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The Network of Spiritual Progressives <http://www.democracyinaction A Project of the Tikkun Community <http://www.democracyinaction Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Joyous Kwanze and Eid, Happy New Year! Dear Robert, As we enter Chanukah and Christmas, and approach Eid, its hard not to be struck by the theme of re-emerging hope in the face of overwhelming darkness. Ancient peoples in the northern hemisphere had already made this time of year a moment to celebrate the hope for return of light in the face of darkness. So precisely around the Winter Solstice they made celebrations of light to encourage the sun to return to its fullest strength, and to testify to their faith that it would in fact return. The genius of Western religions was to move beyond this celebration of the seasons and to turn this time into a celebration of hope that the world could be redeemed from its present level of political and economic perversity. Judaism started this trend with its celebration of liberation from Egypt, and then with Chanukah it created a solstice-timed celebration to proclaim that the world would not always be governed by imperial regimes. The victory of a small band of guerrillas fighting the overwhelming military might of Seleucid Hellenistic rule in Judea was taken by the ancient rabbis and turned into a celebration of hope for a different kind of world. They selected the reading from Habakuk as the Haftorah for the Sabbath of Chanukah, with its striking proclamation: Not by power, and not by might, but by My Spirit, says the transformative power of the universe. This same spirit was picked up by the Christians who identified Jesus birth with this same period. What could be a more moving symbol of hope than the birth of a child to a homeless single woman whose abandonment by the community forced her to give birth in a field with animals who seemed to understand her and the hope far better than the people around her. Of course it would be this very child (what the poet in Psalm 118 calls the rock discarded by the builders that has become the cornerstone) that would grow up to be a high embodiment of the God energy of the universe, teaching the centrality of love and caring for others as the essence of Jewish religion, a teaching that then became the foundation or cornerstone for a whole new religion of hope. Islam would follow hundreds of years later with its own celebrations of hope within history. Taking that religious message seriously, not just as a teaching on the weekend but as a guide for how to do healing and transformation of our world, is the mission of Tikkun magazine and the Network of Spiritual Progressives. If you havent done so, you can check out our core vision at www.tikkun.org/core_vision. We are not blind to the struggles that lie ahead--in fact, our mission of hope is precisely needed because we understood full well how much we are up against, with President Bush still hanging on to a destructive attempt to continue the war in Iraq, with ecological destruction continuing and accelerating, with the hatreds and racisms, sexisms, homophobia and xenophobias that grip so much of the world. We are hopeful, but we are not naive. It is a seasoned and sophisticated hope that we offer through our approach to the world. We need your help to be able to do the work weve been doing. We keep the message of hope alive. We have very limited staff because we have very limited funds. We really need a group of 500 people to make a commitment of $1000 a year, 500 to make a commitment of $500 a year, 500 to make a commitment of $250 a year, 1000 people to make a commitment of $180 a year, and 1000 people to make a commitment of $100 a year. But if you are someone who can only afford $75 or $50 or $25 or even $15, we still would appreciate that support. You can give it on line at www.spiritualprogressives.org or www.tikkun.org or by sending us a check made out to Tikkun or to The Network of Spiritual Progressives and mailed to our office, 2342 Shattuck Ave, Suite 1200, Berkeley, California 94704. Warm regards for a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, joyous Kwanze and Eid and Happy New Year. Michael Rabbi Michael Lerner RabbiLerner@tikkun.org P.S. And if you are looking for a great holiday gift, may we suggest either a. a gift of time, as suggested in our last email, or b. a subscription to Tikkun magazine which you can still order in time for the holidays--at www.tikkun.org (or even better, a guest membership in the Network of Spiritual Progressives at www.spiritualprogressives.org; better because they automatically also get Tikkun magazine as part of the membership benefits). An important message! |
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