http://disqus.com/by/mascety/enWed, 22 Jul 2009 03:21:37 -0000http://www.protekzia.com/rabbi-akiva.html#comment-13100276<p>Hello Simon. The article here above is very well written, and I did enjoy it very very much. My observation, which is probably something of an objection too, is that you misuse the concept (or word) "spiritual." Or better, had I written something of this kind, I would have certainly aimed, first and foremost, to emphasize the fact that the spiritual is inexistent - that the human experience is all there is. H' and the awe / fear / love for him, are expressed, or so it appears a great many times in Pirkei Avot, through and only through the human expression of awe / fear / love of one's neighbor. Meaning: Schinah envelops the study of two talmidei chachamim non as some kind of superimposed spiritual essence that comes from the Heavens, but Schinah is revealed IN THE CHAVRUTA, within the disagreements of constructive dialogue and of "brotherly dissimilitudes" (to quote John Milton). In this way, going back to your article, I think we may even want to take a step further - Rabbi Akiva's principle subsumes the entire Biblical codification because without the capacity to acknowledge the Divine in the dialogue with our neighbor, one simply misses the point. As the Psalmist versifies, H' is close to those who call Him - He is close to those who truly call Him. The "Kriah" is a call with which we address the Other, Gd - but without the call there is no other, there is no answer. So we must make the first move - we must call and hear the answer IN THE CALL. To love one's neighbor is paramount to loving oneself only when we understand that that love expresses the very essence of the Divine message - ben adam le-chavero is ben adam la-Makom. Is this very heretical or is it digestible from a modern orthodox perspective?</p>mascetyWed, 22 Jul 2009 03:21:37 -0000