Cynical, political feelings evaporate when looking into the eyes of newborn grandchild
It’s ironic to imagine that I found a kernel of faith in the future while visiting last week in Washington, D.C.
I say this because talking about faith in the environs of our nation’s political capital seems like a oxymoron. Yet the Lord works in mysterious ways, right?
Sometimes it is not only appropriate but vital to take a break from worrying about the political events that consume many of us in our nation today. I had that opportunity when we visited with our children and celebrated the birth of our new granddaughter.
In Judaism, the overwhelming emphasis on a newborn has, over history, been for a boy, because on the eighth day, a boy goes through a ritual circumcision called a Brit Milah in which he is acknowledged as Jewish and a part of the Jewish people from the days of Abraham, who first circumcised Isaac. The tradition goes on to this very day.
In addition, the boy receives an official Hebrew name.
It is a big celebration with relatives attending and, despite the obvious concern on the surgical procedure, the child emerges whole and the parents relieved from the ordeal.
So it is clear that a boy is the focus, at least ritually speaking, in this rite of passage.
What about the birth of a girl?
I am happy to report that we have come a long way, especially in liberal Judaism, in producing creative prayers and songs to celebrate a young girl’s passage into the covenant of Abraham and Sarah.
Besides her new English name, my kids named our granddaughter with the Hebrew name Orly, which means “You (God) are my light.”
In the book of Psalms we read, “Your word is a lamp for my feet a light on my path” (119:105). While there are, of course, no surgical procedures for a female baby naming, the joy and happiness to welcome her into the covenant is just as powerful and meaningful as it is for a boy.
If God’s word is a lamp for our feet and a light on our life journeys, then the newborn boy or girl is also a light to us as well.
We recite prayers that remind us of the transmission of the learning of Torah and Scripture which is paramount in the mission of being Jewish. Our readings include prayers that boy or girl will achieve Torah learning, huppah or marriage one day, and performance of good deeds.
The world consumes us with news about the pandemic and politics every minute. So to stop for a period of time and gaze into the eyes of a newborn and imagine her future gives me hope that life cycle rites of passage and new generations celebrating the same prayers that I recited when my daughter was born is a harbinger that life still has great meaning.
Faith in a religion implies a belief in God and hope in the future, too. Faith is a conviction that hope for a better world lies in the gentle and beautiful countenance of an infant.
Do we tend to focus too much on the drama of every day life, especially in politics? Does a newborn bring renewal not only for the individual parents and grandparents but for the community as well?
Most religions have a social justice dimension, but religions also have a dimension that looks at the eternal questions of our personal lives. Religion enables us to see that link on a much larger chain of history that connects the past, present and future. Religion provides us with personal and communal identity and an especially powerful tool for finding our place in the world.
Religion is about creating sacred connections inside a community of shared values.
Most religions have their rites of passages for children and, even though they may have different theologies, most religions have some sort of ritual to welcome a newborn into the religious community.
Isn’t it fair to say that being so consumed in the daily chatter of the day’s events can, at times, make us become cynical about whether the world is a blessing or not?
I am gazing at the peaceful countenance of my granddaughter and her 2 1/2-year-old brother running nonstop around their grandparents.
I still feel that, no matter how much my generation may have failed to deliver peace for their children, maybe their parents can still redeem this world for my grandchildren. And I can celebrate that hope too.
We can all see that a newborn represents possibilities for a better world.
The prophet Isaiah said, “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children” (54:13).
One of the greatest influences a parent has upon their children is to give them an education and a name. But isn’t what we really aspire to is to see a world at peace and that our children will do more than we did to achieve that long sought after peace in our world?
So when those moments of despair and sadness overtake us in the world, just look at those precious grandchildren, and remember what you saw at their birth and how that hope has inspired us all in unforeseen moments and become a light to our own life paths in challenging times.