“It is only necessary to see beyond the rites to find the reasoning that spirituality allows us: we become happier and better people”
Many consider that religious events are related to the spiritual, with a relationship with God and with ideas that are somewhat abstract or distant, either in time or space. Perhaps others will see religion as antithetical to our daily routine of caring for family, home, work, and earning a living. Is it possible that religious expressions are intimately connected with our “everyday” life and that they precisely help us to live it better, more efficiently and happily?
In these days of Jewish holidays, I would like to share some of the values of this religion and its meaning in daily, practical and “materialistic” life. Here are some examples. which also exist in other religions.
The humility of blessings. Before eating or drinking, it is customary to say a blessing, which, interestingly, relates us to nature (the origin of food) as well as dividing food into categories. The wine, as well as the bread on Saturday (unlike bread on another occasion) has its own blessing, the fruits of trees are one group, just as the products of the land (such as carrots or potatoes) are another. The vital water, ironically, falls into the “everything else” group. That is to say, we not only appreciate and thank for the fortune of having food, but we also remember its natural source. Blessings bring us some humility by reminding us that they do not come from the supermarket, but from the miracle of nature, much bigger than us.
The gratitude of the festivities – Twice a year there are festivities related to the exodus, the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt. We must remember, not only the Jews of today came out of Egypt, but every existing monotheistic religion, because at that time the majority of the Western world was pagan, worshiping various gods and even believing in certain human beings as demigods.
One of these festivals is Pesach, or Easter, which celebrates the exodus with abstinence from bread. In other words, they eat unleavened bread, similar to the wafer at mass. The other is Sukkot, which celebrates the exodus by building and perhaps residing in a hut (usually thatched with palm fronds), reminiscent of the Hebrew residing in the Sinai desert for 40 years before entering the “promised land.” . These two festivities are more than a memory of this event, as transcendental as it may be. In the first we abstain from eating bread and in the second from residing in a house. Both festivities remind us of how fortunate we are today to be able to count on two basic physical elements that, if absent, our lives would be very difficult: bread and a house, which in turn represent food and security. Interestingly, according to Christianity, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew is “Beit Lejem”, the house of bread.
The prayer agenda – The great Rabbi Nachman of Breslev, who died about 200 years ago in the Ukraine, emphasized introspection so that we should “converse with God as if he were our friend.” In other religions this can be considered meditation or reflection, but the goal is the same: this time of solitude allows us to “think out loud”, with the purpose of ordering our thoughts and the course of our lives. As mentioned before, our busy and fast-paced existence today gives us few opportunities to reflect on what we do. Even on vacation we worry about what we do and less “rest”. Thus personal prayer is not only a connection with the Supreme Being, but with ourselves, our actions, desires and future plans.
Thus we understand that these and other “spiritual” expressions contain practical human connotations, within society as well as with ourselves. In them there is a deep relationship between word and deed. When we bless or pray, we actually plan to do something. So one can plan something and then not do it (which reminds us of one or another politician) and still do something without having planned it before, suddenly, perhaps without thinking about the consequences of what we do. Neither of these two cases is recommended, since a little value is shown, perhaps even contempt, for others. The act of planning something and then executing it as planned demonstrates to ourselves, as well as to others, two important qualities of our own: I am careful, considerate (I think about what I do), and can be trusted (I do what I plan). ). These two values, many underestimated and even ignored, are closely related to spirituality, they define us as people and members of a society, as well as how we appreciate ourselves and are appreciated by others.
Spirituality is not just a “metaphysical” or mystical human expression, but a useful tool to better live our daily lives, by focusing on our situation, plans and actions. It is possible to achieve spirituality in many activities: from yoga to the arts and sports. But in all of these, spirituality is not their central purpose, therefore a religious framework is recommended. It is only necessary to see beyond the rites to find the reasoning that spirituality allows us: we become happier and better people.
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