A little bit of sechel

I have chosen a title for my column called "a little bit of sechel," meaning a little bit of common sense. Perhaps it's a Jewish thing, or perhaps it's that I tend to see the world in a different way than most people (well, all people, since I am the only one of me).\nNeedless to say, I generally write about things that pique my interest because of their lack of sechel.\nFor instance, I received an e-mail this weekend from a person I don't know personally -- Elijah the Tishbite. For those who are unfamiliar, he was the prophet who ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire. He will return to announce the coming of the Moshiach (messiah), according to Jewish tradition.\nThe coming of the Moshiach will bring the world to come, where all Jews will return to the land of Israel and live the way God intended, and so on and so forth. Our space in the world to come is determined by our merits in this life, which is why there are so many pious Jews in the world. It is quite similar to Christianity's view of heaven and hell.\nWell, good news for all of us, because Elijah the prophet is already here (according to his e-mail). Yes, in fact the only reason the messiah hasn't come yet is because our good friend the prophet is in prison. Too bad. I was surely hoping a convicted murderer would announce the coming of the Moshiach, because that is in fact exactly how it was prophesied (not really).\nThe one thing, though, is that we can do something about it. On Oct. 14, he wants to be taken to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to make a sacrificial offering unto the Jewish G-d (for he sees a dichotomy between the gods of Christianity and of Islam). There he will prove himself to the world by calling upon G-d to set fire to it.\nWell, I'm certainly for it. I mean, we haven't had a good old-fashioned sacrificial offering since the destruction of the second Holy Temple in 70 C.E. (i.e. 1,930 years ago). I suppose we can totally disregard centuries of Rabbinical liturgy just this once, and then the rewards will be incredible.\nThe e-mail I got from Elijah was passionate and intelligent. It was obvious he knew his Bible (and commentaries on it) as well as the current news events surrounding Israel. It was almost convincing. But I disregarded it once I saw the date on which it was sent: Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000 at 5:30 p.m. \nMany of my readers might ask, so what? Well, Saturday was the holiday of Rosh Hashana, the birthday of the world and the Jewish new year. It is a day on which no work can be done, including getting online and sending an e-mail. Personally, I think Elijah the prophet ought to know that.\nJust food for thought. Shannah Tova (have a good year).