Torah Study Notes 8-5-17

August 5, 2017
Page 1188
3:23 Moses here describes the negative things that have happened during the exodus – including G’s injunction that Moses shall not enter the promised land. LL Note the recent report in NYT about the people of Lebanon being genetically identified as descended from the Canaanites. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/science/ancient-canaanites-bible-lebanon.html
Why is Moses being “punished?” This refers to the incident of drawing water from the rock – where he struck the rock rather than speaking to it as instructed. Moses here blames the others for all of this as he passes leadership to Joshua. Is there a connection here to the notion of original sin as it is viewed in Christian theology? This is clearly not a Jewish idea – in Judaism there is no community responsibility for the sins of ancestors. Each person is born with their own propensity to sin. What is our responsibility as a society for the “sins” of others? Mental illness has alternatively been seen as either externally induced or internal – consider the Dybbuk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dybbuk
3:28 Moses recalls the incident at Ball-peor; sacrificing to alien gods in concert with the Midianite woman. All were wiped out in a plague as punishment. The injunction that one should not “add or take anything away…” from the Torah. However, consider the Talmud – which is extensive commentary and contains many rabbinically created rules. This instruction as to not adding or subtracting is more likely a reference to pagan rituals. Even today the Hasidim have been adding new regulations to the conduct of woman as a way of control. AF: There is an analogy to computer architecture that stays the same. LL: How are the various sects of Judaism dealing with transgender and LGBT issues? RB: The Reform movement has tried to be adaptable – the ultra orthodox have greater difficulty. Modern orthodoxy is different and likely to be more adaptable.
4:5 A light unto the nations. Make these words known to your children and your children’s children. The Ten Commandments etc. Make no sculpted images and don’t bow down to them. LL This seems to enjoin keeping and creating human or animal images of any kind – as is the practice in Islam. CL It is almost impossible to suppress the human urge to create images. LL: Do we not worship art? SF: The impulse to create is divine inspiration. The muse is the Eternal. See footnote 8 and Essay page 490.
4:21 Now the Eternal was angry with me on your account and swore that I would not cross the Jordan… A warning as to what happens when and if they worship idols. RB: The notion of a God that one cannot see or touch is original but divine feminine imagery is effectively suppressed by this idea. Has anything as grand as this ever happened… heard the voice of God? See: http://www.talkreason.org/articles/God.pdf for an analysis on the development of monotheism in ancient Israel. Consider the brief reign of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton as well who tried to introduce monotheism in Egypt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhenaten
4:41 Then Moses set aside three cities to the east side of the Jordan to which a killer could escape, one who unwittingly slew a fellow… without being hostile to the victim. LL: This notion of cities of sanctuary is still referenced today on the issue of immigration.
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