Letter to Glenn Beck

I have posted this letter to Glenn. For those of you who watch his show you will understand these themes. For those of you who do not listen or watch Glenn, you may want to give it a try. I'll let you know if i get a response.

Dear Mr. Beck,
I have been watching your show for the past year or so and I, like you, seek to find out truths. I have followed the conclusions you have reached during your intensive search for truth and it amazes me that those conclusions are tenets of Judaism present for hundreds of years. I do not mean secularized, watered down Judaism but the strict, orthodox variety. As we have recently passed our holiday season, the messages transmitted through our traditions resonate with the themes you discuss on your show.

Collective vs. Individual Salvation
Rosh Hashanah is our new year but more importantly it is our day of judgment where we are all judged as individuals. Yom Kippur is our day to try to atone for those transgressions we may have committed in the past year. We pray for our individual salvation. Although we try to minimize the exposure of our wrongdoings by praying for repentance as a group ultimately we are judged and evaluated as individuals. The climax of the synagogue service on those days is a prayer called Unsaneh Tokef. That prayer states: Like a shepherd inspecting his flock making sheep pass under his staff deciding their fate we pass as individuals before the almighty as he determines our fate for the next year. It is a very powerful prayer and I have included a link in English. http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshhashannah/unetanehtext.htm

Firm Reliance on Divine Providence
A week after the seriousness of those days we continue into the festive holiday of Sukkot. One of the primary requirements is for each family to build a Sukkah. This is a temporary hut built out of fragile components and we are commanded to spend a week in the Sukkah. People leave their sturdy houses and eat, learn, some sleep, and enjoy family and friends company. This structure is a physical representation of our belief that ultimately it is the almighty that protects and sustains us. We leave the “safety” of our homes and live in a flimsy hut which is only protected by the grace of the almighty. The sukkah represents our firm reliance on divine providence. If you have never seen a Sukkah just google it and click on images. I think you would be very moved if you spent time in a Sukkah.

Loss of Connections
Every week orthodox Jews are commanded to observe the Shabbos. We must turn off all cell phones, televisions, computers and nintendos. We cannot travel in a car or bus and thus we are stuck in our houses and within our local community. This forces us to join with our family and friends and connect with each other without all the distractions of modern life. The children all play with each other and build relationships while the adults connect both within the family and between families. Shabbos is truly a wonder of creation in terms of a day of rest, a day of spiritual growth, and a day of maintaining our connections.

I am not a Rabbi. I am a 46 year old physician who was dragged into this lifestyle by my wife. I struggle with faith but I recognize and cherish the wisdom and value of our traditions transmitted over generations. The tenets are eerily similar to those you have discovered in your search. I do not know where your quest will end but it wouldn’t surprise me if one day you will be building your own Sukkah.