Habits ancient and modern

So we’ve begun to hit final exams, which, in addition to explaining why I haven’t posted in a while, explains why I haven’t been, shall we say, acting out the rituals of my forebears in a while.

This is problematic for a host of reasons. To me, Judaism is, more than a faith in any particular tenet, a habit, a practice of praying three times a day, or once a year, or not eating pork, or upsetting cousins when eating pork, or whatever. It has seemed to me not only that this habitual nature of Judaism makes it accessible to all sorts of Jews, but also that it is particularly healthy to have habits in the first place.

There may be advocates for constant spontaneity. I am not among them. Whether one’s habit is running or writing or reading in the morning, praying or talking to a loved one at night, wearing blue ties on Mondays or no ties on Fridays, I think even what seem to be content-less habits benefit us, center us, restrain our more destructive habits.

How much more so when those habits are not content-less but traditional! I am thankful that I have been enough habituated that on Friday nights I hear the familiar melodies playing in my head, even if my body is in the library, but I know that old habits die, even if hard. And new habits, like posting regularly, are born with difficulty. With the help of God and dedicated parents, even the earliest children thrive.

Perhaps we’ll talk more about that in my (very soon upcoming) post.

By Michael Pomeranz  |  April 30, 2007; 7:23 PM ET  | Category:  Lox et Veritas
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Posted by: msan homltbxrk | July 12, 2007 8:38 PM
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