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The

Balanced

Life

5749

(1989)

"The Good Life" -- is an expression that has been used to describe any number of things both genuine and specious.

Today I would like to talk of the balanced life -- the mix of intellect and emotion that is a precondition for constructive and inspired living. This balance is vital because we have seen how lack of intelligence and lack of feeling have contributed to some of the shallowness and the social ills that presently plague us. Those who profess to raise children on love alone must be blind to the results of the countless overly sensitive individuals who cant think straight, or see correctly how to cope with life independently or maturely. And those who insist on treating every situation as if it were solely an engineering problem without thought for the humane element are guilty of building a society akin to that spawned by the Nazi engineers whose efficiency created Auschwitz. Their lack of feeling made them blind and deaf to the brutality and outcry of the inmates. We need both sound thinking and healthy feeling If we are to have a balanced life and the good life.

One of the most integrated and balanced personalities of all times was Moses...a most practical man. He dealt bravely with a most stubborn Pharaoh. His knowledge of nature led the Israelite slaves through the wilderness. His understanding of men’s drives, goals and needs led him to make Torah the code of law for a well governed, self-governed community, the eternal constitution of the Jewish people. Moses was also a man of ideals and faith -- who was sometimes beset by doubt and discouragement. Moses was a man both of thought add feeling. If one examines the story of t the burning bush, he can see how Moses is haunted by Egyptian injustice and Jewish suffering. Even his flight to the silence and isolation of the desert does not give him peace. There he sees the bush burning and he says:_______________.

This is Moses -- curious to understand why the natural law was being overturned. Here, he is like the modern scientist reacting intellectually to the amazement of life. This event, like the apple for Newton, became the basis for a creative contribution to understanding the universe. Moses, being different from Newton, could not resolve this puzzling phenomenon mathematically. There was more to it for him -- a bush burning but not consumed. His answer is far beyond the scientific. "Take thy shoes from off they feet for the place in which you stand is holy. God then continues, "I have seen the affliction of my people In Egypt and I have heard their cries. I know their pain." His words are a reflection of mystery, for the event called forth energies far beyond the intellectual, and Moses responded beyond his mind. He responded also with his feelings about life and humanity. He responded by taking an active role in human betterment.

This idea may be difficult for many because we live in an age of science in which we consider that the normal response is to say "I shall turn aside and see." And our intellectual curiosity has led us to the most creative time in all of history. Science and technology are so far advanced that barring some increasing energy crisis we can dream of space probes and medical advancements as well as of increased creature comforts. DuPont’s "better things for better living through chemistry" has so permeated our thinking that science math and technology are safely entrenched in school curricula, but music, literature and the arts are everywhere in retreat. In Americas struggle to remain a world power even the generals have been replaced by the scientists who will devise means of keeping our superiority over our opponents "scientists." Today, its easy to recognize that our major emphasis is upon man, the intellectual.

But you and I know how our lives have become imbalanced. Our emotional responses are so faint that many cannot experience the wonder and marvel of life. We talk more about love than any generation in history. It is the stuff of trashy music, and cheap novels. It grinds on endlessly in movies and T.V. He dissect love biologically and psychologically. It invades the baseball diamond and the Executive Mansion. More has been written on the subject in our generation than in all the rest of human civilization. Yet, fewer people experience love in our age than ever before. For most people today are trained toward the physical, and few can respond to the mystery of human closeness and tenderness which love really is. Having been taught wrongly, they fail to understand that there is something beyond the biological, something above the physical. Life for man is steeped in hopes, friendship, aspiration, trust and sincerity. Here we enter the realm of art and not of science, of feeling and not only of intellect.

There is a vast difference between the expert knowledge of the botanist and the rapturous joy which each of us can know at the sight of a beautiful garden, or the intoxicating fragrance of lilacs and Lilly of the valley. Too often people read the, musician critics reviews to determine if a great symphony was well played rather than respond personally from deep within themselves to the genius of creation. We have been taught to look at the Masters through the eyes of technocrats. We depend on others to show us where to look for the lines and shadings. And unless a painting is not on the masters list most are too busy and rushed to stop and look for ourselves, much as other shepherds were too busy to contemplate the burning bush when guiding their flocks. Then, as now, the problem remains the same. Will we, can we respond to the mystery -- the spiritual meaning of music, painting, life and love? Plato said, "there is the world of the senses and the world of the spirit-mind. The former, the sensual, is visible but transient and only the latter, the world of the spirit, is permanent even if invisible." Too many say, "seeing is believing" without understanding that the most uplifting and expanding part of life is symbolized by the burning bush -- comprehensible only to the soul and psyche that is balanced with the intellectual.

Most who are wise see no argument between Art and Science, nor Religion and Science. Only as they are joined do we discover transcendent beauty and meaning to life. That is why its good that modern thought has applied rational standards to our religious practices. Yes, religion because of its very age carries much from the past. There is much in the Bible that causes us to raise our eyes and is an affront to our minds. But the Bible is not a book of facts as much as a guide to faith. Some of us are not afraid to learn science or apply reason to our beliefs. As modern Jews we recognize that Religion must not be contrary to reason. Yet, again as modern Jews we must ultimately confront the truth that beyond our understanding and knowledge there is deep mystery. Moses himself had trouble with this truth. He cried out to God, "Let me see Thy face." He, like us, wanted to know God just like any man can know a stone or tree by virtue of his sensory perceptions. But God says: "No one can see my face and live. I shall make all my goodness pass before Thee." Moses learned two things when he-saw the burning bush. He learned that the human mind is limited and further, that thought especially if it is soaring always leads to the mysterious. A person must stand in awe and reverence before that which he calls "Holy."

Some things that each of us-beheld are holy, and before them we remove our shoes so as not to trample or dirty them. This idea of Kedush is the central idea of Judaism. We call Shabbat ______________. Marriage is _____________. God is _____________. And both the Torah and Prophets call upon each of us to distinguish BETWEEN HOLY AND PROFANE IN ALL PART OF LIFE.

True, we are uncomfortable with the word _____________ and the concept even more. Being ancient Kadosh seems bound up with superstition and tabu. We react negatively to Kadosh because of those who abused the idea and used it as a feeble cover-up to fend off honest questions. But beware that in our reaction we do not lose the very greatness of living in the presence of the power to be awed and filled with cosmic wonder. Today, we see that all things are profane -- to be used and abused without any sense of tenderness and reverence. This includes other human beings. Marriage was once spoken of as a holy union. The vows were Holy and the relationship called upon the participants to regard each other as more than animals, more than work horses, brood mares, or dumb bunnies. Marriage partners being human were and are creatures fashioned in the image of God. They stood in respectful reverence of each other, and treated one another with esteem befitting those who helped make their home a small sanctuary. There are many reasons for the breakdown of family life today, but part of it stems from the secularization of family activities, and the absence of sanctity in all the aspects of love and marriage.

This idea of holiness is at the heart of Judaism. Each of us is sacred. We carry the mystery of creation in our bodies and our life is the celebration of that creation. To abuse, exploit, belittle, defame and neglect another human being is not merely being cruel, it is a sin against God. Such unfeeling behavior robs the world of holiness because it besmirches the image of God, and trampoles the holy earth that must be trod in awe and respect all our days.

At Confirmation we shall salute Albert Einstein, certainly one of the great minds of all time. His scientific discoveries changed men’s thinking about the Universe. Einstein wrote: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it can no longer wonder, can no longer marvel. He is as good as dead. His eyes are dimmed." The great scientist calls us to restore the balance between thinking and feeling in our lives today. We need to be receptive to the sense of mystery, of Holiness _______________ in the experience of love, of beauty _________________ and of God.

Holy, Holy, Holy. The whole earth is full of Gods glory. ____________. Behold and experience the beauty of Holiness.