Mezuzah
I’ve been wondering about the Hebrew letter shin on the Mezuzah cover. Could you please fill me in on its significance?
Meditation
I spent years as a devotee of Transcendental Meditation. I was recently challenged by an old friend about why I have traveled so distant from our own religion and why don’t I seek spirituality from the religion of my ancestors, Judaism. My response was that I’ve been Jewish all my life and attended high holiday services, etc., and never found anything spiritual about it. My friend’s rebuttal was that I never checked into it as an adult and have been sidestepping the issue based on my impression as a kid. Perhaps if I’d look into this as an adult with fresh, new eyes I would find deep spirituality in Judaism. That’s the nutshell version of our discussion. Since then, I’ve spoken with a number of somewhat educated Jews, and nobody has pointed me to anything that smacks of meditation or the like within the framework of Judaism. Before I give up, it was suggested to me that I reach out to you to see if you can say anything redeeming in this direction. If not, I rest my case.
Medical Procedures on Shabbat
I’ve been discussing with Jewish colleagues the traditional view of medical emergencies vis-à-vis the Sabbath, and which takes precedence according to traditional sources. I realize it’s not in the purview of this column to do an exhaustive analysis of this topic, but perhaps you could give a rule of thumb.
Why Should I Get Married?
I’m a happy single Jewish guy and don’t, personally, see a reason for getting married. I’ve been in very meaningful relationships, some of them long lasting, and I feel all I would want to get out of life and marriage I get from them. I don’t feel the need to go through all the hassle of raising children. As you can imagine, I’m put on a guilt trip at least once a month by my mother, but I’m not planning to get married out of guilt. Do you have a good reason why I am wrong?
Lunar Calendar
I’ve often wondered why the Jewish calendar is lunar, unlike the secular calendar which is solar. Is it that we have some connection to the moon rather than the sun?