tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288015252056777799.post4450237314268523219..comments2023-10-19T04:42:36.472-07:00Comments on Dover Emet: Speaking the Truth: Change is Good -- What does that Mean?Rabbi Gil Steinlaufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01429234380883189059noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288015252056777799.post-48983785953211616322009-01-01T17:25:00.000-08:002009-01-01T17:25:00.000-08:00These are wonderfully provacative thoughts -- chal...These are wonderfully provacative thoughts -- challenging just why we want "change," and what do we mean by it. Perhaps people reject not the old ways but just the more recent ways. Perhaps we want to retrieve older days (as we envision them), when bankers lent to people who could repay, financial representations meant something, governmental institutions monitored and regulated to help assure transparency and honesty, and the public respected these regulators. Likewise, if people feel that our shul has become a tad formal and cool, perhaps they wish for a time when communities were more woven and warm. While change may need to begin with ourselves, objective indicia such as the failure of our economic institutions, and not just our personal psychology, may indicate that change is no kidding, needed. One thing seems clear though, whatever comes will not replicate our fantasies about the good old day, and as Stuart point out, whatever comes may or may not work. Either way, our lives sure are exciting and we may as well enjoy the ride!<BR/> The blog is great and I hope to see more comments here.Arnie Podgorskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05490323959775660092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288015252056777799.post-62381993942063055372008-12-22T07:32:00.000-08:002008-12-22T07:32:00.000-08:00It is interesting to ponder the psychology of chan...It is interesting to ponder the psychology of change. While most people – particularly Americans – are stirred by the idea of change, they tend at the same time to be fearful of it. Anxiety and uncertainty is the often subconscious enemy of change. Let’s remember how the initial excitement of the Exodus quickly faltered once real change began and anxiety about the future took hold. The Israelites soon began to convince themselves that there was something reassuring about the regularity of life in Egypt. And let’s remember, too, that the last time we tried to change our health care system the prospect of change became two-edged – change in the system’s gaps was good but the possibility of change in what people were comfortable with led to anxiety and then to opposition.<BR/><BR/>Change is simultaneously exciting and hard to accept. I think that for change to be accepted it must indeed meet many requirements. To add to what Rabbi Steinlauf says about Truth, one of the most important requirements is that there must be empathy and discussion. People can accept change if as a vibrant community they explore what it means by finding out what each other mean by the words they use, and what goals they have – and which are based on values they have in common. I think that is particularly important in turning the rhetoric of politics into real policy change, and it will be interesting to see if it happens next year.Stuart Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486419865281392841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288015252056777799.post-73559513916135489012008-12-20T03:09:00.000-08:002008-12-20T03:09:00.000-08:00well said Rabbi. Perhaps the change we seek is in ...well said Rabbi. Perhaps the change we seek is in ourselves, but we have trouble articulating that unless we have a vehicle, such as Obama, or whoever.nuzze1https://www.blogger.com/profile/07508335831171672677noreply@blogger.com