Question:
With the new year upon us, I wonder: What is the Jewish view of time? Some cultures see time as a cycle - what was will be again in an endless pattern. Others see time as a line, starting at the beginning and marching ever onwards. Which view of time does Judaism adopt?
Answer:
Neither, and both. In Judaism, time is neither cyclic nor linear. It is a blend of the two. Time is a spiral.
On the surface, Jewish time seems to have a cyclic pattern. Every year, we celebrate the same festivals in the same way. We blow the same shofar every Rosh HaShanah, and we recite the same prayers. There is a sense of having come full circle. Having traveled through the rhythms of time during the year gone by, we seem to be back where we started.
But we are not. We do not arrive at Rosh HaShanah as the same people we were a year ago. Every year teaches us new lessons and exposes us to new realities. We can't help being transformed by the dramas and disappointments, tests and triumphs that each of us face in any given year. We have grown older, hopefully wiser, and advanced ourselves and our world further along the path of destiny.
We are spiraling upwards. As we reach a new year, we are at the same side of the spiral as we were last new year, but this time, a level higher. The world as a whole, and the world in miniature that is every one one of us, have been furthered in their long trek upwards toward their holy goal.
And what if you're no higher than you were last year? If you come to Rosh HaShanah with nothing to show for the year that went by; if you haven't developed your character and deepened your sensitivity to others; if you haven't matured in your perspective or broadened your understanding of life; if the year passed by without impacting on your inner self - then you've got some catching up to do. It's time to wake up and come alive. Your soul is waiting to start spiraling upwards.
I know just what you need to get you started. You need to hear the blowing of a ram's horn. It has the power to break down the walls of inertia surrounding the soul, and kick start your climb up the spiral.
You need to hear the shofar. We all do.
With the new year upon us, I wonder: What is the Jewish view of time? Some cultures see time as a cycle - what was will be again in an endless pattern. Others see time as a line, starting at the beginning and marching ever onwards. Which view of time does Judaism adopt?
Answer:
Neither, and both. In Judaism, time is neither cyclic nor linear. It is a blend of the two. Time is a spiral.
On the surface, Jewish time seems to have a cyclic pattern. Every year, we celebrate the same festivals in the same way. We blow the same shofar every Rosh HaShanah, and we recite the same prayers. There is a sense of having come full circle. Having traveled through the rhythms of time during the year gone by, we seem to be back where we started.
But we are not. We do not arrive at Rosh HaShanah as the same people we were a year ago. Every year teaches us new lessons and exposes us to new realities. We can't help being transformed by the dramas and disappointments, tests and triumphs that each of us face in any given year. We have grown older, hopefully wiser, and advanced ourselves and our world further along the path of destiny.
We are spiraling upwards. As we reach a new year, we are at the same side of the spiral as we were last new year, but this time, a level higher. The world as a whole, and the world in miniature that is every one one of us, have been furthered in their long trek upwards toward their holy goal.
And what if you're no higher than you were last year? If you come to Rosh HaShanah with nothing to show for the year that went by; if you haven't developed your character and deepened your sensitivity to others; if you haven't matured in your perspective or broadened your understanding of life; if the year passed by without impacting on your inner self - then you've got some catching up to do. It's time to wake up and come alive. Your soul is waiting to start spiraling upwards.
I know just what you need to get you started. You need to hear the blowing of a ram's horn. It has the power to break down the walls of inertia surrounding the soul, and kick start your climb up the spiral.
You need to hear the shofar. We all do.