There are those who sense the ultimate question in moments of wonder, in moments of joy; there are those who sense the ultimate question in moments of horror, in moments of despair. It is both the grandeur and the misery of living that makes one sensitive to the ultimate question. Indeed, our misery is as great as our grandeur.
This text was compiled by Rabbis J. Rolando Matalon, Marcelo Bronstein and Felicia Sol of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York, NY, for Rabbi Matalon’s teaching on the American Jewish World Service Rabbinical Student Delegation. Their work was based on and inspired by The Dignity of Difference by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. What is the ultimate question?
2. Is the ultimate question the same during moments of wonder and moments of horror? Is it enough if we only question ourselves during one of those times?
3. As Jewish social justice activists, what does it mean that "our misery is as great as our grandeur"?
Time Period: Contemporary (The Yom Kippur War until the present-day)