Boundaries and Borders in our Lives

As we come to the end of the Torah reading cycle in our Jewish calendar, one is continually aware of how the experiences of the generations that are the subject of the Torah narrative bleed into the hopes and aspirations of the generations to come, all the way to our own times. Land is divided, laws and prescribed practices defined, and so much else is delineated in terms of the reality of our existence as Moshe delivers his final review lessons that emanate from God’s instruction and are to last as the legacy of the Jewish nation. At this juncture, there is an acute awareness of the notion that time will go on, generations will come and go, and our understanding of boundaries and whatever comfort that definition may bring will surely and sorely be tested and questioned. The Jewish journey will continue to examine and analyze those boundaries on so many levels as Jewish Law and the many hands that take on insuring its practice continue to distill their meaning. And so it is with other communities of faith as well in joining the lessons and legacy of the past to the experiences and challenges of the present and future.

I am presently reading a book by Michael Abraham entitled God Plays with Dice. (For those of you fluent in Hebrew and interested in this discussion, I highly recommend this work.) This book is a very intense examination of the interplay of Science, Philosophy, Theology, Deism, Faith and so much else as we try to figure out what was the very beginning of our journey and where these boundaries and borders began. Abraham takes great effort in trying to be a purist (which results in a great deal of circling and repeating arguments and perspectives), from his vantage point of his knowledge of Science as well as his perspective as a religiously observant and equally knowledgeable Jew. One of the points he makes continually as he references the work of so many other scholars and writers, primarily the one with whom he takes issue, namely Richard Dawkins, is that one must take great care in discussing such matters to define one’s framework and to use language, questions and concepts from that discipline. We can no more use terms of faith and belief to explain science any more than we can work in the opposite direction. Here is yet another lesson in boundaries as Abraham looks at Evolution in terms of its postulates and queries and shows that within different domains there is much to learn as one crosses boundaries. In this examination, Abraham eschews dichotomies, showing that so much of who and what we are is a matter of a continuum of understanding and not binary systems of A or not-A. The book is written on a sophisticated level and I am not always sure I am catching all the nuances in his distinctions of the boundaries of various domains, but it is clear that he posits the need to be cognizant of the limitations of each system of thought and knowledge as well as the notion that we can interface the various ways we have of explaining how all came to be if we honor the principles and parameters (yes, the boundaries if you will) of each domain.

Simultaneously, my husband and I, along with our son Brian, just spent an amazing week in some of our western states, specifically Nevada, Utah and Arizona, during which we spent hours driving, hiking, walking and learning about the many geological and natural elements as well as the various forces of nature, human involvement and time and their impact on what we were observing. In watching sunsets, in moving from the vantage point of being on a plane to being on the ground, at the top of canyons as opposed to the bottom of canyons, driving as well as walking and so on, one cannot help but be awed and wonder where one aspect of the totality of what one is observing ends and the other begins. When we were at the Hoover Dam, for example, we learned how the economics of the Depression in this country and the building of the Dam were intertwined in our history; and of course now, as one marvels at the construction and the function of this Dam and its purpose, it is important to remember the human factor, the historical moment and the natural threat that brought this effort of construction (and containment or creation of a boundary) to be. There are so many different stories – the story of nature, the story of human lives, the unfolding of historical events, and the timing that brings all of them together to create this defined wonder.

Also, during our time in Nevada, we went to a Cirque d’Soleil show, “O” which is all about boundaries and their bleeding together as well as moving. Water, air, gravity, human figures, movement, scenery, and musical as well as visual art all came together from their different domains to create a shared and magnificent product – in which each is present both individually and as part of the greater whole. It was truly something to behold. And while I was marveling at it all, I was thinking of what I was reading in Abraham’s book about how all that we are comes together – both in ways we can explain through science or philosophy or mathematics or other defined fields and in ways we cannot explain but yield to our faith for support. I was then thinking of “O” when we were driving, walking, hiking and experiencing God’s art along with nature and the evolving of time. Mountains that were precisely carved and artistically placed – without intentional human tools of art. How can this be? Where is the dividing line between God’s domain and the human hand’s domain? Is there a clear one? Or do we just hold onto the faith and belief that joins us together, striving to break boundaries that need to be torn down to create something greater while working intentionally to maintain those that are necessary for our existence – such as dams and water? In the end, says Abraham, we can and do believe in so many different systems of truth that ultimately begin at a point beyond anything we can identity. Many of us choose to call that point before the beginning of all of these domains God.