Graham's Number

So TIL two things. First of all, that TIL is short for "Today I learned". So I learned that. And I learned that there are some numbers that are so big that they are given names. There's a Googolplex, as seen in the illustration. Wiki says that "in 1920, Edward Kasner's nine-year-old nephew, Milton Sirotta, coined the term googol, which is 10 to the 100th, and then proposed the further term googolplex to be 'one, followed by writing zeroes until you get tired.'" My kind of maths!

Of course then they found even bigger numbers, as one will if you keep counting between now and infinity. There was Moser's Number. There was Skewes's Number. And then today on Only Connect someone mentioned Graham's Number, which is even bigger. Can't really get my head around that. So rather than learning what Graham's Number actually is, I have learned that there isn't enough space in the observable universe to actually write it down. I feel better about not having a big enough brain.

This also reminds me that when there is a concept that is too big to cope with 24/7, sometimes by naming it, by defining it on that level, we can keep it near us without being too overwhelmed. Then, when we feel able to look behind the name, we can have a go at relating to it on a more personal level. It could be numbers. It could be God, also.

Do You Believe in God?

I've been in a bit of a fog for the past few weeks. No need to discuss why - I'm sure each of us has had much to deal with in our own situations as this time of Covid continues its journey into the unknown. We all seek support and comfort in our own way. One of my go-to responses is reading what my peers are posting on social media. Earlier this week I saw this tweet from my colleague Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg:

Clearly my title and profession suggest that I am likely to be one of those who believe in God (although that question was never asked at any point in the interview process for rabbinical school. Nor was it part of any required course that I took over 5 years of classes. It did come up in one elective class - homiletics - and 40% of the students did not return for the rest of the course, having been challenged on what God was for them). 

I am also aware that many of my friends consider religious beliefs to be at the core of so many problems in the world today. 

TheRaDR captures it in a nutshell - the traditional Western perspective of an "Angry Sky Daddy". Succinctly put. I might add also some kind of Superhero that one expects to swoop down in his cape and save the day when things get out of hand. It is a religious icon that's embedded in our secular culture, and we rarely think about it or question it. We either accept it or reject it.

For me, those are perspectives of a child. We may be the Children of Israel (or possibly the Teenagers of Israel by now), but we need to grow up. One of the big decisions facing us as the fog lifts is:  what are WE going to DO NOW? It is clear in so many ways what has gone wrong, and  if we want post-pandemic life to be any better than the path that led us to this moment, the responsibility is on us to make some changes.

So I will come right out and say it. If God does not exist, then the onus is on us, only on us, for who or what else is there? And if God does exist, and placed us in this world to care for it and each other, then the responsibility is just as clear:  the problems that we have are the consequences of our actions, and we have to fix things. This is the freedom that we received at Pesach, and continue to hold so dear.

My job has never been about persuading anyone regarding the existence of a Deity. I am trying to learn about how relationships work, how to develop strong and healthy ones, and sharing what I've learned with others so that we can DO something positive in our lives. Do you believe in God? None of my business. All I care about is that you find the support and strength, in whichever way works for you, so you can join in the work of tikkun olam. 

Shabbat shalom!

 

Love Your Neighbour As Yourself

“The late Rabbi Albert Friedlander impressed upon me the importance of the biblical commandment “Love your neighbour as yourself.” I had always concentrated on the first part of that injunction, but Albert taught me that if you cannot love yourself, you cannot love other people either. He had grown up in Nazi Germany and as a child was bewildered and distressed by the vicious anti-Semitic propaganda that assailed him on all sides. One night, when he was almost eight years old, he deliberately lay awake and made a list of all his good qualities. He told himself firmly that he was not what the Nazi’s said; that he had talents and special gifts of heart and mind, which he enumerated to himself one by one. Finally he vowed that if he survived, he would use those qualities to build a better world. This was an extraordinary insight for a child in such circumstances. Albert was one of the kindest people I have ever met; he was almost pathologically gentle, and must have brought help and counsel to thousands. But he always said that he could have done no good at all unless he had learned, at that terrible moment of history to love himself.”

From “12 Steps to a Compassionate Life” by Karen Armstrong

julie burchill to study theology

julie burchill is going for a degree in theology? cue goggling eyes bouncing out of sockets on springs. in my early teens, she was the coolest woman alive, writing for the nme about music, mostly punk i think. she's 3 or 4 years older than i am, and was always rather outspoken. that last statement by me might be said to be a massive understatement. under the title of 'queen of spleen: the acid tongue of julie burchill', the independent has a few quotes from her here. my favourite is:

"On those who read her columns: 'Readers are invited to come and spit at me. I will, of course, welcome the attention'."

of course i have nothing against studying theology. several members of my family have done this. it is just surprising that an iconoclast such as she is/was would take the time to do it. none of the articles i have read so far go into much detail with regard to explaining her motivation. the best i can find is in the grauniad, where she describes her conversion to xianity:

" 'One moment I was sitting there on my Bloomsbury sofa, flicking through Time Out, idly wondering whose life to ruin next, and the next moment it was as if a mighty hand had broken - painlessly, patiently, purposefully - a huge jar of ointment over my head' "

if you are interested in reading a more recent interview, this article may do it for you.

i guess one does get burned out being an iconoclast. most of the articles today quote burchill as saying that after 30 years it is time for a rest. she also has a gouty foot. so this may be a really good choice for her. i shall, however, miss her angry prose.