Friendship; the Secret of the Universe

Any serious study of friendship must begin by recognizing that a standard definition o friendship does not exist! In Simple Words, the distinguished Jewish scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz examine the meaning of a host of common terms – such as nature, good, faith and death – to reveal wisdom about how humans see themselves. Sandwiched between chapters on masks and family, he probes the meaning of the word friends. Steinsaltz writes: “The term ‘friendship’ does not have an exact, universal meaning. Its precise definition may be, like pornography, a matter of geography, and indeed, its meaning varies from country to country and from culture to culture.”

We may not agree on a universal definition, yet friendship captures the hearts of all who dare to imagine that we can transcend loneliness and solitude. Henry David Thoreau wrote: “No word is oftener on the lips of men than Friendship, and indeed no thought is more familiar to their aspirations. All men are dreaming of it, and its drama, which is always a tragedy, is enacted daily. It is the secret of the universe.”

This is an extract from: Making Friends, Making Disciples by Lee B. Spitzer.

http://www.abcnj.net/about-us/dr-lee-b-spitzer