When I started my present spiritual activities in Israel, I decided to systematically visit all sorts of people and situations that I had known in my "secular" professional activity of international consultancy and psycho-analysis specializing in interfaith and socio-cultural issues. The point is that mind-searching, linguistic surveys and approaches are nil compared to the dynamics of a soul in spiritual seeking. Israel has also faced too many problems and slowly takes her time in order to resolve the societal problems that break out. On the other hand, it makes it a unique mental and cultural laboratory of the seeds of life, provided that it is developed in order to get to the heart of human nature.
Thus, I visited, inter alia, a lot of places where people could stay for some time or on holiday. For example, hotels constitute a good social activity with a regular, standardized clientèle coming for holidays from all over the world. Other hotels and guest-houses are regularly "commandeered" by the Sochnut - Jewish Agency or another administration to lodge some newcomers / olim chadashim for a certain period of time. I also visited some caravans that, strangely enough, have not totally disappeared. The main purpose was to see how people were living, making their living or staying put without any activity and their will or reluctant to get involved into Israeli society.
In the top-ranking hotels, I found some former-Soviet young men and women who were very eager to assimilate into Israeli society. We have a wonderful youth, both ready to help, make their way and spare their time. Their respect for the legal aspect of society is sometimes very striking. Before the second Intifada started, I wanted once to give a small glass on which was written in Hebrew Lechayim (Cheers) to a Russian young girl who had only spoken Hebrew with me, but had heard me speak Russian all the time on the phone. Her Hebrew was perfect; she would continue to speak Russian with the personnel and was a bit astounded we never exchanged anything in this language. She was nice and ready to help: I am a survivor with a minimal amount of intestine and meals are a major daily concern. On the other hand, it allowed and continues to oblige me - also with the help of the Providence with regards to the related costs and expenses - to be very careful with food and mainly eat in restaurants. These places are essential in the development, changes, restructuring of food tastes and trends in the country.
Okay. So I had never said a word to this young Russian woman, except that it was evident she was trying to find the right dish at the right time. She refused the gift saying that it was not legal! I told her it was a bit ridiculous and that her reaction was nice professionally, but a bit too much. She did not reply and ciao - poka - lehit! I told her later in Russian that frankly a Lechayim mini-glass was not that pathetic and that she could accept such a miniature "present".
She grinned and said she would speak with the top manager. She came back rather quickly with a smile and told me the director had told her she could take the present and had burst into laughter. He wanted to know why I wanted to give her such a Lechayim tiny glass. I told her that, 70 years ago, she and I would have eventually met in a closed wagon en route to some extermination camp. She would never have shown any kindness to me – we might not have tried to save our lives if not our souls and she would not have fed me nicely and with wit because we simply would only have been mincemeat to be reduced into dust. Then, I added that we could at least both make our lives in Israel, for the best of our fellow people and others by participating in building up a world to set up, just the opposite of a world that passed away, olam she-avar. She suddenly looked at me and said she was grateful. She took the present.
At Lod Ben Gurion airport Terminal 3 – Arrivals, there is a huge picture that welcomes the travelers. A photograph showing the ner tamid (light for the children that perished in the concentration camps) reflected 1 million and a half time at the Yad VaShem Memorial. Those who pass by are of all origins and backgrounds. These days, there are a lot of Russian clergy, wearing cassocks, breast crosses. On Sunday, this will be the 150th anniversary of the presence of the Russian Eastern Orthodox Church in the Holy Land.
In May, on the Day of Ascension, the two major branches of the Russian Church, i.e. the Russian Moscow Patriarchate and the Church Abroad, got unified after 80 years of division. Interestingly, the Church Abroad has been vehemently struggling against communism and the Patriarchate of Moscow and claimed, everywhere in the world, to be strictly faithful to the true Russian Christian Orthodox faith. During these decades of separation, the Church Abroad was recognized by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Serbian Church. The showing of the clergy in full and normal clerical dress at the airport, facing this photograph of the “children murdered by Hitler” (cf. Matthew 2:16-18, the murder of the Children killed by Herod) raises questions about our society and how we meet with each other. It shows the real trip, or flight-landing process as proposed in the parshat hashavua – weekly reading portion of Vayeira (the Lord appeared to Abraham at Mamre) (Bereishit 18:1-22:23). The prophetic portion is read in the Second Book of the Kings 4:1-4:37 (Ashk. Yemenites) -23 (Sephardim).
I tried to sketch out some points about this major Shabbat reading in the previous blog. It includes the text that requires much insightful reading capacities to get to its profundity: the Akedat Yitzchak – (the Binding of Isaac on the wood). The nissayon (trip, temptation, test) par excellence. This text is read daily in Judaism and constantly meditated with regards to Jesus’ putting at the stake. It can gather. It may rebuke. The haftarah (prophetic portion) shows how Prophet Elisha saves a widow from poverty. Then he told the Shunamite woman that she would bear a son, a situation comparable to the Angels words said to Sarah. She did bear a son who became sick and died. So “she had her donkey saddled – vetichavosh ha’aton” and urged the servant to bring the beast to the prophet. Elisha “mounted (the bed) and placed himself over the child. He put “his mouth on his mouth – piv al-piv – his eyes on his eyes. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes” (2 Kings 4:24-37).
The Shunamite saddled her donkey (aton - same word used for Balaam’s ass who compelled the man not to curse but to bless Israel). It is somehow connected with Jesus entering in Jerusalem on an ass (Luke 19:30). At least, the “saddling” of the donkey corresponds to the reading portion. Chavashah (saddling) referred to a specific state firstly experienced by Abraham: “Let Abraham’s act of harnessing (anxiety to obey to the full and solely to God’s behest) come and stand as a sign of protection against Balaam’s harnessing (anxiety to curse)” states Bereishit Rabba 55. The spiritual anxiety of what is unknown but definitely fundamental in our lives can turn into a torment that will not pass or be too difficult to overcome. Both Abraham and Balaam confided in God – Abraham is the one who never failed. But in the end, the point is to walk unharmed through the perilous journey of human tests and temptation. The haftarah brings forth the messianic-prophetic aspect of the resurrection of the boy. Zarar (to smash, sneeze) relates to scattering away the power of death and the piv al piv (mouth to mouth) act performed by the man of God reverses the anxiety of harnessing by re-opening the gates of this world for the boy who had departed. In the prophetic portion the boy sneezes seven times; in the Gospel, the resurrected young girl is told to go and get some food (Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:41).
This was the other conversation of the week. A restaurant manager explained to me how employees are hardly reliable. Indeed, an instant generation: “I want now, what I want, not what the others want”, money, wages, bye! He called that the katzar (short-term) look. This is exactly the opposite of Abraham’s experience or meaning of the test of mouth-to-mouth that may resurrect. Theology without history does not mean anything. Thus, Judaism is the historical experience of multi-faceted developments through generations that lead to more hope, morals, prayer and faith. “The supreme effort” required for every Jew does not consist in reducing our forces to what pleases us. It often implies to accept to cross the road with some opacity and “meet others without encountering them” as at Ben Gurion airport terminal 3.
Who could ever think that so many lively elements would raise and show in our generation? As years pass, the joy of liberation (former communist countries) or the burden of war may fade in daily hope that can mutate and concentrate on shortsightedness. With regards to Christian presence or anniversaries and Judaism, times may be near for mutual crossing and respectful recognition. We are often confused by ignorance and lack of in-depth contacts. On October 27-28, the Armenians celebrate the Holy translators of the Scripture, the Russian Orthodox Church their long tradition of pilgrimages and presence in the Holy Land and the Greeks the Okhi (No Day) of protest against the Nazis.
This gives a certain density to our survival beyond all kinds of trials and attempts to give up.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Chomriyut: Beyond saddling a donkey
In modern Hebrew, "chomriyut" means "materialism". It also relates to the physical reality, to the concrete, pragmatic material and substance that can be touched, moved, displaced, changed in a visible way. The "CH-M-R" root in Hebrew as also in Aramaic, and most Semitic languages suggests that the words built upon this radical are "loaded", weighed", heavy or difficult to pile up: "a balanced load (chamar) is like supporting a thing with the thumb on top and the little finger below" (Zevachim 53a).
But the word also refers to "passing a regulation, a law" that can be restrictive. "When they placed themselves under greater restrictions than required by the law, they made a usage of a law = nobody cannot extend any adopted usage only because of analogy or apparent similarities of the situations", states Tractate Niddah 66a.
The perfect example of the radical developed in "chammar = the attendant of beasts of burden, in particular the "chamor = donkey" that is the most exciting clone of materialism as burdening dullness, point of gravity and heaviness. Things may seem to move, but very slowly. The donkey has the right "to rest on the seventh day/Shabbat" and not to be coveted by others (Ex. 20:9-14).
The standards of "chomriyut" are shown in the coming sidra of the week on the Shabbat "Vayera” that includes the reading portion of Bereishit / Genesis accounting the supreme test that Abraham had to face: to offer, slaughter his son Isaac. This is the famous report of the Akedat Itzchak - Binding of Isaac on the wood (Gen. 22:1-19). In response to this test, certainly the heaviest and painful in a human point of view, Abraham did not say a word. He did not moan or groan. “He saddled his ass – yichavesh et-chamoro” (Bereishit 22:3) as reports Bereishit. The word “chavesh” means both “to saddle” and “to imprison, put chains”. At first glance it might seem that the imprisoned creature is the one that is saddled, i.e. the chamor – ass-donkey. This sounds materialistically true and a matter of realism. Abraham’s ass was burdened with the “split wood for the olah – burnt-offering (binding of Isaac). This reading is an essential part of the revelation, our private and public devotion and faith in the God of Israel.
When Abraham “imprisoned” his donkey with a saddle and the loads, he accepted the physical and natural burden of life with the intimate conviction that it is a “light yoke or sacrifice”. This is the meaning of “olah – a sacrifice that climbs up into the air” as of “ol’ – yoke as in ‘Ol’ HaShamayim = the yoke of heaven / the compliance with the Mitzvot”. This burden is light. It does not mean that it makes the way cool, fully understandable and equal. This is a major test for any generation to get to the point. The Gospel brings forth some confirmation of what testing Commandments may be in reality: Jesus also said “My yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11:30). He does refer to the same realm of the Jewish Mitzvot as they were observed in his time.
Let’s say that Abraham was not light-minded; he was not carefree or frolicsome. He was full of equanimity and light-heartedly faced events and tests with insight. The whole of the event consisted indeed in a “vision – Adonai yera’e” (Gen. 22:14) and a provision given by God in supplying a ram. But it is evident that this account is usually firstly considered as a fairy tale with some ethnological-anthropological societal interpretations on the seemingly rather primitive background of an impossible challenge. We eagerly thirst for some in-depth encrypted meaning of profound spirituality that borders esotericism and hidden key clarification provided with passwords acquired on a credit line. This is the best of our virtual world at the moment.
Still, some years ago, some Christian monks got rightly fascinated by the fact that the celebration of the Eucharist (Bread and Wine becoming the Body and Blood = living body of resurrected Jesus) in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions is definitely rooted in the Seder Pesach, the Ordinance of the account and celebration of the Jewish Passover. The roots are evident. They are far more difficult to explain and understand. Thus, they called, in a spirit of dialogue, a chief rabbi in order to get the correct comments. They asked the rabbi to explain the meaning of the Eucharist. The chief rabbi had frequented the Christians, but the Eucharist could hardly mean any reality in his own life. The monks spoke with him of the spiritual heavenly bread; he answered that the paschal lamb had to be slaughtered in accordance with the laws of the shechitah (kosher slaughtering of animals) and then cut into pieces after having been roasted. He did say but simple stuff: to take a knife and slaughter the animal as was done in ancient times. The monks suddenly visualized in the slaughtering that there was a real problem of dialogue and understanding of spiritual experience that got estranged.
Now, in what sense is it comparable with the “primitive” text about the Akedat Itzchak – Binding of Isaac? True! A donkey is reputed to be dull. Abraham was maybe performing some odd ritual inherited from pagan human sacrifices. A vision that turns to be resolved by a divine provision of a ram in replacement of a 38-year-old boy to be slaughtered, just for a test? We love tests and find them everywhere in magazines or professional human resource controls. If the scene was to happen in the present – even in the vicinity of Mount Moriah or elsewhere else – the police, army, ambulance and other assistance services might be called. We may be tempted to reduce the authentic challenge of spirituality to any “materialistic or psychologically explainable framework”.
It is normal, in Jerusalem – but this is an international phenomenon that shows in different ways – to see godly people. Many years ago, I incidentally saw two Jesus, each of them accompanied by the twelve apostles and the following women. They started to shriek, cry and fight till the police, totally untouched by the quarrel, obliged them to cool down. That was long before the present war situation began. Today, spirituality requires “being clearly defined and predetermined”…
Abraham left his “own self” to find that God alone supports, nurtures, sustains and accomplishes His will. This is why, along the ages, the Jewish Shaharit – Morning prayer that is often a private prayer, included specific texts that would recall the urging necessity to uplift our souls, looking for more freshness: “Do not make your prayer routine, but address free supplications and petitions to God” (Berachot 28b). Shaharit is built like a rising sun four level structure allowing the soul to refresh from the dark and sleep at dawn. The “Binding of Isaac” reading became then a daily reading included in this rising up morning service. The text aims at elevating the soul from the heaviness, dullness of the material physical reality in order to accept God’s will in our own lives. But this sounds, at first, like a donkey speech repeatedly written or hooked down in a parrot fashion. Clerics of all religions have a sort of innate expertise in proposing easy-going yokes that turn to become real burdens.
There is maybe more. Struggling against thick apathy and physical weightiness requires getting rid of worldly enjoyments. This is maybe why the Israelis love to tour in the monasteries. The Old City of Jerusalem remains an unequaled area where crowds cross crowds and people “meeting without encountering”, just like people exchanging glance in a short glimpse of time that refreshes as from old. It is so intriguing to note that the account of the Binding of Isaac is read everyday during the Jewish Morning prayer and also constitutes an essential element of reflection for the Christians with regards to Jesus’ sacrifice. A true Christian soul would not really come to the same conclusions as the Jews when reading this account. The experience is biased by spiritual practice and experiment. But for the main part, the supreme effort that allows struggling and going beyond oneself and pass through death into the Life of the world-to-come remains the major challenge. It presupposes the capacity to face total solitude without being submitted to despair.
We belong to a generation that loves to be connected and still “prefers to keep loose ties” and unchained bonds. We are an unsaddled generation buying one-portion dishes, pleasuring in one-shot experiences that may be shared by numerous anonymous egos. We may click and quit, fall in love and cast away. This cannot help: solitude is not loneliness. It is not a lonesome silence full of anxiety. It is when we feel that we intrinsically share the same human experience that traces back and extends historical proofs.
Twenty nine years ago, on October 16, 1978, the Roman Catholic Church elected Karol J. Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II. He was born in Wadowice, in the diocese of Cracow where he had been assigned as archbishop. Auschwitz-Birkenau is located in his territory. He had been to school with Jews, Gypsies, Armenians, Hungarians, Ukrainians and Slovaks. In October 1986, the first ecumenical assembly at Assisi gathered the representatives of the major religions of the world. In this year of the 800th anniversary of Francis of Assisi, a new international prayer will take place at Napoli (Italy). Pope Benedict XVI is also rescued from the Nazi cancer. Bartholomeos I, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, has also been educated in the international context of Istanbul (Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Syrian-Orthodox). The first Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, Tikhon, firstly served in the United States, backed the translation of the prayers into the Aleutian language (Alaska), and then became a metropolitan in Vilnius where he frequented all the various local believers.
Abraham’s saddling of his donkey continues to be the prevailing question of how to reach the supreme effort that goes beyond physical weight and apathy.
But the word also refers to "passing a regulation, a law" that can be restrictive. "When they placed themselves under greater restrictions than required by the law, they made a usage of a law = nobody cannot extend any adopted usage only because of analogy or apparent similarities of the situations", states Tractate Niddah 66a.
The perfect example of the radical developed in "chammar = the attendant of beasts of burden, in particular the "chamor = donkey" that is the most exciting clone of materialism as burdening dullness, point of gravity and heaviness. Things may seem to move, but very slowly. The donkey has the right "to rest on the seventh day/Shabbat" and not to be coveted by others (Ex. 20:9-14).
The standards of "chomriyut" are shown in the coming sidra of the week on the Shabbat "Vayera” that includes the reading portion of Bereishit / Genesis accounting the supreme test that Abraham had to face: to offer, slaughter his son Isaac. This is the famous report of the Akedat Itzchak - Binding of Isaac on the wood (Gen. 22:1-19). In response to this test, certainly the heaviest and painful in a human point of view, Abraham did not say a word. He did not moan or groan. “He saddled his ass – yichavesh et-chamoro” (Bereishit 22:3) as reports Bereishit. The word “chavesh” means both “to saddle” and “to imprison, put chains”. At first glance it might seem that the imprisoned creature is the one that is saddled, i.e. the chamor – ass-donkey. This sounds materialistically true and a matter of realism. Abraham’s ass was burdened with the “split wood for the olah – burnt-offering (binding of Isaac). This reading is an essential part of the revelation, our private and public devotion and faith in the God of Israel.
When Abraham “imprisoned” his donkey with a saddle and the loads, he accepted the physical and natural burden of life with the intimate conviction that it is a “light yoke or sacrifice”. This is the meaning of “olah – a sacrifice that climbs up into the air” as of “ol’ – yoke as in ‘Ol’ HaShamayim = the yoke of heaven / the compliance with the Mitzvot”. This burden is light. It does not mean that it makes the way cool, fully understandable and equal. This is a major test for any generation to get to the point. The Gospel brings forth some confirmation of what testing Commandments may be in reality: Jesus also said “My yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11:30). He does refer to the same realm of the Jewish Mitzvot as they were observed in his time.
Let’s say that Abraham was not light-minded; he was not carefree or frolicsome. He was full of equanimity and light-heartedly faced events and tests with insight. The whole of the event consisted indeed in a “vision – Adonai yera’e” (Gen. 22:14) and a provision given by God in supplying a ram. But it is evident that this account is usually firstly considered as a fairy tale with some ethnological-anthropological societal interpretations on the seemingly rather primitive background of an impossible challenge. We eagerly thirst for some in-depth encrypted meaning of profound spirituality that borders esotericism and hidden key clarification provided with passwords acquired on a credit line. This is the best of our virtual world at the moment.
Still, some years ago, some Christian monks got rightly fascinated by the fact that the celebration of the Eucharist (Bread and Wine becoming the Body and Blood = living body of resurrected Jesus) in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions is definitely rooted in the Seder Pesach, the Ordinance of the account and celebration of the Jewish Passover. The roots are evident. They are far more difficult to explain and understand. Thus, they called, in a spirit of dialogue, a chief rabbi in order to get the correct comments. They asked the rabbi to explain the meaning of the Eucharist. The chief rabbi had frequented the Christians, but the Eucharist could hardly mean any reality in his own life. The monks spoke with him of the spiritual heavenly bread; he answered that the paschal lamb had to be slaughtered in accordance with the laws of the shechitah (kosher slaughtering of animals) and then cut into pieces after having been roasted. He did say but simple stuff: to take a knife and slaughter the animal as was done in ancient times. The monks suddenly visualized in the slaughtering that there was a real problem of dialogue and understanding of spiritual experience that got estranged.
Now, in what sense is it comparable with the “primitive” text about the Akedat Itzchak – Binding of Isaac? True! A donkey is reputed to be dull. Abraham was maybe performing some odd ritual inherited from pagan human sacrifices. A vision that turns to be resolved by a divine provision of a ram in replacement of a 38-year-old boy to be slaughtered, just for a test? We love tests and find them everywhere in magazines or professional human resource controls. If the scene was to happen in the present – even in the vicinity of Mount Moriah or elsewhere else – the police, army, ambulance and other assistance services might be called. We may be tempted to reduce the authentic challenge of spirituality to any “materialistic or psychologically explainable framework”.
It is normal, in Jerusalem – but this is an international phenomenon that shows in different ways – to see godly people. Many years ago, I incidentally saw two Jesus, each of them accompanied by the twelve apostles and the following women. They started to shriek, cry and fight till the police, totally untouched by the quarrel, obliged them to cool down. That was long before the present war situation began. Today, spirituality requires “being clearly defined and predetermined”…
Abraham left his “own self” to find that God alone supports, nurtures, sustains and accomplishes His will. This is why, along the ages, the Jewish Shaharit – Morning prayer that is often a private prayer, included specific texts that would recall the urging necessity to uplift our souls, looking for more freshness: “Do not make your prayer routine, but address free supplications and petitions to God” (Berachot 28b). Shaharit is built like a rising sun four level structure allowing the soul to refresh from the dark and sleep at dawn. The “Binding of Isaac” reading became then a daily reading included in this rising up morning service. The text aims at elevating the soul from the heaviness, dullness of the material physical reality in order to accept God’s will in our own lives. But this sounds, at first, like a donkey speech repeatedly written or hooked down in a parrot fashion. Clerics of all religions have a sort of innate expertise in proposing easy-going yokes that turn to become real burdens.
There is maybe more. Struggling against thick apathy and physical weightiness requires getting rid of worldly enjoyments. This is maybe why the Israelis love to tour in the monasteries. The Old City of Jerusalem remains an unequaled area where crowds cross crowds and people “meeting without encountering”, just like people exchanging glance in a short glimpse of time that refreshes as from old. It is so intriguing to note that the account of the Binding of Isaac is read everyday during the Jewish Morning prayer and also constitutes an essential element of reflection for the Christians with regards to Jesus’ sacrifice. A true Christian soul would not really come to the same conclusions as the Jews when reading this account. The experience is biased by spiritual practice and experiment. But for the main part, the supreme effort that allows struggling and going beyond oneself and pass through death into the Life of the world-to-come remains the major challenge. It presupposes the capacity to face total solitude without being submitted to despair.
We belong to a generation that loves to be connected and still “prefers to keep loose ties” and unchained bonds. We are an unsaddled generation buying one-portion dishes, pleasuring in one-shot experiences that may be shared by numerous anonymous egos. We may click and quit, fall in love and cast away. This cannot help: solitude is not loneliness. It is not a lonesome silence full of anxiety. It is when we feel that we intrinsically share the same human experience that traces back and extends historical proofs.
Twenty nine years ago, on October 16, 1978, the Roman Catholic Church elected Karol J. Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II. He was born in Wadowice, in the diocese of Cracow where he had been assigned as archbishop. Auschwitz-Birkenau is located in his territory. He had been to school with Jews, Gypsies, Armenians, Hungarians, Ukrainians and Slovaks. In October 1986, the first ecumenical assembly at Assisi gathered the representatives of the major religions of the world. In this year of the 800th anniversary of Francis of Assisi, a new international prayer will take place at Napoli (Italy). Pope Benedict XVI is also rescued from the Nazi cancer. Bartholomeos I, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, has also been educated in the international context of Istanbul (Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Syrian-Orthodox). The first Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, Tikhon, firstly served in the United States, backed the translation of the prayers into the Aleutian language (Alaska), and then became a metropolitan in Vilnius where he frequented all the various local believers.
Abraham’s saddling of his donkey continues to be the prevailing question of how to reach the supreme effort that goes beyond physical weight and apathy.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Lamah: Why a way is hidden?
The parshat hashavua / Torah reading portion of the week is "Lech lecha - Go, march out, reach yourself" said to Abram in Bereishit 12:1-17:20. God insists to make him leave his native land; go out from his father's house and homeland. The words clearly mean that Abram is called by God to "become a great nation, be blessed... and all the families of the earth (mishpechot hadamah) shall bless themselves by you”. This also implies that these humans shaped and structured in families out of the earth - adamah like the Adam haqadmon, address themselves a blessing and not a cursing. They cannot restrict their benedictions to themselves but extend them to each other, nation to nations, family of the earth to any other nation of the earth.
"Lech lecha" sounds beautiful and like a challenge in Hebrew. "Halach - to go, march in/out, go forth" has this short imperative form and the shortened "l-" from "el, al, if not halach" shows something irrepressible. This is a major Shabbat and week in the Jewish cycle of the readings. In this portion, Abram accepts God's call to a move that, in his cultural and social environment could only look frightful, dangerous and hopeless, without significant goal.
Humans are like walkmen, people on a walk with a multitude of tunes: not used to wearing sandals, a tunic (at least some pants and a T shirt). Credit cards? A pocket toothbrush? Just call me Ape and my password is "God with us"; this can be declined from “Immanu-El” to "Gott mit uns" as it was written on the Nazi belts. Fear is worse than any anxious ignorance. Fear that we may discover when life can be set in a series of dangers imperiling our freedom, freewill, change our points of views or, on the contrary, widen them unexpectedly. There is much courage in Abram's response to God as he finally left his homeland and marched out. Did he come out as an adult? He did it twice because, when he firstly tried to leave his father's house, he got so scared according to the Tradition that he ran back or maybe did not even look too far.
Abram belongs to a male civilization. We know nothing about his mom. Let's even think that the man is a character composed of different personalities that lived at a certain period in the same region of Sumer, the cradle of reflection and conscience, culture, awareness that life is not vain. He had a mother like you and I and she might have been quite a character too! Abram does not leave his father's house, homeland. This is what we are told, but we know that he sent Eliezer to his father's home in order to find a suitable wife for his son Isaac. And Jacob did the same. The third and last patriarch of Israel always chose his home tribe and parentage to prolong and develop Abraham's call to become a great nation.
The point is that Abram left his mom when he understood that he had to break the ties that existed in his father's house. He did not kill anyone, like Moshe, for instance, who killed an Egyptian, thus showing a bluffing solidarity with the Hebrews, his people. He accepted the price not to enter Eretz Canaan that had been promised to Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Indeed, Abram, leaving Ur-Kasdim and the area of Haran, firstly combated and overcame idolatry, destroying the mother-like natural nourishing and nurturing idols whose natural flavor he had suckled from his mother’s breasts. It is difficult to struggle and to go beyond the reach of this very gregarious experience. Abram has always been obedient to God… and to Sarai (Sarah) to some extent when he was not about to “give” her to Pharaoh as his sister. This kind of problem of fear lines with some existential anxiety that she could resolve for a while. Sarah made Abram really quit his father’s house and anticipate the serfdom bondage in Egypt when she proposed him to get a child with her maidservant Hagar, an Egyptian. From Mesopotamia to the Nile, Abraham and Sarah dug down to the heart of the Semitic and universal call: “Vehifreti otcha bimeod meod / I shall make you exceedingly fertile – unetatecha legoyim / and make nations of you” (Bereishit 17:6). This fertility is meant as “bimeod meod – in the very too much = totally human as Adam, using the same consonants as when God saw that His creation was “tov meod – very good” (Gen. 1:31).
The haftarah read for the Shabbat “Lech lecha” is a portion of the Book of Prophet Isaiah 40:27-41:16, common to the Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions. There can be some differences between the various Jewish rites or minhagim. In fact, chapter 40 of the book begins with the famous consolation words: “Nachmu, nachmu ammi – comfort, comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1). Some scholars presume that the Prophet was born around 765 BCE and was called to be a prophet in 740 in the Temple of Jerusalem. Isaiah was a talented prophet whose tongue profoundly imprinted the spirit of the nation. Prophets are men – and occasionally women – of speech. In his case, he summarized and “embodied” the vertical, transcendental call addressed by God to His people and to all the Nations. It is a time of danger for Israel that was seduced by idolatry and content with her own “self” and “divine Service”. The Babylonians would, in some short time of two centuries, destroy Jerusalem and the Temple and deport the Jews. Thus, it is usually considered that the haftarah portion read this week could not have been written by Isaiah. Instead, it is thinkable that chapters 40-55 were included because of the great zeal and faith shown by a sort of “gilgul acher – another shadow or double” of the great Prophet who always referred to sanctity and confidence in God. The scientific exegetes conducted by the Christian theologians suggested the existence of a “Second Isaiah” who produced this “Book of the consolation”. The Prophet Isaiah was supposedly slaughtered under Manasseh according to the Jewish tradition. His impact on the “revelation of the Messiah” – the coming in and out of the Mashiach/Moshiach – has been very powerful and continues to be of great importance in the debates between Judaism and Christianity.
On the other hand, “nachmu nachmu ammi” can also be read as “nachmu immi – comfort together with Me”. This sounds in harmony with Abram’s intercession and dialogue with God about the necessity of saving Sodom if there were a few righteous living in the city. We are God’s co-workers, co-builders. This might sometimes be a bit bizarre in Jerusalem. We c an often meet people who would contact us “because they need to minister in the Holy Land”. The kind of comfort that is suggested is an open-minded and realistic hope. “God gives strength to the weary, fresh vigor to the spent. Youths may grow faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but they who trust in the Lord shall renew their strength as eagles grow new plumes” (Isaiah 40:30-31; cf. Tehillim 103:3). “Melech shebe’ofot nesher – the king of the birds is the eagle” states Hagigah 13b. The animal is unclean (Hullin 60b) but very kind to his young ones (Peah I, 15d). “God shall give the righteous wings like those of the eagles and they shall soar” (Sanhedrin 92b), even if “nesharim” refers to “the powerful heathen Romans” (Sanhedrin 12a).
The person who is called to read the “haftarah – additional/completing (prophetic) reading” is called a “maftir – implementing/carrying out utensil-person”. His task is to break through – “patar” (Berachot 8, 1, 46a). He would seemingly discharge and dismiss the community with one more reading that would be related to some birthing (Ketubot 12, 5). “Petar” means altogether: “to free, dismiss, let go and divorce”. The maftir has the awesome privilege to be the last of those called up to conclude with the prophetic reading. During a very long period, the Book of the Prophets could conclude all the readings by a sort of personal choice made by the maftir (reader) himself. There was no specific order. Interestingly, Jesus of Nazareth acted as maftir when he read in the synagogue from the Book of Prophet Isaiah: “He was handed over a scroll of the prophet, unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, thus He has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind and let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling back the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” (Luke 4: 16-30; cf. Isaiah 42:1.sq). He then delivered a speech about the meaning of the text as the lesson that should be also given by the maftir.
The quotation makes sense in the context of New Year seasons as also the citation of the daily morning blessings kept in the Jewish tradition about the liberation of the captives and the recovery of the sight to the blind.
On the coming Monday, the Eastern Orthodox Church will celebrate the memory of the Righteous Abraham and Lot, showing the very ancient roots of how to quit oneself for God’s sake and redemption. I often wonder why there is no synagogue, no “ohaley shalom – tents of peace”, place of meditation or church, chapel at Sodom. Beyond this small ocean of salt (it preserves and revives at times) and its industrial importance, the place is at the heart of all ethical and spiritual combats for righteousness: from sex to societal rejection, moral blindness and fenced horizons for which Abraham interceded like a plume-renewing eagle.
"Lech lecha" sounds beautiful and like a challenge in Hebrew. "Halach - to go, march in/out, go forth" has this short imperative form and the shortened "l-" from "el, al, if not halach" shows something irrepressible. This is a major Shabbat and week in the Jewish cycle of the readings. In this portion, Abram accepts God's call to a move that, in his cultural and social environment could only look frightful, dangerous and hopeless, without significant goal.
Humans are like walkmen, people on a walk with a multitude of tunes: not used to wearing sandals, a tunic (at least some pants and a T shirt). Credit cards? A pocket toothbrush? Just call me Ape and my password is "God with us"; this can be declined from “Immanu-El” to "Gott mit uns" as it was written on the Nazi belts. Fear is worse than any anxious ignorance. Fear that we may discover when life can be set in a series of dangers imperiling our freedom, freewill, change our points of views or, on the contrary, widen them unexpectedly. There is much courage in Abram's response to God as he finally left his homeland and marched out. Did he come out as an adult? He did it twice because, when he firstly tried to leave his father's house, he got so scared according to the Tradition that he ran back or maybe did not even look too far.
Abram belongs to a male civilization. We know nothing about his mom. Let's even think that the man is a character composed of different personalities that lived at a certain period in the same region of Sumer, the cradle of reflection and conscience, culture, awareness that life is not vain. He had a mother like you and I and she might have been quite a character too! Abram does not leave his father's house, homeland. This is what we are told, but we know that he sent Eliezer to his father's home in order to find a suitable wife for his son Isaac. And Jacob did the same. The third and last patriarch of Israel always chose his home tribe and parentage to prolong and develop Abraham's call to become a great nation.
The point is that Abram left his mom when he understood that he had to break the ties that existed in his father's house. He did not kill anyone, like Moshe, for instance, who killed an Egyptian, thus showing a bluffing solidarity with the Hebrews, his people. He accepted the price not to enter Eretz Canaan that had been promised to Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Indeed, Abram, leaving Ur-Kasdim and the area of Haran, firstly combated and overcame idolatry, destroying the mother-like natural nourishing and nurturing idols whose natural flavor he had suckled from his mother’s breasts. It is difficult to struggle and to go beyond the reach of this very gregarious experience. Abram has always been obedient to God… and to Sarai (Sarah) to some extent when he was not about to “give” her to Pharaoh as his sister. This kind of problem of fear lines with some existential anxiety that she could resolve for a while. Sarah made Abram really quit his father’s house and anticipate the serfdom bondage in Egypt when she proposed him to get a child with her maidservant Hagar, an Egyptian. From Mesopotamia to the Nile, Abraham and Sarah dug down to the heart of the Semitic and universal call: “Vehifreti otcha bimeod meod / I shall make you exceedingly fertile – unetatecha legoyim / and make nations of you” (Bereishit 17:6). This fertility is meant as “bimeod meod – in the very too much = totally human as Adam, using the same consonants as when God saw that His creation was “tov meod – very good” (Gen. 1:31).
The haftarah read for the Shabbat “Lech lecha” is a portion of the Book of Prophet Isaiah 40:27-41:16, common to the Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions. There can be some differences between the various Jewish rites or minhagim. In fact, chapter 40 of the book begins with the famous consolation words: “Nachmu, nachmu ammi – comfort, comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1). Some scholars presume that the Prophet was born around 765 BCE and was called to be a prophet in 740 in the Temple of Jerusalem. Isaiah was a talented prophet whose tongue profoundly imprinted the spirit of the nation. Prophets are men – and occasionally women – of speech. In his case, he summarized and “embodied” the vertical, transcendental call addressed by God to His people and to all the Nations. It is a time of danger for Israel that was seduced by idolatry and content with her own “self” and “divine Service”. The Babylonians would, in some short time of two centuries, destroy Jerusalem and the Temple and deport the Jews. Thus, it is usually considered that the haftarah portion read this week could not have been written by Isaiah. Instead, it is thinkable that chapters 40-55 were included because of the great zeal and faith shown by a sort of “gilgul acher – another shadow or double” of the great Prophet who always referred to sanctity and confidence in God. The scientific exegetes conducted by the Christian theologians suggested the existence of a “Second Isaiah” who produced this “Book of the consolation”. The Prophet Isaiah was supposedly slaughtered under Manasseh according to the Jewish tradition. His impact on the “revelation of the Messiah” – the coming in and out of the Mashiach/Moshiach – has been very powerful and continues to be of great importance in the debates between Judaism and Christianity.
On the other hand, “nachmu nachmu ammi” can also be read as “nachmu immi – comfort together with Me”. This sounds in harmony with Abram’s intercession and dialogue with God about the necessity of saving Sodom if there were a few righteous living in the city. We are God’s co-workers, co-builders. This might sometimes be a bit bizarre in Jerusalem. We c an often meet people who would contact us “because they need to minister in the Holy Land”. The kind of comfort that is suggested is an open-minded and realistic hope. “God gives strength to the weary, fresh vigor to the spent. Youths may grow faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but they who trust in the Lord shall renew their strength as eagles grow new plumes” (Isaiah 40:30-31; cf. Tehillim 103:3). “Melech shebe’ofot nesher – the king of the birds is the eagle” states Hagigah 13b. The animal is unclean (Hullin 60b) but very kind to his young ones (Peah I, 15d). “God shall give the righteous wings like those of the eagles and they shall soar” (Sanhedrin 92b), even if “nesharim” refers to “the powerful heathen Romans” (Sanhedrin 12a).
The person who is called to read the “haftarah – additional/completing (prophetic) reading” is called a “maftir – implementing/carrying out utensil-person”. His task is to break through – “patar” (Berachot 8, 1, 46a). He would seemingly discharge and dismiss the community with one more reading that would be related to some birthing (Ketubot 12, 5). “Petar” means altogether: “to free, dismiss, let go and divorce”. The maftir has the awesome privilege to be the last of those called up to conclude with the prophetic reading. During a very long period, the Book of the Prophets could conclude all the readings by a sort of personal choice made by the maftir (reader) himself. There was no specific order. Interestingly, Jesus of Nazareth acted as maftir when he read in the synagogue from the Book of Prophet Isaiah: “He was handed over a scroll of the prophet, unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, thus He has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind and let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling back the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” (Luke 4: 16-30; cf. Isaiah 42:1.sq). He then delivered a speech about the meaning of the text as the lesson that should be also given by the maftir.
The quotation makes sense in the context of New Year seasons as also the citation of the daily morning blessings kept in the Jewish tradition about the liberation of the captives and the recovery of the sight to the blind.
On the coming Monday, the Eastern Orthodox Church will celebrate the memory of the Righteous Abraham and Lot, showing the very ancient roots of how to quit oneself for God’s sake and redemption. I often wonder why there is no synagogue, no “ohaley shalom – tents of peace”, place of meditation or church, chapel at Sodom. Beyond this small ocean of salt (it preserves and revives at times) and its industrial importance, the place is at the heart of all ethical and spiritual combats for righteousness: from sex to societal rejection, moral blindness and fenced horizons for which Abraham interceded like a plume-renewing eagle.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Haftarot: a world of additions
We entered the month of (mar)Cheshvan which is typically after-autumnal, sweeping old things and trash away from our environment and daily embarrassments of all sorts. The Gospel has it in the words of John the Baptist: "The ax lies now at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Luke 3:9; Matthew 3:10). There was some snow a few days ago in Helsinki, around Karelia and Riga. In Finland, woods and lakes (Finnish Suomenmaa = country of the lakes) display immense landscapes with ever-green huge trees. You meet more trees than humans and humans are silent and nice as these arboreal plants: the one who studies the Torah is like a tree - hu ke'ets" that grows with harmony and experiences wisdom. And Psalm 1 adds: "shatul al-palgey mayim - (trans)planted in the middle of the waters". Would a tree survive if it were rooted directly in the midst of the waters? The allusion traces back to the Temple and the measures of waters that were overflowing, producing a surplus quantity of life and goods. At least, on Finland, trees are always very close to lakes and vice versa. Nature and humbleness may sometime be affected by the darkness or a forest environment that would totally cover and seize, restrict human breathing-in strangely by providing pure and more refreshing air.
For some days, anonymous believers as we should say in Israel gathered with some clergy in a Lutheran old country, previously Catholic and always steadily christened by the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was "obvious" for these people to hear the Eastern Orthodox Christian prayers in Hebrew along with the "legal" tongues of the "Republic, State or Riket (in Swedish)": Finnish, Swedish and some Russian, Romanian, Greek or other languages. The Finns are of course used to speak in Finnish whose origins are not precisely defined but definitely connected this part of Europe with the thinking ways of Hungarian, the Uighurs and Japanese. In the North, the Lapps add an all-Scandinavian touch of Sami and reindeer specificity. The nice aspect of the meeting was that Hebrew is absolutely "evident" for most Finnish believers. This is quite rare in the Churches. Therefore, this is a precious and valuable treasure that has nothing to do with any political statement. Good gracious, I guess God would make us feel full of shame - a shond - and real shame, if any soul would pretend that a speech is worthier than other parlances. What? God would not understand those we despise and cannot stand on a voluntarily irrational basis? Flemish vs French, Gaelic and Welsh vs English? Just as some people would run to dig out the mikveh (ritual pool) of Jesus of Nazareth, would we some day find the earthen DVD of Adam's family talks with the Lord, Eve and the snake. That would be such a poignant jerk! Some opine it was pure Aramaic...
At the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century, the Jews of Finland spoke Yiddish and German, Swedish or Russian. How fascinating it is to jump through the clouds from a modern Finnish language (Amos Oz is a best there) to the official revival of Latvian and Lithuanian, among the most ancient languages of Europe along with Icelandic.
These days, the same questions were discussed: Do Jews have any place in the Churches? Let's put this in other words. Judaism is Jewish. Well, it may not be so evident at times and it is indeed possible to kid some new-old trends that undoubtedly consider themselves as some part of Jewishness. This is an interior affair issue of Jews quarreling with Jews. Long before the creation of the State of Israel, Hebrew Christians have been present in the Churches. This is also indisputable and patent. The Early Church of Jerusalem was entirely composed of Jews, very pious ones who used to go everyday to the Temple (Acts of the Apostles 2:46).
At the present, Jews do not exist as such in any historical Church and this is a very questionable historic factor. It is rather suspicious and intriguing that, during World War II, baptism has been considered as a possible way to be rescued from the peril of death in the concentration camps. A huge number of souls have perished as Hebrew Christians. Some of them, like Edith Stein for the Roman Catholic Church show the “borderline” situation of claims: a Christian martyr and a Jewish too? The Eastern Orthodox Churches have counted numerous Hebrew Christian martyrs during the Shoah. It is far too early for the Eastern Churches newly freed from communism and underscoring the ethnical aspect of their Christian faith to recognize to the full such martyrs as Christians and Jews or of Jewish descent. Still, there is one more problem. The “Church” corresponds to the “Qahal – the Great Assembly” as a one and unique body. Is this so visible and can we feel, taste that as the fulfillment of the commandment of love, in the mutual relationships of Jews and Gentiles? There might be a problem… The epistle of Paul of Tarsus to the Ephesians 2:14-21 firmly states that “from the two = Israel and the Nations, there is one body”. The whole of history has consisted in showing mutual drifting-away, estrangement, replacement attitudes founded on so-called theology and excluding the process of “oneness” and unity of humankind in the face of God and His likeness..
It is thus a spellbinding and mesmerizing challenge to study how Europe is at pains in trying to define in its legal Constitution the Christian roots of its existence. These fundamentals are not based on any power. The roots are like the trees, transplanted into various contexts that have nowhere been ethnically pure, clean, “DNA or blood test born again in the spirit”. The magnetism, exercised by this process of an ancient spiritual European Christian essential core, proceeds from faith, their capacities to say “amen” to God. Somehow, this corresponds to the “emunah shlemah – perfect faith” in Judaism. If we consider the individual and collective spiritual changes, Christianity took different aspects in Europe that is widely broken down into small denominations in the New World, weakening the essential meaning of “oneness”.
With regards to the Jews in the Churches, they mirror this estranging broken-down process of divergences, disunion and often abrupt ruptures. These breaches do exist in Judaism. Many current discussions about how to respect the Mitzvot come from the difficulty for a large number of Jews to resolve their own temptation of idolatry. This occurs in cultural contexts that do not refer to any principle of faith. Indeed, many Jews became members of historically separated Churches. It is an astounding and interesting cultural phenomenon. It also constitutes a paradox for the authentic unity of the Church.
The emergence of Israel does not allow multiplying the multi-faceted reasons that would lead some Christian denominations to back or reject Jewishness for mutual tactical advantages or convenience. Say that political options are deceitful and wrong on both sides. The heart of the problem resides in an efficient and trustworthy knowledge and respect of ways to combat idolatry. Curiously, idolatry shows both in the progressive decrease or absence of faith but also in renewed tendencies to ritual stiffness avoid too much understand of spiritual questioning.
This induces that we are on the move, en route to God and that true, respectful love, esteem and recognition are possible between Jews and the Christian Church. This has shown to be close to an “impossible challenge” and still a constant expectation, at least from the part of some Christians and some Jews.
During the past year, I tried to propose each week a special approach of the liturgical, i.e.
the Shabbat readings of the Torah and the Feasts with a positive and progressive view into the Christian tradition, mainly the Eastern Orthodox one. It allows starting from the “roots” and envisioning how the readings respond or interrogate our ethical way of living in Israeli society.
Since the most ancient times, the Jews have read “haftarah/ot – additional texts” written by the “Nevi’im – Prophets of Israel” who envisioned with much realism the future development of the Klal Israel as well as the relationship of the Nations to the living God. Traditionally, “haftarah” also means “a farewell address, goodbye toast party” (Gen. Rabbah 69). We are used to words like “hitpater – to leave, quit, dismiss” as concerns some politicians.
We live in a region that is inspirited at the source of the Prophets. Their texts have always been read by the traditional Churches. At the present, there are various customs but most denominations do insist on the words of the Prophets. The “haftarot – prophetic readings” (Megillah 30b) also pave the way to more spiritual flexibility.
For some days, anonymous believers as we should say in Israel gathered with some clergy in a Lutheran old country, previously Catholic and always steadily christened by the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was "obvious" for these people to hear the Eastern Orthodox Christian prayers in Hebrew along with the "legal" tongues of the "Republic, State or Riket (in Swedish)": Finnish, Swedish and some Russian, Romanian, Greek or other languages. The Finns are of course used to speak in Finnish whose origins are not precisely defined but definitely connected this part of Europe with the thinking ways of Hungarian, the Uighurs and Japanese. In the North, the Lapps add an all-Scandinavian touch of Sami and reindeer specificity. The nice aspect of the meeting was that Hebrew is absolutely "evident" for most Finnish believers. This is quite rare in the Churches. Therefore, this is a precious and valuable treasure that has nothing to do with any political statement. Good gracious, I guess God would make us feel full of shame - a shond - and real shame, if any soul would pretend that a speech is worthier than other parlances. What? God would not understand those we despise and cannot stand on a voluntarily irrational basis? Flemish vs French, Gaelic and Welsh vs English? Just as some people would run to dig out the mikveh (ritual pool) of Jesus of Nazareth, would we some day find the earthen DVD of Adam's family talks with the Lord, Eve and the snake. That would be such a poignant jerk! Some opine it was pure Aramaic...
At the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century, the Jews of Finland spoke Yiddish and German, Swedish or Russian. How fascinating it is to jump through the clouds from a modern Finnish language (Amos Oz is a best there) to the official revival of Latvian and Lithuanian, among the most ancient languages of Europe along with Icelandic.
These days, the same questions were discussed: Do Jews have any place in the Churches? Let's put this in other words. Judaism is Jewish. Well, it may not be so evident at times and it is indeed possible to kid some new-old trends that undoubtedly consider themselves as some part of Jewishness. This is an interior affair issue of Jews quarreling with Jews. Long before the creation of the State of Israel, Hebrew Christians have been present in the Churches. This is also indisputable and patent. The Early Church of Jerusalem was entirely composed of Jews, very pious ones who used to go everyday to the Temple (Acts of the Apostles 2:46).
At the present, Jews do not exist as such in any historical Church and this is a very questionable historic factor. It is rather suspicious and intriguing that, during World War II, baptism has been considered as a possible way to be rescued from the peril of death in the concentration camps. A huge number of souls have perished as Hebrew Christians. Some of them, like Edith Stein for the Roman Catholic Church show the “borderline” situation of claims: a Christian martyr and a Jewish too? The Eastern Orthodox Churches have counted numerous Hebrew Christian martyrs during the Shoah. It is far too early for the Eastern Churches newly freed from communism and underscoring the ethnical aspect of their Christian faith to recognize to the full such martyrs as Christians and Jews or of Jewish descent. Still, there is one more problem. The “Church” corresponds to the “Qahal – the Great Assembly” as a one and unique body. Is this so visible and can we feel, taste that as the fulfillment of the commandment of love, in the mutual relationships of Jews and Gentiles? There might be a problem… The epistle of Paul of Tarsus to the Ephesians 2:14-21 firmly states that “from the two = Israel and the Nations, there is one body”. The whole of history has consisted in showing mutual drifting-away, estrangement, replacement attitudes founded on so-called theology and excluding the process of “oneness” and unity of humankind in the face of God and His likeness..
It is thus a spellbinding and mesmerizing challenge to study how Europe is at pains in trying to define in its legal Constitution the Christian roots of its existence. These fundamentals are not based on any power. The roots are like the trees, transplanted into various contexts that have nowhere been ethnically pure, clean, “DNA or blood test born again in the spirit”. The magnetism, exercised by this process of an ancient spiritual European Christian essential core, proceeds from faith, their capacities to say “amen” to God. Somehow, this corresponds to the “emunah shlemah – perfect faith” in Judaism. If we consider the individual and collective spiritual changes, Christianity took different aspects in Europe that is widely broken down into small denominations in the New World, weakening the essential meaning of “oneness”.
With regards to the Jews in the Churches, they mirror this estranging broken-down process of divergences, disunion and often abrupt ruptures. These breaches do exist in Judaism. Many current discussions about how to respect the Mitzvot come from the difficulty for a large number of Jews to resolve their own temptation of idolatry. This occurs in cultural contexts that do not refer to any principle of faith. Indeed, many Jews became members of historically separated Churches. It is an astounding and interesting cultural phenomenon. It also constitutes a paradox for the authentic unity of the Church.
The emergence of Israel does not allow multiplying the multi-faceted reasons that would lead some Christian denominations to back or reject Jewishness for mutual tactical advantages or convenience. Say that political options are deceitful and wrong on both sides. The heart of the problem resides in an efficient and trustworthy knowledge and respect of ways to combat idolatry. Curiously, idolatry shows both in the progressive decrease or absence of faith but also in renewed tendencies to ritual stiffness avoid too much understand of spiritual questioning.
This induces that we are on the move, en route to God and that true, respectful love, esteem and recognition are possible between Jews and the Christian Church. This has shown to be close to an “impossible challenge” and still a constant expectation, at least from the part of some Christians and some Jews.
During the past year, I tried to propose each week a special approach of the liturgical, i.e.
the Shabbat readings of the Torah and the Feasts with a positive and progressive view into the Christian tradition, mainly the Eastern Orthodox one. It allows starting from the “roots” and envisioning how the readings respond or interrogate our ethical way of living in Israeli society.
Since the most ancient times, the Jews have read “haftarah/ot – additional texts” written by the “Nevi’im – Prophets of Israel” who envisioned with much realism the future development of the Klal Israel as well as the relationship of the Nations to the living God. Traditionally, “haftarah” also means “a farewell address, goodbye toast party” (Gen. Rabbah 69). We are used to words like “hitpater – to leave, quit, dismiss” as concerns some politicians.
We live in a region that is inspirited at the source of the Prophets. Their texts have always been read by the traditional Churches. At the present, there are various customs but most denominations do insist on the words of the Prophets. The “haftarot – prophetic readings” (Megillah 30b) also pave the way to more spiritual flexibility.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Sheket: resting in turmoil
The Feast of Succot will soon be over. The etrog / Citrus "big heart" will either turn to some jam or prolong the feast and the historical "ushpizin - special guests, visitors" chosen as time markers will apparently leave our world. We will be able to add some smell of etrog over the year during the havdalah - service distinguishing the Shabbat from the ordinary days. We read the "megillat Kohelet - scroll of the Ecclesiastes" that could be understood either as a sort of fatality that continues each year. Newness and seeding forces that sprinkle out of the divine invisible forces may often be too challenging. Good Pope John XXVIII used to say that we are "uomini di pocca fede - people with little faith".
In these days of harvesting, we would prefer to assemble and rejoice, feel together and forget for a short while that daily life removes all make-up and useless pretended struggles for life. There is an interesting root in Talmudic Hebrew: "QaT - QaTa" that means "to pluck" and "be a fragment, chip". It is linked to "Qataf - to harvest". It is written: "If he plucks, thus gains anything, the plucks a piece of coal - if he loses, he loses a pearl" (Terumot 8, 45d). This saying means that a man risks his life for a trifle. A small chip that firstly appears as meaningless, senseless and vain. Let's put it in other words. In Pessikta Rabba deRabbi Kahana 21, it is said: "that student is a chip from the rock of Mount Sinai”, which should change him into a rare precious stone of knowledge spared from the rocky wilderness of the Sinai and the Giving of the Luchot (Tablets) (cf. Sanhedrin 4, 22a “qetoa”). This is what is great in Jewishness and all the Jewish traditions: from gambling and trifling we are basically called to hear God’s voice Who assembles chips and cuts or diminish our pride or selfishness to shape things “fine” – “qatat” as stated: “the one who beats (“meqatqet – makes even by beating”) to make the web close or to make the woof even” (Shabbat 12, 13c). Curiously, John the Baptist has something rather similar: “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase but I must decrease. The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all (John 3:29-31).
This echoes the upcoming Shabbat Bereishit with the new reading of the account of the Creation in the Book of Genesis. It refers to the shaping, making even and fine of our universe and the planets, in particular, the Earth. The reader is called the “Chatan Bereishit – the bridegroom of Genesis” as to attest that God did shape the world and not the humans; and humankind did not wake up by some sophisticated or unreasonable project. All beings come into the world in order to pass over - depart. The major effect is that we grow old from the very first day we come out of our mother’s womb but we cannot grow old. On the contrary, a believer, might progressively get to the point, eventually preceded by terrible pains and sufferings, that s/he quits timeless eternity to live through an age that terribly extended from the original big bang. Thus, we are young “chaps” as regards the bridegrooms who are cut in time to get creative as family, job and learning partners. This is a reversed envisioning of our life, our duration.
There is a problem of lack of confidence: we would like to build, but are quick to destroy. It is so strange to spend some time in a Danish city garden. The children can fight like anywhere else, but if they get the material, they will always start to build something and avoid any destroying. This might explain why the Danes created the “Lego” or construction games. It is amazing to look at these little boys and girls naturally playing peacefully with a spirit of building something.
As always in the Semitic realm, “QaTaTa = quarrel, dispute, discord (music, sounds)” with a preference to one sole and unique example: “beyno l’veynah – relations between (man and woman, spouses). “Qatatah” is the exact opposite to “shalom – peace”. “if husband and wife have a strong dispute before his death (of the husband), they are vain” (Yevamot 15, 1).
The root developed into an engrossing word: “sheqet – silence”. Considering the Talmudic references mentioned above that enroot the basic meaning of the word, things are not so simple in the TaNaKh and the Oral Law. “Shaqat haolam – the world remained undisturbed” (Avodah Zarah 3a, Yalkut Habakuk 563) reflects a statement found both in Genesis and the Book of Job: “VeHu yishqit be’olamo = He (the Lord) is and remains unconcerned about His world (Gen. Rabbah 36; cf. Job 36:29). This could suggest that God might be careless (“shalev”) or feel too much “at ease” with His creation. Russian saying states: “Every uttered word is a lie and silence covers a lot of sins (Saint Seraphim of Sarov). The problem is that “the ease of the wicked / resha’im is bad for themselves as for the world” (Sanhedrin 8, 5).
It should be noted that true silence is positive in the Jewish tradition. Silence may resemble a destruction: for example, in Hebrew, the sheva consists in removing a vowel and change it into some sort of “silent” /e/ sound: “shalom > sh’lom ha’ish – peace > the peace of the man”. Indeed, “sheva” corresponds to “shoah – destruction”. Nonetheless, “silence” shows “quietness, be even, balanced, at ease”. Silence may introduce some fear (death) or narcissistic self-mirroring that opens up the dreams of some suffering souls. “Shakut = a forehead that recedes abruptly”, which can be good for donning the tefillin (Berachot 43b).
On the other hand, silence is merely a reality. Absolute dumbness, total absence of decibels is not possible. Even gesture and the language of the deaf and dumb include their uttering some moaning, groaning or raw sounds produced by the throat.
From August till now, a lot of international personalities died and their lives had been deeply affected by the Shoah: on September 22nd, Marcel Marceau, born Mangel-Werzberg in Strasbourg into a Jewish family at the age of 84. In 1944, his father, a shochet / kosher butcher and was murdered in Auschwitz. He was obliged to leave the Alsace and joined the Free French Forces, then worked as a liaison officer with General Patton’s army. He perfectly spoke English and, when the war was over, he decided to become an actor. True, he found his way in renewing the art or the ancient Italian pantomime or “l’art du silence – the art of silence”. In 1947, he created the silent character of “Bip” the clown that drew into silence the soft and fragile “Arlequin” and “Baptiste” he had interpreted in various mimodramas. I saw him very often on the stage – it was frail and powerful, like Chaplin’s mute films. It is certain that mime Marceau chose to revive humanity through gesture and bones, pantomiming animals, butterflies or the extraordinary “Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death” two minute mimodrama that summed up whole series of human destinies. He performed everywhere in the world and the international language of silence got his a huge prestige in Japan: the No theater and the Japanese combined with Kan Ji Chinese ideograms immediately attained the soul of silence as a universal language. He remained an actor, especially in Mel Brook’s “Silent Movie”. He also influenced Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalk”.
Mime and pantomime were definitely popular in Antiquity and was reinvigorated from the time of the Commedia dell’Arte till some rescued actors. “Bip” has a wide family. Mime Marceau used to say that life had been so fragile and tragic that this form of art of silence was the best way for him to show the beauty of the world.
It is indeed a world that sowed revival in the silence chosen by numerous survivors in order to continue their struggling for life. On the other hand, Marcel Marceau was a choreographer who could pave the way for a speechless art that reaches out to every heart. This is also at the core of “sheket – silence”: to act with tact (Lat. “tacitus – being silent”) and not reticence (“reticere – keep silent”).
Is there any reason to confide in God? The Hoshanah Rabbah sequence “Mevasser mevasser veomer – He comes to embody and announce the good news” is one of the mos spolendid piyutim / chants that can give some hope to share. Job’s final exclamation: “I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6) echoes the original Abraham’s words to God for the sake of Sodom: “I am but dust and ashes” (Bereishit 18:27).
It is not a repeated nihilistic statement: these men entrusted everything to God, every thing and silence brought them as it is proposed to us in the same way. It substantiates full trust in God for chipped – not broken but fine humans.
In these days of harvesting, we would prefer to assemble and rejoice, feel together and forget for a short while that daily life removes all make-up and useless pretended struggles for life. There is an interesting root in Talmudic Hebrew: "QaT - QaTa" that means "to pluck" and "be a fragment, chip". It is linked to "Qataf - to harvest". It is written: "If he plucks, thus gains anything, the plucks a piece of coal - if he loses, he loses a pearl" (Terumot 8, 45d). This saying means that a man risks his life for a trifle. A small chip that firstly appears as meaningless, senseless and vain. Let's put it in other words. In Pessikta Rabba deRabbi Kahana 21, it is said: "that student is a chip from the rock of Mount Sinai”, which should change him into a rare precious stone of knowledge spared from the rocky wilderness of the Sinai and the Giving of the Luchot (Tablets) (cf. Sanhedrin 4, 22a “qetoa”). This is what is great in Jewishness and all the Jewish traditions: from gambling and trifling we are basically called to hear God’s voice Who assembles chips and cuts or diminish our pride or selfishness to shape things “fine” – “qatat” as stated: “the one who beats (“meqatqet – makes even by beating”) to make the web close or to make the woof even” (Shabbat 12, 13c). Curiously, John the Baptist has something rather similar: “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase but I must decrease. The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all (John 3:29-31).
This echoes the upcoming Shabbat Bereishit with the new reading of the account of the Creation in the Book of Genesis. It refers to the shaping, making even and fine of our universe and the planets, in particular, the Earth. The reader is called the “Chatan Bereishit – the bridegroom of Genesis” as to attest that God did shape the world and not the humans; and humankind did not wake up by some sophisticated or unreasonable project. All beings come into the world in order to pass over - depart. The major effect is that we grow old from the very first day we come out of our mother’s womb but we cannot grow old. On the contrary, a believer, might progressively get to the point, eventually preceded by terrible pains and sufferings, that s/he quits timeless eternity to live through an age that terribly extended from the original big bang. Thus, we are young “chaps” as regards the bridegrooms who are cut in time to get creative as family, job and learning partners. This is a reversed envisioning of our life, our duration.
There is a problem of lack of confidence: we would like to build, but are quick to destroy. It is so strange to spend some time in a Danish city garden. The children can fight like anywhere else, but if they get the material, they will always start to build something and avoid any destroying. This might explain why the Danes created the “Lego” or construction games. It is amazing to look at these little boys and girls naturally playing peacefully with a spirit of building something.
As always in the Semitic realm, “QaTaTa = quarrel, dispute, discord (music, sounds)” with a preference to one sole and unique example: “beyno l’veynah – relations between (man and woman, spouses). “Qatatah” is the exact opposite to “shalom – peace”. “if husband and wife have a strong dispute before his death (of the husband), they are vain” (Yevamot 15, 1).
The root developed into an engrossing word: “sheqet – silence”. Considering the Talmudic references mentioned above that enroot the basic meaning of the word, things are not so simple in the TaNaKh and the Oral Law. “Shaqat haolam – the world remained undisturbed” (Avodah Zarah 3a, Yalkut Habakuk 563) reflects a statement found both in Genesis and the Book of Job: “VeHu yishqit be’olamo = He (the Lord) is and remains unconcerned about His world (Gen. Rabbah 36; cf. Job 36:29). This could suggest that God might be careless (“shalev”) or feel too much “at ease” with His creation. Russian saying states: “Every uttered word is a lie and silence covers a lot of sins (Saint Seraphim of Sarov). The problem is that “the ease of the wicked / resha’im is bad for themselves as for the world” (Sanhedrin 8, 5).
It should be noted that true silence is positive in the Jewish tradition. Silence may resemble a destruction: for example, in Hebrew, the sheva consists in removing a vowel and change it into some sort of “silent” /e/ sound: “shalom > sh’lom ha’ish – peace > the peace of the man”. Indeed, “sheva” corresponds to “shoah – destruction”. Nonetheless, “silence” shows “quietness, be even, balanced, at ease”. Silence may introduce some fear (death) or narcissistic self-mirroring that opens up the dreams of some suffering souls. “Shakut = a forehead that recedes abruptly”, which can be good for donning the tefillin (Berachot 43b).
On the other hand, silence is merely a reality. Absolute dumbness, total absence of decibels is not possible. Even gesture and the language of the deaf and dumb include their uttering some moaning, groaning or raw sounds produced by the throat.
From August till now, a lot of international personalities died and their lives had been deeply affected by the Shoah: on September 22nd, Marcel Marceau, born Mangel-Werzberg in Strasbourg into a Jewish family at the age of 84. In 1944, his father, a shochet / kosher butcher and was murdered in Auschwitz. He was obliged to leave the Alsace and joined the Free French Forces, then worked as a liaison officer with General Patton’s army. He perfectly spoke English and, when the war was over, he decided to become an actor. True, he found his way in renewing the art or the ancient Italian pantomime or “l’art du silence – the art of silence”. In 1947, he created the silent character of “Bip” the clown that drew into silence the soft and fragile “Arlequin” and “Baptiste” he had interpreted in various mimodramas. I saw him very often on the stage – it was frail and powerful, like Chaplin’s mute films. It is certain that mime Marceau chose to revive humanity through gesture and bones, pantomiming animals, butterflies or the extraordinary “Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death” two minute mimodrama that summed up whole series of human destinies. He performed everywhere in the world and the international language of silence got his a huge prestige in Japan: the No theater and the Japanese combined with Kan Ji Chinese ideograms immediately attained the soul of silence as a universal language. He remained an actor, especially in Mel Brook’s “Silent Movie”. He also influenced Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalk”.
Mime and pantomime were definitely popular in Antiquity and was reinvigorated from the time of the Commedia dell’Arte till some rescued actors. “Bip” has a wide family. Mime Marceau used to say that life had been so fragile and tragic that this form of art of silence was the best way for him to show the beauty of the world.
It is indeed a world that sowed revival in the silence chosen by numerous survivors in order to continue their struggling for life. On the other hand, Marcel Marceau was a choreographer who could pave the way for a speechless art that reaches out to every heart. This is also at the core of “sheket – silence”: to act with tact (Lat. “tacitus – being silent”) and not reticence (“reticere – keep silent”).
Is there any reason to confide in God? The Hoshanah Rabbah sequence “Mevasser mevasser veomer – He comes to embody and announce the good news” is one of the mos spolendid piyutim / chants that can give some hope to share. Job’s final exclamation: “I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6) echoes the original Abraham’s words to God for the sake of Sodom: “I am but dust and ashes” (Bereishit 18:27).
It is not a repeated nihilistic statement: these men entrusted everything to God, every thing and silence brought them as it is proposed to us in the same way. It substantiates full trust in God for chipped – not broken but fine humans.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Kohelet: overall harvesting
Are we going to dwell in huts, booths, tents, tabernacles? or succot? On Tishri 15, 5768, the Jewish Community celebrates the harvesting feast of the Booths. They are commended to gather and bring all samples of the numerous produce of the land before - slow-slowly the grounds may take a one-year leave wherever possible though it is a law of the shemittah, rest for the grounds.
A succah is and only can be a sicce and Succot can only be "Sicces". This Shabbat is called "Shabbat chol HaMoed Sukkot - Shabbat of the (ordinary) weekdays of the Feast of Succot", intermediate days that may occur for Pesach and "Zeman Simchatenu - the time of our rejoicing", i.e. "the Feast of the Tabernacles". As decades, years and shemittot (years of remittance) pass, this festival grows into a widely popular and rejoicing time, beside the fact that a lot of Israelis would then decide to travel abroad. The reading portion is taken from the Book of Vayikra / Leviticus 22:26-23:44 that recounts the time of "appointed festivals - moadim - pl. of "moed" (Lev. 23:4). This tracks us back to the creation of the world: God had set up the "me'orot birkiyah hashamayim - lights in the dome of the sky" to distinguish as a sign "le'otot lemoadim - for the appointed times of encounter" (Gen. 1:14). Days and years pass, "moed - moadim" are appointed - invariant times of special encounter between God and the beings. Just as the Shabbat, Pesach - Shavuot (Spring New Year and first harvest of Passover-Pentecost), Rosh HaShanah-Yom HaKippurim (Autumnal New Year and Day of Atonement) and Succot (Feast of the Booths - Autumnal New Year Harvest). On these Fall harvesting days that developed into the Canadian and then American Thanksgiving Days also related to the local late harvests, the Jews chose to reckon salvation. Judaism starts New Year in accordance with the Sumerian, Chaldean and Gilgamesh computing system based on return, pardon and assembling the whole Community of Israel. There was a time when New Year started with Pesach and the Law-giving Pentecostal harvest. Curiously, it makes more sense for the South hemispheric countries, from Argentina, South Africa to Australia as they reach Springtime…
Succot is a good period for reflecting with insights on Jews and Judaic, Judean and Jewishness. Succot is also the perfect seven-day period to allow speculating upon non-Jews, Gentiles, Nations of the world, others, “not us” indistinctively. Then, the problem is that we still thoughtfully interrogate ourselves about who we are and not how we are linked to others and vice versa.
To begin with, we have very poor soil produce memorizing capacities. From the time of the exile in Babylon, we have been city-addicted or compelled to reside in towns. We know what “apartheid” means because like in the Cape of Good Hope, we were compulsorily fenced in townships (Afrikaans: pondokkies), our “shtetlech” and their ghettos. But “by the rivers of Babylon, (as) we were sitting and wept” (Tehillim 137:1; cf. Blessing after Meals), we apparently forgot about the feast of the Booths and progressively got astray from hut-building, even the limited three wall sample (Succa 3a). No hut, no booth, maybe some tent in specific oriental areas and this absence of Succot celebrated lasted quite a long time. “Tabernacles” really sounds “Gentile” at the present because it means a place or ornamental box for the Divine Presence (Eucharist), especially in the Roman Catholic world while the Byzantine speak of a “Tsiyon – Zion” that is placed on the offering altar in the Eastern-Orthodox Churches.
The produce would rather be used in the synagogues and we do have a lot of accounts written by Christians comparing the lulav – palm branch with the palm branches waved during the Christian Holy Week. Still, in the long periods of dispersion, the Jews forgot the taste and flavor of the produce required in Eretz Israel - Holy Land : the lulav – palm branch (strictness / flexibility in faith), etrog – big lemon – citrus (big heart, love to every/anybody, gentleness and delicacy/good smell), hadas – myrtle (charm and seduction, sweet heartedness but no persistency) and aravah – willow (thirst quenching and fear to get bone dried) that should be gathered together and waved in a special way (Succa 37b): toward the four winds, the heavens, the earth, symbolizing the overflowing wealth and prosperity, abundance of Divine love for each creature and human being as chanted during the Hallel (cf. Tehillim 118:2.3.25.29).
The Jews could hardly enjoy all these produce outside of Eretz Israel. And there is undoubtedly no need to build some succot during the Feast of Passover or even on Shavuot / Pentecost days. As mentioned in a previous article, it is interesting to note that the Feast of Succot does not exist per se in any Christian Church or denomination, contrary to all the other Jewish festivals that got included into the Christian festive calendar. The Christian scholars and traditions would show that all things got “accomplished” in Jesus of Nazareth. Both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic liturgies insist on the (Second) Coming of Jesus in glory, which corresponds to the two Messiahs: (the suffering) Ben Joseph and (glorious) Ben David of the Jewish tradition. The Gospels recount the conception and birth of Jesus of Nazareth. They might also suggest that he was born during the Feast of Sukkot. This is simply based upon the calculation of time starting with Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, who accomplished his priestly service as a member of the Abijah order in the Temple (always in August), the visit paid by Mary to her cousin Elisabeth, Zechariah’s wife, at Eyn Karem. She was pregnant for five months and, in the sixth month, Mary also became pregnant (Luke 1:1-33). This shows the delays and allows calculating the possible birth of Jesus in the time of Succot.
For the Jewish Community, Succot is thus not the feast of some huts or booths. It is the festival that prolongs the journey throughout the wilderness of a world that may ignore God’s Presence. Strangely enough, it is appealing that some Christians would join Succot (as Shavuot) because of the strong impact of harvesting thanksgivings in the North American Christian culture. On the other hand, it includes the mitzvah of hospitality to all the ushpizin (guests) from those who were the pioneers and paved the way for redemption and the end of ages (Yevamot 61b). During the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah. Both disappeared while Shimon-Peter asked Jesus if he could not build three “dwellings – sukkot”: “one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17.4); “not knowing what he said” adds the proselyte Evangelist (Luke 9:33).
Indeed, Succot is the “tsel tsila – overshadowing shade” feast of a trip trough eternity. Shades cover shades and “fencing or wall separations” are definitely not the point, in this festival. True, Jews can recall that they dwelt under tents in the desert. But is it credible to think backwards as we a new year starts and introduce humankind into brand new days, weeks and months? The Jewish tradition usually adds a “megillah – a scroll” reading to the major Festivals. These scrolls underline that Redemption and God’s reign concerns every nation. At Shavuot / Pentecost, Megillat Ruth explains how a Moabite woman and Noemi joined the community of Israel. At Kippur, the Book of Jonah described how the Ninivites turned to God and repented under ashes.
When there is a Shabbat between the beginning of the feast of Sukkot and its conclusion on Shemini Atseret (Day of the joyous assembly), it became a custom (minhag) to read the Megillat Kohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is considered as a scroll and it seemingly depicts a plain if not dubious attitude toward faith in God and the lack of hope in this world. Say it sounds a bit blasé. Just as some people would love to show off at times. There were long disputes as whether to include or not this megillah/scroll into the canonical Books of the Scriptures. Interestingly, Judaism and Christianity did not feel at ease with the Song of the Songs too. As if extreme love and doubt could defy God’s existence and presence. Is Kohelet a preacher, eventually the son of David (Eccl. 1:1, 2:7,9)? Or, is it the “gathering call, the one call that assembles the faithful”? Is “hevel – vanity – hevel havalim – vanity of vanities” a worldly nonchalant and disillusioned repeated motto for empty and futile senselessness? This question is real and deeply affects a large part of Israeli society. “Absurd” is now a common word in English as it is also in Russian. On the other hand, the Feast of Sukkot is a time of rejoicing. It is possible for some people to be caught up in the dizzy aspect of festivities, food, pleasures even when joy can be felt in the study of the Scripture. “Hevel” also means “vapor”. Latin and Greek don’t presuppose a positive interpretation of the word. Hebrew could eventually be interpreted in the sense of “a light existing spirit” that can be sustained.
There is more: Succot means encountering, dating and freely share the treasure we receive and can share at any minute like glimpses compared to shades that do make sense. Just as we are normally called to pardon anybody on Yom Kippur, we can feel as a special gift to meet and welcome each other under a sukkah. Each of us embodies something of the time & space limited framework of palm roofs that meet with others. “The end of the matter; all has been heard – sof davar hakol nishma’” (Eccl. 12:13) induces that every divine matter and parole can be heard and thus accomplished to the full. Fear God and keep His Mitzvot for this is the whole (duty of) man – ki zeh kol ha’adam” (Eccl. 12:13b).
“Mah yitron – what advantage is there for man (Eccl. 3:9)?” is a general tempo that runs along the scroll. But the Mitzvot cannot be compared to any advantage. We have the task to question ourselves about who we are, where and with whom we go? And to put the question mark on who the other humans are. The response is – if we follow the Hebrew text of Kohelet – that all the Mitzvot embody the human beings. The Commandments make sense and gather all humans without exclusion. And that! Wow! This is more than any dreams, fancies, free hugs and “make love not war”. Booths allow overshadowing branches to make bread and butter out of futile vapors and get hooked to unfailing hope.
Chag Sukkot sameah! Happy Feast of Succot!
A succah is and only can be a sicce and Succot can only be "Sicces". This Shabbat is called "Shabbat chol HaMoed Sukkot - Shabbat of the (ordinary) weekdays of the Feast of Succot", intermediate days that may occur for Pesach and "Zeman Simchatenu - the time of our rejoicing", i.e. "the Feast of the Tabernacles". As decades, years and shemittot (years of remittance) pass, this festival grows into a widely popular and rejoicing time, beside the fact that a lot of Israelis would then decide to travel abroad. The reading portion is taken from the Book of Vayikra / Leviticus 22:26-23:44 that recounts the time of "appointed festivals - moadim - pl. of "moed" (Lev. 23:4). This tracks us back to the creation of the world: God had set up the "me'orot birkiyah hashamayim - lights in the dome of the sky" to distinguish as a sign "le'otot lemoadim - for the appointed times of encounter" (Gen. 1:14). Days and years pass, "moed - moadim" are appointed - invariant times of special encounter between God and the beings. Just as the Shabbat, Pesach - Shavuot (Spring New Year and first harvest of Passover-Pentecost), Rosh HaShanah-Yom HaKippurim (Autumnal New Year and Day of Atonement) and Succot (Feast of the Booths - Autumnal New Year Harvest). On these Fall harvesting days that developed into the Canadian and then American Thanksgiving Days also related to the local late harvests, the Jews chose to reckon salvation. Judaism starts New Year in accordance with the Sumerian, Chaldean and Gilgamesh computing system based on return, pardon and assembling the whole Community of Israel. There was a time when New Year started with Pesach and the Law-giving Pentecostal harvest. Curiously, it makes more sense for the South hemispheric countries, from Argentina, South Africa to Australia as they reach Springtime…
Succot is a good period for reflecting with insights on Jews and Judaic, Judean and Jewishness. Succot is also the perfect seven-day period to allow speculating upon non-Jews, Gentiles, Nations of the world, others, “not us” indistinctively. Then, the problem is that we still thoughtfully interrogate ourselves about who we are and not how we are linked to others and vice versa.
To begin with, we have very poor soil produce memorizing capacities. From the time of the exile in Babylon, we have been city-addicted or compelled to reside in towns. We know what “apartheid” means because like in the Cape of Good Hope, we were compulsorily fenced in townships (Afrikaans: pondokkies), our “shtetlech” and their ghettos. But “by the rivers of Babylon, (as) we were sitting and wept” (Tehillim 137:1; cf. Blessing after Meals), we apparently forgot about the feast of the Booths and progressively got astray from hut-building, even the limited three wall sample (Succa 3a). No hut, no booth, maybe some tent in specific oriental areas and this absence of Succot celebrated lasted quite a long time. “Tabernacles” really sounds “Gentile” at the present because it means a place or ornamental box for the Divine Presence (Eucharist), especially in the Roman Catholic world while the Byzantine speak of a “Tsiyon – Zion” that is placed on the offering altar in the Eastern-Orthodox Churches.
The produce would rather be used in the synagogues and we do have a lot of accounts written by Christians comparing the lulav – palm branch with the palm branches waved during the Christian Holy Week. Still, in the long periods of dispersion, the Jews forgot the taste and flavor of the produce required in Eretz Israel - Holy Land : the lulav – palm branch (strictness / flexibility in faith), etrog – big lemon – citrus (big heart, love to every/anybody, gentleness and delicacy/good smell), hadas – myrtle (charm and seduction, sweet heartedness but no persistency) and aravah – willow (thirst quenching and fear to get bone dried) that should be gathered together and waved in a special way (Succa 37b): toward the four winds, the heavens, the earth, symbolizing the overflowing wealth and prosperity, abundance of Divine love for each creature and human being as chanted during the Hallel (cf. Tehillim 118:2.3.25.29).
The Jews could hardly enjoy all these produce outside of Eretz Israel. And there is undoubtedly no need to build some succot during the Feast of Passover or even on Shavuot / Pentecost days. As mentioned in a previous article, it is interesting to note that the Feast of Succot does not exist per se in any Christian Church or denomination, contrary to all the other Jewish festivals that got included into the Christian festive calendar. The Christian scholars and traditions would show that all things got “accomplished” in Jesus of Nazareth. Both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic liturgies insist on the (Second) Coming of Jesus in glory, which corresponds to the two Messiahs: (the suffering) Ben Joseph and (glorious) Ben David of the Jewish tradition. The Gospels recount the conception and birth of Jesus of Nazareth. They might also suggest that he was born during the Feast of Sukkot. This is simply based upon the calculation of time starting with Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, who accomplished his priestly service as a member of the Abijah order in the Temple (always in August), the visit paid by Mary to her cousin Elisabeth, Zechariah’s wife, at Eyn Karem. She was pregnant for five months and, in the sixth month, Mary also became pregnant (Luke 1:1-33). This shows the delays and allows calculating the possible birth of Jesus in the time of Succot.
For the Jewish Community, Succot is thus not the feast of some huts or booths. It is the festival that prolongs the journey throughout the wilderness of a world that may ignore God’s Presence. Strangely enough, it is appealing that some Christians would join Succot (as Shavuot) because of the strong impact of harvesting thanksgivings in the North American Christian culture. On the other hand, it includes the mitzvah of hospitality to all the ushpizin (guests) from those who were the pioneers and paved the way for redemption and the end of ages (Yevamot 61b). During the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah. Both disappeared while Shimon-Peter asked Jesus if he could not build three “dwellings – sukkot”: “one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17.4); “not knowing what he said” adds the proselyte Evangelist (Luke 9:33).
Indeed, Succot is the “tsel tsila – overshadowing shade” feast of a trip trough eternity. Shades cover shades and “fencing or wall separations” are definitely not the point, in this festival. True, Jews can recall that they dwelt under tents in the desert. But is it credible to think backwards as we a new year starts and introduce humankind into brand new days, weeks and months? The Jewish tradition usually adds a “megillah – a scroll” reading to the major Festivals. These scrolls underline that Redemption and God’s reign concerns every nation. At Shavuot / Pentecost, Megillat Ruth explains how a Moabite woman and Noemi joined the community of Israel. At Kippur, the Book of Jonah described how the Ninivites turned to God and repented under ashes.
When there is a Shabbat between the beginning of the feast of Sukkot and its conclusion on Shemini Atseret (Day of the joyous assembly), it became a custom (minhag) to read the Megillat Kohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is considered as a scroll and it seemingly depicts a plain if not dubious attitude toward faith in God and the lack of hope in this world. Say it sounds a bit blasé. Just as some people would love to show off at times. There were long disputes as whether to include or not this megillah/scroll into the canonical Books of the Scriptures. Interestingly, Judaism and Christianity did not feel at ease with the Song of the Songs too. As if extreme love and doubt could defy God’s existence and presence. Is Kohelet a preacher, eventually the son of David (Eccl. 1:1, 2:7,9)? Or, is it the “gathering call, the one call that assembles the faithful”? Is “hevel – vanity – hevel havalim – vanity of vanities” a worldly nonchalant and disillusioned repeated motto for empty and futile senselessness? This question is real and deeply affects a large part of Israeli society. “Absurd” is now a common word in English as it is also in Russian. On the other hand, the Feast of Sukkot is a time of rejoicing. It is possible for some people to be caught up in the dizzy aspect of festivities, food, pleasures even when joy can be felt in the study of the Scripture. “Hevel” also means “vapor”. Latin and Greek don’t presuppose a positive interpretation of the word. Hebrew could eventually be interpreted in the sense of “a light existing spirit” that can be sustained.
There is more: Succot means encountering, dating and freely share the treasure we receive and can share at any minute like glimpses compared to shades that do make sense. Just as we are normally called to pardon anybody on Yom Kippur, we can feel as a special gift to meet and welcome each other under a sukkah. Each of us embodies something of the time & space limited framework of palm roofs that meet with others. “The end of the matter; all has been heard – sof davar hakol nishma’” (Eccl. 12:13) induces that every divine matter and parole can be heard and thus accomplished to the full. Fear God and keep His Mitzvot for this is the whole (duty of) man – ki zeh kol ha’adam” (Eccl. 12:13b).
“Mah yitron – what advantage is there for man (Eccl. 3:9)?” is a general tempo that runs along the scroll. But the Mitzvot cannot be compared to any advantage. We have the task to question ourselves about who we are, where and with whom we go? And to put the question mark on who the other humans are. The response is – if we follow the Hebrew text of Kohelet – that all the Mitzvot embody the human beings. The Commandments make sense and gather all humans without exclusion. And that! Wow! This is more than any dreams, fancies, free hugs and “make love not war”. Booths allow overshadowing branches to make bread and butter out of futile vapors and get hooked to unfailing hope.
Chag Sukkot sameah! Happy Feast of Succot!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tsel Tsilah: Overshadowing shades
Yom HaKippurim, the solemn Day of Atonement, is just over and the Jewish communities - get ready to the Feast of the Booths, Chag Sukkot. A lot of people would approach the Day of Atonement with awe. It is a moment of annual truth and personal encounter with our conscience, free will, good will or evil spirit. But it is not a systematic day of love or pardon, forgiveness and surviving the 25-hour fast. And this is the point.
God - and humans created in His Image and likeness - cannot be reduced to automatons, sorts of robotic "chik chakking click here and there" and look: "You paid your seat, you attended a service, you gave charities, you went to your psychoanalyst, pet curer, boss, special one or thirtieth special one of any sex (for past year 5767), paid attention to your children or other people, friends and non-friends; no, don't worry, God can only be good. So shake hands and there you got, won a one more year ticket".
Anyway, people can do whatever they want: a lot of Israelis have been biking throughout the country on Yom Kippur because bikes are simple, natural, sportive and definitely not noisy like cars. Vehicles can be dangerous on a full-resting day like the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is a day for brainstorming and introspection. It is also a day of intense, profound, in-depth scrutinizing of our reflections and thoughts.
Let's make a comparison with diving that is terribly trendy. It is possible to have some scuba diving, i.e. with a whole set of diving and breathing apparatus and explore the abyss of the sea. Or scuba allows touring around ancient sites and visit shipwrecks, take films of splendid multi-color rocky or sea-coral areas and a great variety of fish, sea animals dolphins and... sharks in between. A world of water and darkness, at times unveiled in some sun-reflecting surfacing places. Oceans are much bigger than any terrestrial country. Humankind could settle in the seas and live in submarine houses. It requires air, oxygen from outside. The Asian pearl-catchers and fishermen can dive for long minutes without any breathing assistance, but the work imperils their health and they can die accidentally.
There is a kind of fascination of a sea underworld of purity, full of challenges, silence and human absence, i.e. Paradise of wellness. The French filmmaker, Jean-Luc Besson, substantiated this socio-cultural trend in his famous movie “The Big Blue” (“le Grand Bleu”, 1988). Two men, both friends and opponents engaged in a mutual competition, are diving without breathing and try to reach the deeper point in this so-called “Big Blue”. Encounters with dolphins would make the tendency more ethical than any human society. The sea wipes and makes clean. Dolphins are intelligent, understand the humans and can communicate with them. Moreover, they can help in curing different diseases and like horses or llamas they can comfort the handicapped. Indeed, the movie reached out to some New Age generation seeking naturalism and purity.
At this point, we know that a real trained sportsman diving without breathing apparatus will enhance certain abilities: very low heart beat and enlarged blood circulation from heart to brain. On the other hand, the “Big Blue” movie was en vogue as a struggle for life that would, in return, lead to die in an ethically and ecologically clean environment.
Rosh HaShanah and Yom HaKippurim, has a special climax with the reading of Jonah’s three days spent inside of the big fish. It includes this mentally and spiritually athletic movement of return and renewal. Jonah will have to dive in order to save the fishermen that are going through a frightful terror and swim up again to the surface to be vomited in order to accomplish the tasks that are incumbent upon each of us in the opening year, months, weeks or only some unforeseeable hours.
Then, there is no competition: the Creator knows. But we can’t stand it and are we ready to accept any task? Jonah was more likely to take a break at Tarshish, something like our Eilat spa’s rather that drowning because “being an “Ivri / Hebrew (= both “transgressor and passer, overcomer”) whose God is the Lord / HaShem” (Jonah 1:13-2:2) he could be cast overboard and still survive in entrails full of hospitality. This echoes the Rosh HaShanah second day “Tashlich - cast, send away, remove” service on a river side at the present: “God desires to do kindness; He will conquer and suppress our iniquities and cast all their sins into the depths of sea” (Micah 7:18-20).
Similarly, the daily and Yom Kippur prayer “Aleynu leshabeach – It is incumbent upon us” digs deep down into the profundity of our souls’ neurons. “It is upon us” to praise the Master of all things. He did not make us like the Nations of the world (“goyei haaratsot”) or the families of the earth (“mishpechot haadamah”)… for they bow to vanity and nothingness. But we bend the knee, bow down, prostrate and venerate the Holy One, Blessed be He… Who plants the heavens and founds the earth (Note the present tense)… There is nothing besides Him as it is written in His Torah: “Know (“veyad’ata hayom”) and take unto your heart (“vehashevota” = you will become aware, conscious in your brain and heart, cf. the healthy diver without breathing apparatus”) that the Lord is God in the heavens above and upon the earth below - nothing else” (Deut. 4:39). The word “vehashevota” was a part of our reflection in the sidra Netsavim, as Moses insisted on the importance of acting with conscience and consciousness. It describes a complete return that always remains possible.
Belgium is going through a special recurrent temptation of partition. Flemish, Walloon and German slide from the coast of the English Channel down to Brussels and Arlon close to the border of Luxemburg. Walloon is not French and the inhabitants have their tempo. “Het platteland – le plat pays – a flat (and even) land” sung in French by Jacques Brel, a Flemish by birth. In Antwerp, the Pelikaansstraat runs along the railway station. The Belzer hassidim and other groups speak Yiddish and Afrikaans from South Africa as diamonds pass on the way to Tel Aviv.
Brussels is a sort of portion of some European Community capital and the “Drei Grenzengebiet – The three borders area links Germany and the Netherlands to Luxemburg. The French have forgotten that Lille is Dutch Rijsel and was the capital of Flanders that used to bottom down to Arras. At this point, Tournai turned to Kortrijk and Duinkerk to Dunkerque/Dunkirk connecting the continent with Great Britain via Boulogne and its Channel Tunnel-train. Indeed, the Flemish are catholic up to the Dutch Moerdijk, and then the inhabitants are more likely to be protestant. The Walloons are mainly catholic too.
There is a traditional quality of living in Belgium and strong cultural and economic gaps could be resolved went Belgium was united for a football championship abroad. We have Galilee, the Merkaz-Center, the Negev shel atid / Negev of our future and towns, settlements, different nations and tongues. We may prefer to speak English because third parties would not understand Hebrew or Arabic. The Walloons got obliged to learn Flemish while in Flanders French was for the intelligentsia. There were always exceptions of course in a country puzzled up like connected towns, a sort of “inter-city map” with a touch of German provinciality.
It is indeed fascinating how “linguistic breaches and splits” can grow into mental splits. On Yom Kippur, “vehashevota – take into your heart and turn to (God)” proposes exactly the opposite but shows the same irrational and at time spiritual, mental, societal clashes and failures in keeping the good way. As such, Belgium is the multi-connecting essential element for a real functioning European entity, just as Israel – Palestine, Jordan and Syria-Lebanon subsequently suffer from all European blockings. Still, en route to Sukkot, we can hope that the worse crimes can be understood – not accepted – interpreted and find somehow a human clarification: “Tsel tslilah – the shade of shades can overshadow in a sukkah / booth” (Sukka 2c) because God is above.
In 2004, a hideous trial of a pedophile, Marc Dutroux, his wife, a drug-addicted friend and a businessman took place in Arlon, Belgium. The affair had shaken the Belgian who discovered the abominable and alarming murder of nine tortured children near Charleroi in 1996. 350 000 people gathered for a demonstration, which had been unheard in a seemingly peaceful country. The point is that a renowned lawyer, Xavier Magnee, accepted to defend the murderer. He did it with a special purpose. He envisioned this as his task since he was a lawyer and had the obligation to protect and assist whoever had to be judged, whatever crime concerned. This is the first aspect of a reflection we can have about our way to consider Yom Kippur and the shades that overshadow our existence under the tents, en route to a final and positive judgment given by God.
Then, having raped, mutilated, sold the children as in porn ring, the man did not admit he had committed any wrong. Thus, the lawyer explained that since he was clinically considered as “sane and responsible for his acts” by the psychiatrists, the issue could be widely extended to the whole of the society and therefore needed to be clarified by the moral, ethical and spiritual value of a national trial, involving the larger possible number of actors of the concerned society. Xavier Magnee said that what was unforgiveable and unacceptable should be faced openly in order to cure a social disease such as sexual abuse of children and their financial use via interconnected networks. Dutroux was condemned and the affair was closed. Xavier Magnee did not want to abandon because of the “of the supreme value of justice and morals”. He showed something of a deep-rooted Christian ethical attitude.
Yes, when Gilles de Rais, who accompanied Joan of Arc as a soldier and later retired, he was caught as “satanic and perverse” pedophile in 1404 and condemned to death. On the way to be executed, he implored the crowds to “pardon his wrongdoings and that God have pity upon him”.
Rabbi Anan said that “The Gates of Heavens are never sealed or closed”. The “clouds of glory” are these succot / tents that allow diving deeper into goodness.
Chag Succot sameach – Happy Feast of the Booths!
God - and humans created in His Image and likeness - cannot be reduced to automatons, sorts of robotic "chik chakking click here and there" and look: "You paid your seat, you attended a service, you gave charities, you went to your psychoanalyst, pet curer, boss, special one or thirtieth special one of any sex (for past year 5767), paid attention to your children or other people, friends and non-friends; no, don't worry, God can only be good. So shake hands and there you got, won a one more year ticket".
Anyway, people can do whatever they want: a lot of Israelis have been biking throughout the country on Yom Kippur because bikes are simple, natural, sportive and definitely not noisy like cars. Vehicles can be dangerous on a full-resting day like the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is a day for brainstorming and introspection. It is also a day of intense, profound, in-depth scrutinizing of our reflections and thoughts.
Let's make a comparison with diving that is terribly trendy. It is possible to have some scuba diving, i.e. with a whole set of diving and breathing apparatus and explore the abyss of the sea. Or scuba allows touring around ancient sites and visit shipwrecks, take films of splendid multi-color rocky or sea-coral areas and a great variety of fish, sea animals dolphins and... sharks in between. A world of water and darkness, at times unveiled in some sun-reflecting surfacing places. Oceans are much bigger than any terrestrial country. Humankind could settle in the seas and live in submarine houses. It requires air, oxygen from outside. The Asian pearl-catchers and fishermen can dive for long minutes without any breathing assistance, but the work imperils their health and they can die accidentally.
There is a kind of fascination of a sea underworld of purity, full of challenges, silence and human absence, i.e. Paradise of wellness. The French filmmaker, Jean-Luc Besson, substantiated this socio-cultural trend in his famous movie “The Big Blue” (“le Grand Bleu”, 1988). Two men, both friends and opponents engaged in a mutual competition, are diving without breathing and try to reach the deeper point in this so-called “Big Blue”. Encounters with dolphins would make the tendency more ethical than any human society. The sea wipes and makes clean. Dolphins are intelligent, understand the humans and can communicate with them. Moreover, they can help in curing different diseases and like horses or llamas they can comfort the handicapped. Indeed, the movie reached out to some New Age generation seeking naturalism and purity.
At this point, we know that a real trained sportsman diving without breathing apparatus will enhance certain abilities: very low heart beat and enlarged blood circulation from heart to brain. On the other hand, the “Big Blue” movie was en vogue as a struggle for life that would, in return, lead to die in an ethically and ecologically clean environment.
Rosh HaShanah and Yom HaKippurim, has a special climax with the reading of Jonah’s three days spent inside of the big fish. It includes this mentally and spiritually athletic movement of return and renewal. Jonah will have to dive in order to save the fishermen that are going through a frightful terror and swim up again to the surface to be vomited in order to accomplish the tasks that are incumbent upon each of us in the opening year, months, weeks or only some unforeseeable hours.
Then, there is no competition: the Creator knows. But we can’t stand it and are we ready to accept any task? Jonah was more likely to take a break at Tarshish, something like our Eilat spa’s rather that drowning because “being an “Ivri / Hebrew (= both “transgressor and passer, overcomer”) whose God is the Lord / HaShem” (Jonah 1:13-2:2) he could be cast overboard and still survive in entrails full of hospitality. This echoes the Rosh HaShanah second day “Tashlich - cast, send away, remove” service on a river side at the present: “God desires to do kindness; He will conquer and suppress our iniquities and cast all their sins into the depths of sea” (Micah 7:18-20).
Similarly, the daily and Yom Kippur prayer “Aleynu leshabeach – It is incumbent upon us” digs deep down into the profundity of our souls’ neurons. “It is upon us” to praise the Master of all things. He did not make us like the Nations of the world (“goyei haaratsot”) or the families of the earth (“mishpechot haadamah”)… for they bow to vanity and nothingness. But we bend the knee, bow down, prostrate and venerate the Holy One, Blessed be He… Who plants the heavens and founds the earth (Note the present tense)… There is nothing besides Him as it is written in His Torah: “Know (“veyad’ata hayom”) and take unto your heart (“vehashevota” = you will become aware, conscious in your brain and heart, cf. the healthy diver without breathing apparatus”) that the Lord is God in the heavens above and upon the earth below - nothing else” (Deut. 4:39). The word “vehashevota” was a part of our reflection in the sidra Netsavim, as Moses insisted on the importance of acting with conscience and consciousness. It describes a complete return that always remains possible.
Belgium is going through a special recurrent temptation of partition. Flemish, Walloon and German slide from the coast of the English Channel down to Brussels and Arlon close to the border of Luxemburg. Walloon is not French and the inhabitants have their tempo. “Het platteland – le plat pays – a flat (and even) land” sung in French by Jacques Brel, a Flemish by birth. In Antwerp, the Pelikaansstraat runs along the railway station. The Belzer hassidim and other groups speak Yiddish and Afrikaans from South Africa as diamonds pass on the way to Tel Aviv.
Brussels is a sort of portion of some European Community capital and the “Drei Grenzengebiet – The three borders area links Germany and the Netherlands to Luxemburg. The French have forgotten that Lille is Dutch Rijsel and was the capital of Flanders that used to bottom down to Arras. At this point, Tournai turned to Kortrijk and Duinkerk to Dunkerque/Dunkirk connecting the continent with Great Britain via Boulogne and its Channel Tunnel-train. Indeed, the Flemish are catholic up to the Dutch Moerdijk, and then the inhabitants are more likely to be protestant. The Walloons are mainly catholic too.
There is a traditional quality of living in Belgium and strong cultural and economic gaps could be resolved went Belgium was united for a football championship abroad. We have Galilee, the Merkaz-Center, the Negev shel atid / Negev of our future and towns, settlements, different nations and tongues. We may prefer to speak English because third parties would not understand Hebrew or Arabic. The Walloons got obliged to learn Flemish while in Flanders French was for the intelligentsia. There were always exceptions of course in a country puzzled up like connected towns, a sort of “inter-city map” with a touch of German provinciality.
It is indeed fascinating how “linguistic breaches and splits” can grow into mental splits. On Yom Kippur, “vehashevota – take into your heart and turn to (God)” proposes exactly the opposite but shows the same irrational and at time spiritual, mental, societal clashes and failures in keeping the good way. As such, Belgium is the multi-connecting essential element for a real functioning European entity, just as Israel – Palestine, Jordan and Syria-Lebanon subsequently suffer from all European blockings. Still, en route to Sukkot, we can hope that the worse crimes can be understood – not accepted – interpreted and find somehow a human clarification: “Tsel tslilah – the shade of shades can overshadow in a sukkah / booth” (Sukka 2c) because God is above.
In 2004, a hideous trial of a pedophile, Marc Dutroux, his wife, a drug-addicted friend and a businessman took place in Arlon, Belgium. The affair had shaken the Belgian who discovered the abominable and alarming murder of nine tortured children near Charleroi in 1996. 350 000 people gathered for a demonstration, which had been unheard in a seemingly peaceful country. The point is that a renowned lawyer, Xavier Magnee, accepted to defend the murderer. He did it with a special purpose. He envisioned this as his task since he was a lawyer and had the obligation to protect and assist whoever had to be judged, whatever crime concerned. This is the first aspect of a reflection we can have about our way to consider Yom Kippur and the shades that overshadow our existence under the tents, en route to a final and positive judgment given by God.
Then, having raped, mutilated, sold the children as in porn ring, the man did not admit he had committed any wrong. Thus, the lawyer explained that since he was clinically considered as “sane and responsible for his acts” by the psychiatrists, the issue could be widely extended to the whole of the society and therefore needed to be clarified by the moral, ethical and spiritual value of a national trial, involving the larger possible number of actors of the concerned society. Xavier Magnee said that what was unforgiveable and unacceptable should be faced openly in order to cure a social disease such as sexual abuse of children and their financial use via interconnected networks. Dutroux was condemned and the affair was closed. Xavier Magnee did not want to abandon because of the “of the supreme value of justice and morals”. He showed something of a deep-rooted Christian ethical attitude.
Yes, when Gilles de Rais, who accompanied Joan of Arc as a soldier and later retired, he was caught as “satanic and perverse” pedophile in 1404 and condemned to death. On the way to be executed, he implored the crowds to “pardon his wrongdoings and that God have pity upon him”.
Rabbi Anan said that “The Gates of Heavens are never sealed or closed”. The “clouds of glory” are these succot / tents that allow diving deeper into goodness.
Chag Succot sameach – Happy Feast of the Booths!
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