASED FOUNDATION of our nation!

● In 1985, Americans had an average of three confidants. Today, 25% of Americans -- 80,000,000 people -- say they have no best friend to confide in.

● Between 12%and 23% -- 38,000,000 to 73,000,000 say they have no one to talk to.

● Middle aged Americans are the "loneliest" group of all in the United States.

● Middle aged males have the highest number of suicides.

● More Americans are experiencing "loneliness".

Talking to fewer people and loneliness are not the same thing. Loneliness is the feeling of being bereft, deprived of intimacy, of hungering for companionship, as opposed to just being alone. 

So, where do we go from here? Stay tuned and find out!

Be Blessed & Empowered by doing TOV.

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

PS – If you found this information useful:

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