Book of Mercy #8-10

[lazariuk]

p.s. I can be a stranger

[mat james]

Jack, you say

That is why for me there is only one name that I can think of that can be called Blessed in the way that Leonard describes.

I don't mean to offend, but I always squirm a bit when Christians or Hindus or Buddhists etc say this sort of thing. It is obviously true for you, but I still squirm.

Jesus was pointing his followers to "The Father".
I think Leonard is refering to the same entity (God) in 1.9.
It is my opinion that Jesus would squirm a bit too when/if he hears people talking that way. I suggest that he would re-direct your attentions and longings to "The Father" the "I am Who Am", God.....the creator.

I say this with utmost respect Jack.

Matj

[lazariuk]

Of course, I am not a man, and I could have it all wrong, and if so, I'm all ears . Oops, I just read Mat's last post. Perhaps we'd better not try to penetrate the mystery too much .

We men like mystery too and you might be robbing it from us by using so many

Just an observation.

[Tchocolatl]

How wise and delicious is your sense of humour Diane! It is a free world, dear, go on, and if you feel like doing something else, well... too bad. Heaven could wait.

Now : Topic number 1) in the 1.9.

(I hope readers are not went crazy trying to make sense of all the mateiral here, at that point.)

Doron, the short story was :

"Spell My Name With an S"

In a desperate move to make something of his life, an obscure physicist named Marshall Zebatinsky follows a hare-brained suggestion of his wife’s and consults a peculiar numerologist. The numerologist suggests he change his last name to "Sebatinsky"—and the change succeeds in ways Zebatinsky/Sebatinsky could never have dreamed.

This delightful little story is the result of Asimov spending most of his life having to correct the inevitable misspellings of his surname. As is common, the twist at the end is entirely unexpected, as it’s revealed that Zebatinsky has been the pawn of a bet of universal proportions. Meanwhile, the "butterfly effect" of the one name change is carefully and plausibly plotted out to its own surprising climax.

http://homepage.mac.com/jhjenkins/Asimo ... ry251.html

and I guess that I could do a research by myself regarding the disembodied entities - while you can go on with your analysis of "Book of Mercy". The so well named according to what is happening with the analysis of it in this thread...

Love Ev!

[JiminyC]

I was quite struck by the immediate relationship that was assumed in regards to loneliness and religion, when my initial response was that this Psalm was cynical; again I see LC as reacting against his idea of a deity rather than embracing it. I appreciate the ideal of being alone in a faithless world, being a man and accounting for oneself and what one must carry, but surely any religion is the bridge to this loneliness and not the shield or defence of it?

[lazariuk]

I think Leonard is refering to the same entity (God) in 1.9.

Leonard has stated:

"There is something nonnegotiable about the absolute, some refusal to name qualities about the absolute that fits in with my most rigorous, or I'd say my deepest, appetites about the matters of which I was taught."

So you tell me if you think he would call God blessed.

But I do feel somewhat as you do and squirm when I hear people praying to Jesus rather than to the Father but I came to a point in my life when I saw no way to the Father except through the one called the Christ. I don't pray to Jesus.

I am well aware that Leonard is Jewish and it seems obvious that not all people are seeing these things as I am. The Jewish people say that it is not possible that Jesus is the Christ for the simple reason that the world is not redeemed. To me that is a mystery that I don't understand and I know that people who are very truthful about their experience have said it. I know that often Leonard has talked about the importance of the Messianic part of the Jewish tradition but I very seldom see that being discussed from a Jewish point of view. I was hoping that DB would.

I have no expertise on these matters and it is all a big mystery to me. I just try to be truthful about what I have experienced.

I also find it so curious that the word repent could be used so many times in the song The Future yet so many seem to feel that the song has nothing to do with repentence.

Jack

[lazariuk]

but surely any religion is the bridge to this loneliness and not the shield or defence of it?

I think that is true and reflected well in Leonard's song

"I never never turned aside," he said,
"I never walked away.
It was you who built the temple,
it was you who covered up my face."

I think nuclear weapons and organized religions are the two most dangerous things on this planet today.

Jack

[Simon]

I was quite struck by the immediate relationship that was assumed in regards to loneliness and religion, when my initial response was that this Psalm was cynical

Yes, I too saw the possible cynicism, but as plan B. I still prefer the idea of a stroll in the desert in search of his God. A.M. Klein wrote that "nothing grows in the desert, except religions". But that's probably just my own priviledge way to the devine that I whish to see reflected in this psalm. Because frankly I don't know if LC is the kind for a retreat in the loneliness of the desert. It's hard actually to imagine that he's ever been much alone in nature in his life. Even Mount Baldy is a very social place. He must be talking about loneliness, in this psalm and through out the book as Diane pointed out, in terms of the seperatedness experienced while being with others. That brings us back to I-Thou / I-It if I am not mistaken.

… your name, which is beyond all consolations that are uttered on this earth.

This verse is based on one of the most famous Jewish prayers, the Kadish, which is part of every daily prayer when recited in public, and is well known also as a prayer for the dead, recited at funerals and in commemoration of dead relatives (some of you may know Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 of the same name, dedicated to the memory of JFK). The prayer itself says nothing of the dead, in fact, and mainly exalts God’s name and glory. The “original” verse – which is in Aramaic, and varies according to translation – is:

May his great name be blessed […] beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are spoken in this world.

I guess that as for many other Jews, for LC too this prayer has the connotation of mourning, especially over parents, and this connotation intensifies the acute feeling of loneliness and being deserted.

Now Doron I have to thank you for this remark, which at first glance is a very simple one. But this clarification hit me like an epiphany of sort. Sometimes things have to be hammered repetedly on ones head to make that crack, thrue which the light can finally make it in. There was no way that:

your name, which is beyond all consolations that are uttered on this earth

could have meant anything to me, but you let me in through the cultural barrier with:

I guess that as for many other Jews, for LC too this prayer has the connotation of mourning, especially over parents, and this connotation intensifies the acute feeling of loneliness and being deserted.

And all of the sudden it throws a totally different color, not only on this psalm, but also on the whole book. Now I am touched in the heart by the charged emotional layer that had always been there but that I was blind to for lack of reference. It makes me feel what he so often calls his predicament. Here was a moment of communion. Now I can receive this psalm in an impressionstic way. It makes me realise how different an experience it must be for you to read this book then what it is for me. I have read it cover to cover a few times since the begining of this thread but something was missing, I couldn't click. But now I am even more curious. It makes me wonder how many other such hidden jewels there might be in his works that I most surely must have missed completely? Simply put thanks again for sticking around this far.


I'll be back with more on A. M. Klein after super .

[JiminyC]

Thank you Jack and Simon. I have only kept one eye on this thread over the last week and have subsequently missed out on a lot, but I am very grateful to both of you for your openness.

Simon, thank you for calling to attention DB's comment, it does open this psalm a great deal and battles that duplexity of religion and life when we are left on this earth without our forbearers to find consolation; an experience I've not endured myself but one which must change the face of this earth for the person involved.

Jack I agree that organised religion has harboured resentments that are in direct opposition to the decree's with which they preach, this has been pertinent throughout the history of religion; and as for editing and doctoring the truth, who can guess at the possible extent of such atrocities against humanity. I just have trouble with the term "organised religion" as I know good people are both a part of the structure and the congregation to most institutions; would it not be wise to join these establishments to ensure the growth of the truth? It is a battle I myself turn from, so I try not to dwell on the negative parts.

[lazariuk]

would it not be wise to join these establishments to ensure the growth of the truth?

Do you mean me personally? I had a hard enough time joining this group discussion. You wouldn't believe the trouble I run into in religion based groups such as churches. I love the idea of community though and try to find my place.

One of the last times I was in a church they were showing a movie clip of Gene Audrey singing "Dancing in the rain" and the preacher said "This is being in the Holy Spirit" and he said that we should be that way in church. "Oh" I said later to an elder " We should be acting like we are full of joy?" He didn't seem to want to talk to me. Churches though have provided a lot of comfort for many who i care about and so i am not about to go dropping bombs on them.

[DBCohen]

Now Doron I have to thank you for this remark, which at first glance is a very simple one. But this clarification hit me like an epiphany of sort. Sometimes things have to be hammered repetedly on ones head to make that crack, thrue which the light can finally make it in.

Thank you, Simon, for these words, but please don’t crack your head: the image is too frightening, and there must be some exceptions to the rule. Thank you also for bringing us back to our discussion of BoM.

And James, I certainly don’t find any cynicism in LC’s words here. I think that in the first verse of I.9 he acknowledges the basic fact of the human condition, which is existential loneliness, and says that the only way out of it is through relations with God (which is also interesting from the point of view of ths discussion, started by Diane, of his relations with women; let's try and find what BoM actually says about this subject too). This is a type of religious idealism that is typical to this book. The narrator certainly strives for it, although not necessarily attains it. He remains human, with all the faults of humanity; he is certainly no saint (and as we know from BL, being a saint can also be quite ambiguous, but that’s another story). And as food for thought, let me quote the following lines (from the version printed in Stranger Music):

You who must leave everything
that you cannot control
It begins with your family
but soon it comes round to your soul
I’ve been where you’re hanging
I think I can see where you’re pinned
When you’re not feeling holy
your loneliness tells you you’ve sinned

[JiminyC]

Jack, I like that story and the example, both colourful and adroit. So long as you are not dropping bombs we are both happy. Reminds me of a Leunig cartoon in this mornings paper, where three bombers are dropping bombs over Iraq the first one says "I'm so bored with killing Iraqi's..." The second "Me too, I wanted to be a hero on the front page but nobody cares." and the third bomber says "You guys should take some ecstasy. It will all seem really beautiful and lovely..." But that is completely beside the point, and no I am not telling you to go and join a church, stay here but write some more poetry you are very good at it.

DB, my first angle was that loneliness is an agnostic position, that is it in a nutshell; it wasn't until Simon bought attention to your comments from the Jewish perspective was I able to appreciate my lack of insight into a more expanded view. I like your quote in your last post, and think it definitely finds a position with relation to this Psalm. Both pieces of writing leave a lot to ruminate over.
Cheers.

[Joe Way]

Blessed are you who has given each man a shield of loneliness so that he can't forget you.

Doron wrote:

This is a type of religious idealism that is typical to this book.

I think that you are right in your assumption that this is idealism, but it is strange. The image of the shield and loneliness are, of course, images of separation not unity which one would think would be the natural desire.

I've been reading the Biblical psalms along with BoM and, although my translation is not good some of the things that have struck me include:

1) emphasis on prayer as the opposite of supplication-needy, whiny and concentrated on how it will benefit the narrator.
2) A startling reversal in Psalm 44 where the Psalmist starts to blame God for not being on *his* side. ("O Lord you have tossed us aside in dishonor, and have not helped us in our battles. You have actually fought against us and defeated us before our foes.").
3) a conviction that the Lord most high is concentrated, held within the inner sanctum of the temple in the "holy of holies"-housed only in the tabernacle.

Obviously, this all changes by the end of the Psalm cycle and also in the process that Leonard leads us through.

We spoke about sin previously and the quote here,

"Only in your name can I stand in the rush of time, only when this loneliness is yours can I lift my sins toward your mercy."

Psychologically, I've always felt that the recognition of sin is a healthy thing as it leads one to an acceptance of personal responsibility. No longer can one claim that it was a tragic upbringing or bad fortune that led to straying from the path of right actions.

With this in mind, the quote concerning " when the loneliness is yours" seems incongruent. I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to understand the significance.

Joe

[lazariuk]

I think that you are right in your assumption that this is idealism, but it is strange. The image of the shield and loneliness are, of course, images of separation not unity which one would think would be the natural desire.

Maybe a shield against the crowd. as in "I can't run no more with that lawless crowd"

The shield to me seems to be protection against being pulled into crowd behavior which is a lot worse than loneliness.

[DBCohen]

Joe,

The original Book of Psalms contains many types of poems, created at different periods and for different purposes and needs. The most conspicuous type is the hymn, praising God’s greatness and glory, but it is not the exclusive type. Other types of hymns include those in praise of Jerusalem and the temple, in praise of the Torah, and even in praise of the king. Then there are the psalms of complaint: the private complaint of the sufferer, and the public complaint of the people; on the other hand, there are psalms of thanksgiving for deliverance, either private or public. There are even psalms that teach wisdom. Probably not all, but many of these types of psalms, find their reflection in BoM.