Job - a Biblical hero and great story

One of the Biblical stories  that have always impressed me is that of Job. Lots and lots has been written about Job but if I put it into the proverbial nutshell this is what I get:

1. The guy isn't even Jewish! 
2. God is a cynic - betting on the faithfulness of his believers with Satan no less.
3. God is unfaithful - he sold out his most faithful follower.
4. Job is not about patience but more about enduring the incomprehension of God's ways.
5. Job shuts God up for eternity - in the Old Testament it is the last time we hear God speak (in the Christian versions Job appears earlier).

I still find it interesting, even fascinating that Job was not Jewish and yet he was included in the Old Testament as one of the books of Wisdom. There is much to wonder about here but it is a testimony to the power of the story.

Job mocked by his wife

Another interesting aspect is Job's wife. His first wife. She has no name in the story and she is the only character that we do not know what happens to. All of his first children are killed, all of his animals are stolen or killed, all of his houses are burned and/or pillaged. But she takes care of him apparently, chides him about his "issues" and then just disappears from the story. Not a very feminist writing style, apparently she did not merit mention, or some say it was the author's way of avenging her chiding of Job. Georges de la Tour, a renowned French painter from the 17th century put this part of the story into oil and medium - even if it was mistaken for another painting with another title for only a few hundred years... (oops!). Actually I found the picture (painted in the 1630s) so I can show you rather than tell you about it/her...

Interesting to note that Job is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments as well as in the Coran. And while the Coran does not mention Job that often, I found it interesting that during the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s it was often written on walls around Beirut "sabrak ya Ayoub" - meaning something like "Be patient Job".

For those who have not read the book, basically the form is a bit post modern alternating poetry and prose in the three parts. Three different friends come and give Job "advice" as he suffers many different maladies until God comes to address Job directly. The ensuing "dialogs" are fascinating as  basically it seems like Job has the moral upper hand and God resorts to the "because I said so" of many parents and then disappears for eternity with the equivalent of a "humph!"

I am now reading a fascinating "biography" of Job, Job's unknown author/s and the story of Job throughout history. It is called "Vies de Job" (Lives of Job) and is written by the very erudite Pierre Assouline.

The book is fascinating on a lot of levels but one of the most incredible is that on page 84 he made a comment which made me think of a book written by my grandfather, Yossel Rakover speaks to God. A Job-like story which is incredibly powerful in a short format. Imagine my surprise when 5 pages later he goes on to tell the story of Yossel and my grandfather Zvi Kolitz over 10 pages!

In this book, I also learned how many people identify with Job! It turns out that he is the poster boy of the rich as he was both the richest in the land and the most righteous, so this proves that the two can go together. Also, many (tortured?) artists and authors completely identified themselves with Job. Voltaire, that strange (and contestable) literary figure, for example, mentions Job or identifies himself with Job nearly 1800 (!) times in his letters and correspondences. Can you say "obsession"?

And as an added bonus, Pierre Assouline mentions in his book Francis of Assisi, another personality from posterity I am particularly interested in, even if it would probably have been Brother Leo (his faithful sidekick) who was more Job-like, but side-kicks never do get the merit they deserve across the ages. Mutatis mutandi and all that jazz.

A new book on my radar: I was blind but now I see

Every once in a while a book comes into my peripheral vision that speaks to me. The most recent example is James Altucher, who I discovered via elephantjournal.com (an interesting website in itself). He wrote a book called I Was Blind but Now I See which speaks to many things I often think about. Books like Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent on how our thinking is shaped by the media, or Jiddu Krishnamurti's entire life work on the importance of understanding the effects of education, media, parents, culture and religion in shaping who we are, how we think and act, what we strive to do and be, how we define success, happiness and failure - strike a similar chord.

Although I have not gone far enough into my own personal inquiry on all of these elements I am increasingly aware of the fact that I need to be increasingly aware of this. That most of who and how I am is not conscious or even of my own doing.

James Altucher seems to be addressing these issues in his book. I have ordered it today. When I take the leap and read it I will report back.

If you take a look at the book or have read it, let me know what you think/thought.

Waiting to exhale - spiritual maturity

A quote from an e-mail I received today from Andrew Cohen of EnlightenNext on Spiritual Maturity:

Spiritual maturity is not a matter of how long you have lived or even how much life experience you have. The important question is: how much does any of us actually learn from our life experience? Those people who are more spiritually developed are people who have been deeply paying attention, who are sensitive and awake enough to truly learn, and grow, and significantly evolve as a result of the life experience that they have.

This has got me thinking about a theme I have often thought about - what am I waiting for to start to apply all that I have learned, seen, heard and read about spirituality??? When will I finally assimilate even just a smidgen of all that I "know"? Those who don't know have an excuse, but what about all of us who have taken the time to inform ourselves about being, acting, thinking, reacting differently and in a more spiritually-evolved manner? No excuse. None.

So, when do I start?

What about now?!

Yeah right...

God grant me the serenity - wonderful food for thought

No need for comment, I just wish that I kept this in mind more often (now printing this out to put on my office wall). This is what I wish for us all at least up to the word peace - thereafter it is to each his/her own according to his/her own beliefs...

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

~ Reinhold Niebuhr