"A Jewish Take on Easter"

A friend sent me a very interesting article entitled "A Jewish Take on Easter" by Rabbi Rami Shapiro. He writes about the Gospel accounts and analyzes history versus myth.


"The transformative power of faith is not rooted in outward signs and historical facts, but in inner awakenings and literary narratives. Only in our day has the human imagination become so degraded as to reduce truth to fact, and myth to falsehood. Only in our day does story pale before history."

My faith journey has brought me to find greater truth in the stories in the Bible than in the so-called "literal" reading of scripture. Facts are black and white, while story or myth goes deeper and deeper into meaning.

"We all seek meaning in the tomb of the dead. We all seek revelation, wisdom, and knowledge in the past. We are obsessed with the known, the conditioned, the fixed, and the frozen. But life lived in the moment is unknown, unconditioned, unfixed, and fluid. The living is not in the past or in the future, but only in the now. When Jesus calls Mary's name he is calling her out of the tomb of the past and into the garden of the present."

This is very interesting reading, whether you agree with the rabbi or not. Questions are good to live with and strengthen our faith, as I experience it. And he asks questions: "What else would we expect from a Teacher who loved to eat, drink, and walk? What else could we expect from a Teacher who welcomed women to his table? What else could we expect from a Teacher whose commissioned act of remembrance honors body and blood?"


I was surprised that Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an author of at least ten books, plus some e-books. And being the bookaholic that I am, I've already ordered one of his books! The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice.