You Are Now Entering the Blogosphere!

Like standing on the diving board above the swimming pool in the early days of summer...waiting...for that first plunge into the deep, blue water. I know that the initial shock of cold will last only a few seconds, and then yield to the headrush that invariably follows. Yet, I wait. And wait. Nothing changes except my age by several minutes, but it feels like if I wait, I will suddenly feel more prepared. That, of course, never happens, and eventually, I am able to block out all thoughts and simply...jump in.

Splash!

Here I am. Having waited months to begin my posts, my thoughts on the world--particularly the Orthodox (or, if you prefer, Torah observant) Jewish world. What difference does it make what another Jew thinks and writes? Isn't this all simply an exercise in self-aggrandizement? Isn't this quite the opposite of my point above that everything should be done with humility (hence the name of the blog)?

Perhaps.

Yet, I am reminded of the comment of one of the Gedolei Mussar who said that it was worth travelling to another city to speak to the congregation even if only one person listens--and even if that one person is the speaker himself. So, as I enter middle age, kicking and screaming, I begin this blog mostly for me, as an archive of my thoughts and observations. Of course, I hope others will read it, comment on it, talk about it at the office water cooler and in shul (between services, of course). Yes, I want to be well-known.

Famous, even.

But, barring that I think I will still feel satisfaction from getting it all out. Or most of it anyway.

First, I want to establish some rules here. One thing I've noticed--and dislike--about blogs is that they are updated continuously, often with short, sometimes meaningless, additions. At times, the blogger has a spurt of good ideas, followed by a fallow period, when the blog starts to get stale. Moreover, the comments section on these posts are a bit all over the place, with people adding their thoughts on posts that are weeks or months old. I find it hard, and worse, uninteresting, to follow.

My idea, therefore, is to post once a week, every week, no more, and hopefully, no less, on a subject of interest that will hopefully lead to a productive discussion. I will try to get each post out early in the week. Then, I would allow a two-week period for comments to the post before shutting down that section. What can I say? Even though I'm a recovering Type-A personality, I still like order.