Pay Attention!
In class we discussed different definitions of the universal purpose of religion. One idea presented was that religion teaches us how to behave with human and non human beings. While others claimed that religion is not about teaching people ethics that this is more a realm of cultural context and part of human nature. Therefore the definition that seemed the most reasonable to me is that religion is about cultivating cosmic sensitivity. The text Shulhan Shel Arba by Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher a medieval Jewish mystic and translated by Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus presents its readers with a guide to cultivating cosmic sensitivity with the alter of the table. He presents four gates of knowledge. These gates work to explain 1) the blessings over the table and other obligations, 2) an explanation of the nature of eating and how this prepares one for their life purpose 3) ethics and table etiquette and 4) an explantation of the meal to come. Throughout the text Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher...