Are Laws Meant to Control or Protect Us? A Journey of Ritual and Spirit
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Meaningful Life. Today, we delve into a fascinating and deeply personal topic: Are laws created to protect us or control us? We’ll explore the tension between individual conformity and true individuality, asking: Can religious ritual truly be compatible with a free spirit?
This question is close to my heart, having been raised in a deeply religious home, steeped in tradition. Yet, I was also fortunate to grow up in an environment that embraced open inquiry, a seeming paradox that shaped my understanding of faith and spirituality.
You see, there’s a significant disconnect in how many experience religion and spirituality. While statistics show most people identify as spiritual, a far smaller percentage affiliate with organized religion. Why? Because religion often evokes feelings of constraint, judgment, and even fear, while spirituality conjures images of freedom, soulfulness, and transcendence.
This dichotomy is understandable. History is replete with examples of religious abuse, of dogma stifling free thought and expression. This begs the question: are religious laws, rituals, and mitzvot (commandments) merely arbitrary rules meant to control us?
Let me share a story. Years ago, after my book, “Toward a Meaningful Life,” was published, I found myself in Santa Cruz, California – a world away from my New York City upbringing. Speaking at a New Age bookstore, I felt a palpable spiritual energy in the room.
During the Q&A, a woman shared her story. Having grown up in a strict religious home in Brooklyn, she described feeling suffocated, her questions silenced. At 17, she left, finding solace in the counterculture movement and Eastern spirituality. “Where,” she asked, “did you find this warmth and spirituality in Judaism? It’s not the Judaism I knew.”
Her question, echoing the yearnings of many, struck a chord. I responded, “They only told you half the story about Judaism.”
Let me explain. Imagine presenting a beautiful piano to someone deaf. They see only a confusing array of keys. Pressing them produces discordant noise. Why bother mastering such a complex instrument?
Similarly, many are taught only the mechanics of religious practice – the “dos” and “don’ts” – without experiencing the soul, the music, that breathes life into these rituals.
I shared an analogy about a nightingale blessed with a beautiful voice but vulnerable to predators. God offers the nightingale a beak, then claws, for protection. The nightingale rejects each, finding them cumbersome. Finally, God offers wings.
“Wings?” asks the bewildered bird. “These will only weigh me down!”
“No,” God assures, “when you learn to use them, they will allow you to soar.”
Similarly, religious laws and rituals are not burdens but wings. They are not about blind conformity, but tools for individual flight and transcendence. Like musical notes, they provide a framework for expressing infinite melodies – each one our own unique song.
The Hebrew word for law, “halacha,” also means “journey” or “movement.” It’s not about static adherence but dynamic engagement, a path of personal growth and spiritual unfolding.
The word “mitzvah,” often translated as “commandment,” also means “connection.” These practices are not dictates but opportunities for connection – to something greater than ourselves, to our heritage, and to our own deepest selves.
That night in Santa Cruz, as tears flowed freely, I witnessed a profound shift. It wasn’t about convincing anyone of a particular belief system but revealing the potential for beauty, meaning, and liberation within a tradition often perceived as restrictive.
So, how do we bridge this gap?
- Seek understanding: Explore the why behind the rituals. Uncover the spiritual wisdom embedded within.
- Embrace the journey: See religious practice not as rigid conformity but as a dynamic path of growth and self-discovery.
- Find your song: Infuse the tradition with your unique personality, your passions, your questions. Sing your song, dance your dance.
When we approach faith with open hearts and curious minds, we discover that laws, rather than controlling us, can become pathways to freedom, and rituals, far from being empty gestures, can transform into wings of the soul. This, my friends, is the essence of a meaningful life.
This has been Simon Jacobson from the Meaningful Life Center. For more on this and other topics, visit us at meaningfullife.com. And to further explore the interplay of ritual and spirituality, watch our video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tArCme7pk0w. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Be well.
