Author: Sherwin Wine

Meditation Services for Humanistic Jews (1976) 

Each of us tastes the bitter loneliness of the human condition. To be an individual is to stand apart and sense the separation that makes every person unique. In a soul where instinct has yielded to the challenge of free choice, decision is personal. Neither the tyranny of the species nor the oppression of society can dictate our will without our moment of consent. Birds and flowers conform to their race and offer no resistance.  

 But human beings are plagued by the unpredictable freedom of our conscious mind. Each of us is distinct and different, defined by the path of our behavior. Within the limits of our possibility we can become what we will to become. Within the boundaries of our talents we can achieve what we choose to achieve.  

The open possibility of our future is a frightening excitement. We can withdraw in fear and seek to hide from its reality; or we can boldly assume its challenge and bravely confront destiny with the courage of free individuals. 

Humanistic Judaism journal, Winter/Spring 1999 

Death is real. In the world of changing nature it is inevitable. It may be postponed, but it cannot be avoided. 

 Loved ones do not pass away. They die. They do not escape the rhythm of life. But they leave their gifts. We still bask in their love. We still use their instruction. We are still inspired by their deeds. We still linger on the memories of their style. 

 Immortality is very intimate. It is part of our mind. It is as close as our power to remember. 

In the real world death is part of the drama of life. So is the loving tribute of remembrance.

Meditation Services for Humanistic Jews (1976), p17 

The eyes of man scan the universe and search for beauty in distant places. The starry heavens excite our amazement and lead us to adoration. Mountains and seas in their vastness excite the respect of reverence. Yet all of these wonders in their individual splendor are less magnificent than the person who observes them. For they are the lifeless fixtures of a universe insensitive to its own glory.  

But the infinitesimal speck of mass, space and time that defines each one of us is the marvel of our world. We are not only seen, we see. We are not only understood, we understand. We are not only controlled, we control. We are more than the servants of destiny. We are the masters of choice and destination. The universe is no fixed creation which allows us the freedom of surrender. It is a plastic challenge that invites us to mold and form it to our human need. The tribute of honor belongs to what is ultimately beautiful. And what is ultimately beautiful is the vision of man fulfilled in all his greatness.  

Meditation Services for Humanistic Jews (1976), p105 

Love is no less lovely because we do not yet know the chemistry of feeling. Beauty is no less beautiful because we do not yet understand the physics of thought. Even the wonders of nature are no less wondrous because they have not yet revealed to us the secret of their evolution. If the experience of these mysteries fulfills us, what more is required?