tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003330.post8684972381007303945..comments2024-03-20T06:29:27.167-04:00Comments on The Rabbi with a Blog (Rabbi Jason Miller): Forced RitualRabbi Jason Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07805550465729805847noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003330.post-83918693812786802922008-06-16T09:30:00.000-04:002008-06-16T09:30:00.000-04:00Thanks for the shoutout! But I dont think the pink...Thanks for the shoutout! But I dont think the pinkie raise during the hagbah is "forced" -- just peer-pressure driven.<BR/><BR/>The challenge is: When is forced ritual too forced? Sometimes, much of Jewish ritual is forced -- that's why it's ritual. Even saying kaddish, while in mourning, takes exceptional stamina and concentration, and as Leon Wieseltier pointed out in Kaddish, there are many days when you just go through the motions. So the forced ritual is there to push us to do what we otherwise would not do. I agree the Octopus is great, and the jumbotron exhortations not so much, but in Judaism, the repetition of the same thing, day after day, week after week, is essential. We can't just "do it" when we feel like it. -- NoamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com