Why do so many people associate faith and religion with negative feelings like fear, anger, judgment, guilt, punishment, shame, prejudice, intolerance, repression and so many other unpleasant reactions? To be perfectly blunt: Relating faith and prayer with demoralizing guilt and misery is simply unhealthy. And has it been successful in helping anyone?
Faith began as the noble search for transcendence filled with the most beautiful of aspirations, dreams and efforts towards living a virtuous, compassionate life, and embracing the finest virtues we are capable of. The earliest people of faith (such as Abraham and Moses) were non-conformist revolutionaries, pioneers, who trail blazed a new path of “charity and justice”: teaching humanity to be the best we can be in living up to our divine calling – Â transforming this material world from a self-absorbed, to a loving existence. How did we get from there to here?…
How do we reclaim faith and religion in its original healthy non distorted, unadulterated form?
As we approach the High Holidays, please join Rabbi Jacobson in this candid talk about how to pray for forgiveness, for blessings, and to experience these special days in a healthy way — in a way that creates growth and affords us the ability to flourish — free of guilt, misery and shame. Discover the magic of these days and how they can help you soar to unprecedented heights.
Thank you VERY much for all you do. I am hoping I will be able to transcend myself, to whatever degree I can, this holiday season. Excuse me but I would like to make one suggestion, if you can stop tapping on the table while you speak, that would be great. If not, perhaps you can put some padding on the table in front of you so it would not be so loud and for me at least , distracting. Thank you again and L’Shana Tova. Richard