#474 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday October 5)
Good morning,
Today marks the Day of Atonement for Jews. Its lessons, however, are universal. We are flawed. We try to do better. We forgive others. Others forgive us. Hopefully we improve. And we plod forward.
THERE’S SAYING IT…AND THERE’S MEANING IT
As part of the observance of Yom Kippur, we are instructed to fast. Fasting is not an uncommon ritual in religion. We actually have it pretty easy—during the Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk! Often fasting, like many rituals, is perceived as an obligation—something to be performed out of commandment, rather than stepping up to the opportunity being presented. To simply miss a few meals in order to satisfy one’s obligations is performative. To genuinely reflect and try to improve each year is a step in the right direction. But to accept the ritual as both a call for personal performance and as an invitation to action is something else entirely.
The Bible makes clear that there is something more to this fasting—there has to be genuine remorse, a commitment to do better and following up on the promise to do better by taking action. It is only through action that meaning is given to the ritual.
One of the more powerful verses in the Bible is this admonition to the people in Isaiah 58:3-7, when the emptiness of the people’s fast is shown to wanting:
“Why, when we fasted, did You not see? When we starved our bodies, did You pay no heed? Because on your fast day you see to your business and oppress all your laborers!
Because you fast in strife and contention, and you strike with a wicked fist!...
Is such the fast I desire, a day for men to starve their bodies? Is it bowing the head like a bulrush and lying in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call that a fast…?
No, this is the fast I desire: To unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of the yoke to let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke.
It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to ignore your own kin."
THE PERFORMANCE ART OF THE DAY
Just as the words and ritual of the Day of Atonement are empty without action, so is it also true in other spheres. Today we live in a world where one must signal one’s virtues clearly, repeatedly, and publicly. Yet much of that signaling is not followed with meaningful action.
Many public meetings and nonprofit meetings begin with a “land acknowledgement.” What this is, for those who haven’t participated, is a statement that goes something like this:
“Before we begin, we acknowledge that this meeting is being held on sacred land of the [fil in the blank] tribe, which were the sacred stewards of this land for centuries.”
Then business goes on. I doubt that a single person at most of these meetings ever acts upon this collective acknowledgement of the Native American plight. The acknowledgement (whether you agree with it or not) is merely an opportunity to “check off a box.” It’s a way of starting by saying, “Hey, look at us. We care!”
There are countless other examples of people being encouraged to publicly acknowledge the racism of an institution, governing body or community. Countless petitions are circulated. Countless people bask in the self-satisfaction of having participated in these public displays of empathy. Whether any empathy follows these displays is questionable.
Were Isaiah around these days, I’m not sure whether he’d be very appreciative of our society’s current preoccupation with calling out the ills of the past and the inequities of the present, without an acknowledgement of the lessons of the past and a call for action in the present. We all have a personal responsibility to improve the world. That means actually doing something. Time to dig deep and make a significant financial commitment to a nonprofit organization, to volunteer to serve Thanksgiving meals at a homeless shelter, bring food to a food pantry, mentor a young person, or engage in whatever act of kindness resonates most.
AN EASY FAST
For all those observing the ritual starving of their body today, may their fast be easy and meaningful. But for everyone, regardless of their beliefs, and when/how/if they fast, I hope we’ll all be less performative and more directed in our empathy for our fellow man in the coming year.
All the best,
Glenn
PS: And apologies for those who object to the use of “fellow man” but it sounds better than “fellow human” or “fellow men and women” or “fellow persons.”
From the archives: