For some time I have been a committed pluralist. By that I mean not merely tolerating different viewpoints and traditions, but rather a celebration of difference. To be a pluralist does not mean an abandonment of one's own tradition. It means rather a deep listening and appreciation of other viewpoints, traditions and rituals. It means, too, to borrow from other traditions and to allow them to enrich and strengthen one's own.
I was heartened years ago when I read Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh urge his Christian readers not to "convert" from one religion to another, but to allow the insights of each tradition to enhance the other. I have been glad to add Buddhist and Daoist perspectives to my Christian understanding and practice. It has made me no less a Christian but a more rounded, enlightened one—at least I hope so!
Yom Kippur enriches too. A day of solemn reflection at this time of year is no bad thing. Four weeks into a new semester (for academics in the USA) is a good time to pause for a while, cease from business and self-reflect. How am I doing? Whom have I wronged? What's the next step? What direction needs to be corrected? What new direction needs to be taken?
For this Christian, to take stock with my Jewish friends and colleagues on Yom Kippur will suffice until the reflection on life and death on October 31-November 1, All Hallows' Eve and Day.
I'm thankful for all Truth.
To my Jewish friends and colleagues, I hope your fast is meaningful,
+Andy