I have travelled DEEPLY in the world, and the most uniquely different OF THEM ALL...
Are Chassidim
But the truth is they're just like us.
I shared my most recent video with a few people of my acquaintance (I’ll respost it at the bottom).1
A friend of mine, a fellow whose mind and spirit I admire, responded.
He is no longer an active chassid. He doesn't accept their precepts or live their way of life.
A testament to his immense success at acclimating to the modern world is that he responded to my religious tone and jargon with exceptionally clear English and Logic.
We are all unique, in countless beautiful ways, but we are not so unique that we can't speak and relate to people of any country, language, or religion.
I’m sharing our exchange today for two reasons:
Humankind has never known greater communicational distance than the internet. I swear I wish we are all sitting together on the floor of some sacred ruin we planned to rebuild, sitting and talking face to face, with the ability to come to a common understanding then and there and to immediately set out to go do something, with one heart. Let’s make thid happen. But until then I can't know your mind or heart very well, so if my friend’s response aligns with yours, then my response is for you as well. Feel free to ask in the comments (or if you aren't a paying subscriber, you can write me) about the meaning of anything I expressed in our joint language.
It would be good if we all understood each other better. That's hard to do on a personal level lest your empathy end up being used against you by an individual you interact with on a regular basis. But from the safety of another country, social circle, language, and even deeper things like religion, there are few dangers in understanding those of distant cultures better. So even though this missive of mine was written for, and in the language of, a friend from the most genuinely exotic people on Planet Earth (in terms of how they live, think, do and feel) I think that you will understand my sentiments exactly. I don't expect you to understand it all immediately so please do feel free to ask in the comments about anything that isn't clear to you. Thank you.
