Always More To Learn...

I am not techno-savvy. But I do like my blog, my Wikipedia and my PBS.

On PBS in the last week alone, I have watched documentaries on the Dalai Lama, on Christian & Jewish relations, and the ancient Buddhist caves of Tibet and Nepal. I love to catch Relgions & Ethics News Weekly, Monday nights! And it seems that the BBC news focuses much more on culture and religion than stateside stations.

Tonight, I learned about the Jewish equivalent to the Nicene Creed, the Yigdal. And of course I had to wiki-search this. In my lack of sophistication, I have little understanding of the real significance of the Yigdal. But I have researched the translation and will print it up for further pondering.

The Yigdal

Exalted be the Living God and praised, He exists - unbounded by time is His existence;
.יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים חַי וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח
:נִמְצָא וְאֵין עֵת אֶל מְצִיאוּתוֹ

He is One - and there is no unity like His Oneness - Inscrutable and infinite is His Oneness;
.אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִחוּדוֹ
:נֶעְלָם וְגַם אֵין סוֹף לְאַחְדּוּתוֹ

He has no semblance of a body nor is He corporeal - nor has His holiness any comparison;
.אֵין לוֹ דְּמוּת הַגּוּף וְאֵינוֹ גוּף
:לֹא נַעֲרוֹךְ אֵלָיו קְדֻשָּתוֹ

He preceded every being that was created - the First, and nothing precedes His precedence;
.קַדְמוֹן לְכָל דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר נִבְרָא
רִאשׁוֹן :וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית לְרֵאשִׁיתוֹ

Behold! He is Master of the universe to every creature - He demonstrates His greatness and His sovereignty;
.הִנּוֹ אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם לְכָל(וְכָל) נוֹצָר
:יוֹרֶה גְּדֻלָּתוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ

He granted His flow of prophecy - to His treasured, splendid people; .שֶׁפַע נְבוּאָתוֹ נְתָנוֹ
:אֶל אַנְשֵׁי סְגֻלָּתוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ

In Israel, none like Moses arose again - a prophet who perceived His vision clearly;
.לֹא קָם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמשֶׁה עוֹד
:נָבִיא וּמַבִּיט אֶת תְּמוּנָתוֹ

God gave His people a Torah of truth - by means of His prophet, the most trusted of His household;
.תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת נָתַן לְעַמּוֹ אֵל
:עַל יַד נְבִיאוֹ נֶאֱמַן בֵּיתוֹ

God will never amend nor exchange His law - for any other one, for all eternity;
.לֹא יַחֲלִיף הָאֵל וְלֹא יָמִיר דָּתוֹ
:לְעוֹלָמִים לְזוּלָתוֹ

He scrutinizes and knows our hiddenmost secrets - He perceives a matter's outcome at its inception;
.צוֹפֶה וְיוֹדֵעַ סְתָרֵינוּ
:מַבִּיט לְסוֹף דָּבָר בְּקַדְמָתוֹ

He recompenses man with kindness according to his deed - He places evil on the wicked according to his wickedness;
.גּוֹמֵל לְאִישׁ חֶסֶד כְּמִפְעָלוֹ
:יִתֵּן לְרָשָׁע רָע כְּרִשְׁעָתוֹ

By the End of Days He will send our Messiah - to redeem those longing for His final salvation;
.יִשְׁלַח לְקֵץ יָמִין מְשִׁיחֵנוּ
:לִפְדּוֹת מְחַכֵּי קֵץ יְשׁוּעָתוֹ

God will revive the dead in His abundant kindness - Blessed forever is His praised Name.
.מֵתִים יְחַיֶּה אֵל בְּרֹב חַסְדּוֹ
:בָּרוּךְ עֲדֵי עַד שֵׁם תְּהִלָּתוֹ

Tonight also, an Episcopal bishop featured on a PBS show used a great phrase that I will think about. He wished for all humans to have "Holy Envy". Hmmm.... We arent supposed to be envious or jealous of others. And the CCC teaches that we should even be careful not to envy someone else's spiritual gifts or charisms. So if Jane is fantastic at conveying God's love to children, I can admire her gift. I can even wish I had that gift and be inspired to work on it as God's will permits. But I can stop at the point of wanting that gift so much I am less of a person, or feeling anger or resentment toward Jane.

Holy envy is kind of like the healthy envy we feel for someone's charism. But more specifically, holy envy, according to aforementioned bishop, is an acknowledgement of that which is holy in another person. Seeing that this person is a creature of God and loving them because of it.

In Eastern religion, we would say "Namaste!" and bow to the place in life where the entire universe dwells. "I see the Light in you."

It is nice when these concepts cross religious barriers.