What About The Predictions of The End of The World in 2012

Hi, I am Rabbi Dorit Edut and I am Cantor Liat Pelman-Forst.

WE WELCOME YOU TO OUR BLOG!
 Both of us are "products" of the Academy for Jewish Religion(AJR), the oldest, independent, pluralistic seminary in the world. This is a very special and unique place where rabbis and cantors are trained together. Both of us were ordained in the same year - 2006. We are blessed to be more than best friends - we are soul sisters as well.  Among the things we share is a deep passion and love for God and for all people.

We would like to dedicate this, our first dialogue, to a woman who has made such a difference for people all over the world - Oprah Winfrey.  We salute her for bringing out the best in people, for educating and inspiring us to transform life for the better. With the same positive thinking as Oprah, we,too, would like to make our contribution to Tikkun Olam- the repair of the world - which is one of the pillars of Judaism.

We decided to begin this dialogue by adding our voices to the conversations that are of concern to you and that stand between you and your peace of mind.  We invite you to join us as we discuss the first topic: The Predictions of The End of The World in 2012.
     
CANTOR LIAT: There are many people around the world that have warned about the end of the year 2012. The reason for this is because of the predictions of the end of the world, mainly based on the Mayan calendar.

RABBI DORIT: In the Jewish tradition there is no idea of the end of the world.  We do,however, talk about the end of time which we call  The Messianic Era, the last period when there will be eternal peace of earth. We have no calendar date for this, neither on the Jewish lunar calendar nor on the secular Gregorian calendar.  We will know when this will occur based on the presence of certain human conditions, mentioned in the Bible, which will precede this end of time.  Whether we understand this literally or not, the Prophet Ezekiel in Chap 39  spoke of an apocalypse, a major world war involving many nations, especially  the two known in the Bible as Gog and Magog.  It will ultimately result in a new world order : the One God will be recognized by all people, and  there will be no more wars, deaths, illnesses, and evil among humans. People will live together in peace and time will no longer matter.

CANTOR LIAT: Ok, and there is also another place in the Bible, in the Book of  Daniel, Chap12, which some interpret as a sign of the end of the world. Yet, as it is well known, every portion of the Bible has been interpreted in many different ways.  Therefore, to take any of these texts literally as the precise prediction of the end of the world would be unjustified.
    
RABBI DORIT:  I agree with you. However, the Hebrew Bible gives us messages of hope in the face of challenging circumstances.  For example, the Biblical episode of Noah contains the textual and spiritual message that God will not destroy the world through natural disasters again.  I also understand from this that God has a special interest in preserving human life and the existence of this  planet.  Therefore, it follows that God will also not allow human beings to cause total destruction of human life on this planet.

CANTOR LIAT: I couldn't agree with you more. On the other hand, we should not rely only on God.  As they say, God helps those who help themselves.  What we are witnessing now all over the world is a lot of unnecessary hatred and incidents of bloodshed, in addition to a series of natural disasters.  Nevertheless, is it possible that our human actions are the cause of these natural disasters? After all, God gave us freewill. Therefore, it is our responsibility as humans to stop these conflicts.  It is very possible that these natural disasters come to us as a warning from God to stop destroying the beautiful world we live in. 

Maybe it is time to start thinking of an alternative - for example, the Universal Law of Attraction which states that 'Alike attracts alike.'  What we are witnessing now is merely the boomerang effect, ie, negative energy being constantly put out into the space of our world by human beings.  If we continue to throw negative energy out into the world, then there will be a much greater chance of this negativity coming back.  I am not talking only about pollution of our environment.  It is also our thoughts and words.  All is energy.

RABBI DORIT:I don't see that there is really a connection between Nature and human moral behavior.  Yes, we are doing things to hurt our environment because of our carelessness and our misuse of natural resources. This has impacted some of the natural world ( egs, pollution, extinction of some species, melting of the polar ice caps) and indeed this is directly against the Jewish principle of Ba-al Tascheet - Do Not Destroy. But I don't see a direct connection between the tornadoes and flooding AND the incidents of moral corruption  or wars among people. While the Biblical Prophets often spoke of natural disasters as warning signs that God was unhappy with human behavior, I think that this cannot be understood literally in our days. I believe that this came from a time when people lived in much closer contact with Nature and without our modern scientific understanding of natural phenomena. People in those times needed this context to understand fully the powerful moral message of the Prophets. 
          
But if I understand you correctly, the negative energy you refer to comes from human actions and thoughts, and is then reflected in both natural and man-made disasters.  Is that correct?

CANTOR LIAT:Yes, that's correct.  I do not separate Nature from the ethical behavior of humans.  All is energy. Thought as well as words and actions are energy which are projected into the universe.

RABBI DORIT: I disagree with you about thought having energy.  Without action, what power does any thought have? It just remains inside your head.  How can there be energy - positive or negative - given off from that?

CANTOR LIAT: But a thought is energy, and actions ARE THE RESULTS of thoughts. Everything begins with a thought. A thought always precedes action.  Therefore a good and positive thought precedes good and positive action and vice versa.

RABBI DORIT: So you are saying that in order to make changes in our world towards the positive, we need to change the way people are thinking? If so, then how can you change the thoughts of those who think negatively? Just tell them to stop thinking that way? Or stop thinking altogether?

CANTOR LIAT: No, I can't tell anyone what to do. It isn't my place. I didn't come here to change someone else, but to learn and to better myself.  Hopefully, those around me will be inspired.

RABBI DORIT: I agree with you about being an example of positivity to others through our own actions and words.  This is very much in keeping with the Jewish ideas of life which emphasizes the role of the Jewish people to be , as the Propehts said, " a light unto the nations"; this is  usually interpreted as setting a good example by living by high ethical standards  and having a deep concern for others, as is spelled out in the Torah laws.  If, however, we are to significantly and speedily decrease the negativity in our world today, we will need to do this in a more effective manner.  Just hoping that our individual, positive examples will impact others around us has very littel guarantee of success, especially if it needs to be on a global scale and in a short period of time.

CANTOR LIAT:  Well, my dearest sister Dorit, this world is blessed with  a few "pearls of wisdom". I'd like to recall a few:
      
"If you save one life, it is as if you saved the whole world" - The Talmud acknowledges the value and importance of an individual.  It teaches us that we need to look at each individual as if he/she were the entire population of the world.  Therefore, when you save one life, it is as if you had saved the entire world.
     
"Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" -  this one does not need an explanation.
       
I believe that when each of us will come to the point of understanding that God is Love, that the ultimate reason that we humans are here is to love one another, we will see the results immediately.  If you notice I did not say "IF" but "WHEN".  As it says in our daily prayers  "Ashrei ha ma-ameen - Happy is the one who believes".  In order for something to happen, first there is a need to wish for it and then to really believe in it, and finally to take action.

RABBI DORIT:  While I do agree with you in the huge significance of each human life, my concern is HOW we can put the brakes of this massive negativity you talked about, and do it in the most impactful and speedy way.  I don't admit to having the answer to this.  I also don't want to get off into a tangential theological debate about God being Love.  For now we will leave that open between us.  Nee'heyeh v'neer-eh - we will go on living and we will see.
           
Now what are YOUR thought and questions about all of this? Send them our way!!