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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 'Guitar Player' book recalls the heady days of the '70s and '80s Ashland budget proposal says solar power could attract investment Ashland High School water polo club seeks yard sale donations Final Ashland Middle School band concert of the school year set for May 20 Nashville singer/songwriter with Ashland ties dies of cancer Education Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Grade-school philanthropist Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Silvio Calabi: Taxis and traffic in the olde worlde Politics and elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. 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Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Movie listings: May 8-14 Dancing People Company presents 'Salon Series' 5 picks for live entertainment Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Theater Ticket availability Ticket Availability Ticket Availability 'Arsenic and Old Lace' has killer charm Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Music The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Movie listings: May 8-14 Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Community Blog: Inspiration is the Oxygen of our Survival Inner Peace: Satyam, shivam, sundram (truth, consciousness, joy/beauty) Looking Up: Once in a while a star blows up Health Watch: Easy tips to drink more water throughout the day Orthodox Church raising funds to build new home Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 9 ... Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 9 ... Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask ... MOCHAS, MIDRASH AND MYSTERIES Mochas, Midrash and Mysteries: Balancing the gift and the task By Daniel Murphy DailyTidings.com By Daniel Murphy Posted May. 6, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Daniel Murphy Posted May. 6, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> This is the third in this series sharing our interfaith dialogue. On April 17, Rabbi Joshua Boettiger’s piece (No. 2  in our series) opened with these words: “There’s a teaching in the Jewish tradition that when two people sit down to study sacred text together, G-d is also present.” That’s a powerful insight. It might be framed as a special kind of “resonance,” in which two people recognize in each other deeply held values and sensibilities that unite them. And, as Rabbi Joshua points out, there’s the sense of a mysterious “third party,” G-d. Curiosity In his April 17 reflection on G-d, Rabbi Joshua commented on the exchange between Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) and his good friend and dialogue partner, Rabbi Abraham Skorka, on this vast topic. These two Argentinian spiritual leaders uncovered a central dynamic in the relationship between us and G-d: it’s a mutual “movement,” one towards the other. Rabbi Joshua often teaches about the wonder of curiosity and the joy of staying in a curious mindset. In dialogue, participants are both truly curious about the other person — the being, the becoming, the thoughts, the traditions, and the overall experience of the sacred other. Curiosity prompts us to ask each other questions such as, “What does your faith tradition teach on this?” “What is your experience of ________________?” We become, as Rabbi Joshua pointed out in the last installment, “text” for one another. Curiosity spurs us to “read” this “text” of one another with kindness, with care. The experience of dialogue is itself a movement toward G-d, aware that G-d is present in the mutual seeking of the dialogue partners. The Babel Syndrome As Rabbi Joshua and I read aloud to each other and then discussed the exchange between Cardinal Bergoglio and Rabbi Skorka on G-d, we unpacked a rich conversation about the well-known story of Babel and the building of a tower that would reach to the heavens. Cardinal Bergoglio observed, “The work of human beings before G-d and before themselves must maintain a constant balance between the gift and the task.” What does Cardinal Bergoglio mean by “the gift”? In the context, it becomes clear that he’s referring to all of the wondrous aspects and resources of creation. We receive them from another; we don’t create them. What, then, is “the task”? Cardinal Bergoglio says that we are called to fashion these elements into a “culture.” A true culture serves people, inviting their participation and authentic development. Rabbi Skorka observes that “the human person is the focus of the material world and the greatest divine work.” The person must be, he emphasizes, the standard and measure of all cultural endeavors. The problem with the attitude displayed in the Babel story is exaggerated “task”: what the two men refer to as a “constructivist ethic.” It is “task” gone haywire. Rabbi Skorka cites a view from the Talmud (a central text of rabbinic Judaism). “Nimrod was a Babylonian dictator who held a tight grip on everything ... This tyrant ordered the construction of a tower that would reach Heaven in order to leave his mark ...” His “task” was self-promoting, not serving G-d or the true good of others. Rabbi Skorka and Cardinal Bergoglio remind us that to do life well we must integrate the dimensions of “gift” (all of the resources of creation) and “task” (our ability to shape these resources into a culture that serves the true well-being of the person). G-d is the ultimate person and presence, and we are called to be partners, collaborators, and friends with the divine other and the human others in our families and community. Together, we are made capable of building a culture that helps every person, especially the poor and the vulnerable, to become their truest self. Daniel Murphy promotes human flourishing through Integrity of Life Services LLC, and is a member of Our Lady of the Mountain Catholic Church in Ashland.   By Daniel Murphy DailyTidings.com By Daniel Murphy Posted May. 6, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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