Monday, July 18, 2011

Never Judge A book By it's Cover

I would assume judging a book by it's title sounds like a much more reasonable option. 
You wouldn't want to read about something that does not sound interesting to you, no matter how good the material. Publishers and Marketers are very well aware of that and therefore will often mislead you by an attractive title that may promise more than it provides to your interest.
All this to say that when I myself was thinking of a title for my blog, I too desired to be one of the kind, interesting to all, unique and different. I wanted to attract my readers through a title and I wasted all in all ten minutes during which i could have been coming up with more interesting theories than the one of identity. The truth is, we who believe ourselves to be different than the norm, we thereby create our own norms and a new category of "the out of the box people". Ha, which box? I think a  better term to generally describe us is: "able to think for themselves". Yes those still exist, yes maybe it is what makes us different. After all, we might reach the same conclusion as the public opinion, but by discovering it ourselves, we turn a conviction into our reality. 

So why Lovesick Soul for a blog?
Perhaps you know the song Yedid Nefesh in which we chant:
 "My soul is lovesick for You. I beg of you O G-d, please heal her by showing her the pleasantness of your radiance. Then she will be strengthen and healed...."
You can only speak of lovesick in the absence of the loved person. Here we ask Him to help us reach that love that we should be able to reciprocate the love He has for us. We have means; we have the Torah and the  Halachos but sometimes true appreciation of it comes through our own learning and not by the preaching of the many Jewish teachers I've had. 
My box is the Yeshivish world i grew up in. Being out of the box for me refers to my search of the true way of being a G-d fearing Jew. A way that isn't dictated by community nor by false believe to be preserving our souls. The way of Halacha, Emuna and verity.  

6 comments:

  1. That is my favorite line of a prayer. I even have it on my blog. :)

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  2. Great reason for the name:) On the topic of the song yedid nefesh, i dunno if uve ever heard of a group called eden miquedem, but their yedid nefesh rocks the house:)

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  3. Welcome to the blogosphere! Looking forward to reading you. :)

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  4. Yedid Nefesh is one of my favorite songs. Great name for a blog!

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  5. I'm reading your posts in backwards order, but now I see what attracted me to your link... title was a success ;)

    Your ending really resonates with me. I have great respect for that perspective.

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  6. Thank you all :)

    @ corti: I am also a frum girl in college trying to reconciliate two worlds and figure out whom i want to be in my judaism

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