(no subject)

[desh]

I'm not a bad Jew if I go to a friend's home to watch the Eagles game on Sunday (during the last day of holidays, as I observe Judaism, after 3.5 weeks of very frequent holdays), right? Especially if I keep the letter of the law (as I observe it) as to what can and can't be done on holidays, and all I'd be violating is the spirit of the law and of the holiday? Does your answer change if my reasoning is as much about being sick of the holidays as it is about not wanting to miss my third straight Eagles game?

Comments

[desh]

Though to clarify, the spirit of the law is quite important to me. Call it aggadah or kavanah if you prefer. But in general, I don't do Jewish things solely out of a sense of obligation or habit; there has to be some meaning or enjoyment to it, and those don't come solely out of toeing the line of (what I see as) halacha. (In specific situations, on the other hand, I do see value in repeating rote things and following seemingly-meaningless rituals, under the theory that you can find greater meaning in repetitive or habitual things over time, and that any given iteration is not necessarily something that will stand out.)

It's just that the spirit of the law, by its nature, is more flexible and changeable when it needs to be.