from a bloggers pen...

i am amazed by the ability of the Jewish culture to survive. thousands of years of persecution. i love the holism. the idea that EVERYTHING we own, every part of our body, every act that we do worships God. saying a prayer upon entering your own home, over every meal, sex w/ our spouse on the Sabbath is celebrated and expected. that's incredible to me. that studying is not something to be done quietly in a library by yourself, but in a loud room full of students discussing and arguing and learning from one another. the intense sense of community and belonging. i am especially moved, as many of u know, by the Chabad Lubavitch movement which is based out of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. their purpose is to reach out to all Jews around the world and not necessarily bring them to an orthodox lifestyle, but at least to a more observant one. did u know the world's largest Passover Seder is held in Nepal? isn't that wild? young Lubavitch couples move all over the world and start Chabad Houses on college campuses, the back streets of Bangkok, the wilderness of Alaska, and yes, even in Omaha, Ne. these people open their own homes 24 hrs a day to people in the community and seek to provide for the needs of the community, perhaps where the present Jewish organizations need help or are lacking in action. yeshiva boys go out on the streets on friday afternoons to ask men if they are Jewish and would they life to put on tefillin and pray. teenage girls pass out Shabbat candles to women and teach them how to light them and say the appropriate blessing. all in the purpose of bringing the Messiah and bringing people to awareness of their own Jewish souls. the thing that gets me the most about this particular movement is their love for ALL Jews regardless. their love is truly unconditional. they're outreach is to ALL Jews, business men, traveling students, celebrities, the poor, wherever they are needed. that is incredible.