09/05/2019
Over the years I have written articls for my dental society, Alpha Omega. Here is my latest entitled "Visits to our Secular Temples". It does notflow as well as someof my pieces, but I make some good observations. LMK what you think
Our visits to Secular Temples
For all the advances in personal technology and social media, I think people are actually lonelier than ever. Thousands of thoughts go through our brains daily. Technology enables us to indulge and stay isolated in these internally generated impulses at the expense of other social interactions. We all seem to be more into our own little worlds. The addictive nature of smart phone apps is not healthy as there are pleasures in life that are above the dopamine rushes of a video game.
Human beings are social creatures and when the opportunity arises for connection it must be fostered.
Western civilization advanced as an interaction of the spiritual and moral Judeo-Christian influence emanating from Jerusalem and the body/reason centered influence of Athens and Rome. There is a wonderful interplay between the two that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. While there are those who want to attack our values, the fact remains that these are the exact attributes of the West, that are the reasons for our thriving heterogeneous societies.
There is the saying “To the Greeks, the beautiful was holy and to the Jews, the Holy was beautiful.
But what does the word Holy mean? I was taught to define Holy as being elevated and separated above the everyday. In Judaism, Leviticus 19:2 says “You shall be holy for I your God am holy.” We should be like God, applying an unlimited potential and raise our behavior from the animal like to the God like.
The Dali Lama has said “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” I say that when you win, don’t lose the lessons either. Our sadness at loss should focus our attention to what is important. That we can cry is indicative of being jarred to our core. Moments of victory can lead to cheers and even tears, a guttural gratitude for the accomplishment of having worked so hard at something and experiencing the success. Death is not where we want to be. Elevated achievement be it relationships, work or sport must be our aspirations.
While there is religious holiness, I contend there are moments of secular holiness, an elevation of human behavior and spirit that taps into something of wonderment that is greater than the pure ecstasy of what is happening. And why exactly did the ecstasy occur? Generally, we want something so bad, and when it occurs, we are just so happy (I discussed happiness as a state of energy). Let’s celebrate.
Prior to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the splendor of the sacrifice was a massive self-reflective experience that was to be used as an inspiration and renewal. It was not just the sacrifice, but the process of the social communion itself was important. Coming together for a common purpose can be Holy. On the other hand, they could be evil. Never forget the Nuremberg rallies.
Our secular temples: concert halls, museums, galleries and sports arenas also provide opportunities for elevating the human spirit. What makes sports so special, is the massive witnessing of a spontaneous event or process. When as a collective we want something to happen and it does occur, there is something that elevates the human spirit. We do want to be part of something that is bigger than ourselves. We want to share our joy.
In the past nine years Canadians have had the privilege of experiencing moments of secular perfection. Moments that we will remember for our lives. I’d like to review three moments, and then relay the lessons and how they can give insights as to what may have had occurred in ancient times.
2010- Hockey- The Golden Goal
After a slow first week, the Canadian team at the Vancouver Olympic Games gathered momentum and had garnered a record number of medals. But the highlight of the Games was when Sidney Crosby scored the overtime goal to win the gold medal in hockey. The national pride that resulted from this moment was palpable. There was a sense that on the world stage, we stood up as a nation. Something was revealed in being Canadian. I am not sure what, but something happened. What amazed me was that the demographics showed that 80% of the Canadian nation had watched the game in whole or part. That is 28 million people. We came away from the experience a changed country.
This event made me think of what must have gone on at Mount Sinai. Something of greatness was revealed to the whole nation as to how we defined ourselves.
2015- Baseball- The bat flip game
It was the final game of the Toronto Blue Jays/Texas Rangers playoff series. After a controversial play in the top of the 7th inning, Texas took the lead. Rabbi Harold Kushner has stated that miracles are not the suspension of the laws of nature, but the timing of their occurrence. What happened in the bottom of the inning bordered on the miraculous. While Jose Bautista’s homerun was the culmination of the inning, the opportunity for it to occur was set up by the fact that the Rangers had 3 infield errors on consecutive at bats! I had never seen it before.
2019- Basketball- The Raptors win the NBA Championship
Witnessing of the process of the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA championship was to me a Holy secular Temple experience. The emotional rollercoaster over two months, the steps taken in each series to the culmination in actually winning the title was a fantastic and elevating experience. (By the way, the steps up to the Temple in Jerusalem were not even so that it forced people to make the ascent slowly.)
The players and coaches were the Cohanim, the support staff the Levites, and the fans were Israel.
To witness the drive, focus, sense of purpose, intense pressure, self control, teamwork, individual sacrifice, and the positive encouragement of the whole country in experiencing the climb to victory was unforgettable.
Isn’t it great to actually have something positive to share with our fellow Canadians regardless of politics, ethnicity or socio-economics polarity? The social communion was as important as the basketball games themselves.
Now the challenge is that after this “holy” experience, how do we go back to the activities of everyday life? Dennis Prager has commented, that “once you have been touched by depth, you can never be the same.” Use the success of the Raptors as inspiration to raise our own personal standards in all areas of our life and look to elevate expectations. Now that they have won, don’t settle for low grade pleasure. Look for the experience of adrenaline and endorphins, not of dopamine.
While it may not be as exciting, imagine what the synagogue experience would be like for all of us, if we were able to apply the intense focus of the Raptors experience this year to the self-reflective exercise of prayer and study.
As Jews, we are to remember when we were taken out of Egypt, of the house of slaves. It was a life changing event. As Canadians, remember this championship. It was elevated and separated from the every day. And it was fun.
David Burstein June 2019
