#Ki Tissa

[bdkinz]

Rebbe Nachman's Advice # 16 - Working towards Seeing is Believing

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tissa, brings us to the story of Israel’s almost cataclysmic choice, the fashioning and worshipping of the Golden Calf, the Egel HaZahav. While there is a debate about whether the idol was to replace Gd or Moses or perhaps even both, there is an interesting, underlying spiritual question regarding the story. There is a famous statement, Seeing is Believing, yet how…

[mightyostanes]

Against the Uwuification of Sheydim

"'I've upset you. I see that. But you know what it is to carve out your place in the world, to have to fight for your life at every turn. You can't imagine how much worse it was in my time. Women were sent to madhouses because they read too many books or because their husbands tired of them. There were so few paths open to us. And mine was stolen from me so I forged a new one.' Alex Jabbed a finger at Belbam. 'You don't get to turn this into some kind of feminist manifesto. You forged your new path from the lives of other girls. Immigrant girls. Brown Girls. Poor Girls.' Girls like me. 'Just so you could buy yourself another few years.'" -Galaxy Stern shutting up a soul eating revenant Source: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

First off this is my first post on Tumblr so please forgive any issues with formatting. I'm still getting used to this site's layout let alone writing anything that isn't solely for my own addled and deranged mind. Still, I hope that this is at least somewhat insightful.

Over the last few years I've noticed that there has been a tendency among young Jews online to make our folklore and mysticism 'cuddlier'. To suggest that not only do we have a hell but that quite literally everything in our cosmos is friendly and misunderstood. Sheydim become relatable mascots of groups traditionally marginalized within the Jewish community. The leviathan is treated as G-d's pet who isn't dangerous whatsoever and is instead merely a big fish. Malachim generally like humans and are on good terms with the Jewish Community. And Lilith becomes an empowered girl boss with her malewife Ashmedai. A lovely story that makes great fanfiction and Jewish aus, the only problem is that it's completely ahistorical and utterly misses the point of these stories.

Sheydim while not exactly ontologically evil were usually depicted as predatory, amoral and capricious. A good portion of Bava Batra 74-75 is dedicated to describing how pants shittingly terrifying the Leviathan is and how it could theoretically destroy the world. Malachim are often depicted as threats and enemies of Israel especially in narratives regarding the revelation of the Torah at Sinai (Exodus Rabbah (41.7; 44:8), Tanhuma (Ki Tissa 20), PdRE 45, and Deut. Rabbah (3.11). And Lilith as well all know kills newborn children and was the terror of expectant Jewish Mothers for centuries. With the origin of her being 'Adam's first wife' coming from the Alphabet of Ben Sirach. A satiric work written in the late Middle Ages centuries after the first attested use of amulets and incantation bowls to ward of Lilith or lilin in Mesopotamia. Even Ashmedai for all his honor and piety was still treated as an enemy of mankind on average even if he was by no means an enemy of G-d. Of course, that is not to say that Jews haven't worked with spirits in fact the opposite is true. Merely that these spirit workings were often treated as incredibly dangerous works that were a mixture of lion taming and nuclear engineering. Descenders of the Merkavah had to battle through throngs of angels to reach the throne. Sar Torah mystics had to gird themselves with spiritual armor not to be annihilated by the angels for the crime of existing in a similar dimension to them. Even the act of Indulcio or sweetening the spirits often performed by wise women in many Sephardic communities was very much akin to paying off the mafia or in more historically accurate terms, paying Jizya.

My personal opinion on the reason for this trend is specifically because most Jewish content creators have been immersed in culturally Christian environments their whole lives. So, it would make sense for them to want to participate in the modern trend of telling things from the monster's side of the story. Something that is intrinsically tied to the fact that most of these monsters were metaphors for or linked to the powerless and the marginalized. In these scenarios, to show the story from the monster or demon's perspective would be an easy way of challenging societal narratives that do have real harmful impact even if very few people use the literal threat of werewolves and Medusa as bludgeons against marginalized communities.

Second of all there has been a major trend in making Judaism 'the leftist religion'. The religion without the fire and brimstone ideas of sin and hell that turned so many people to secularism. Progressive Judaism often advertises itself as the religion where evil is simply a misunderstanding and that's all cleared up there will be no more evil. We prided ourselves for years for fighting people who wanted to annihilate use with compassion and understanding. That surely rather than being bad they were merely tragically misguided souls who needed our help.

The problem with this in a Jewish context is that from the destruction of the Second Temple onwards our monsters were usually much more powerful than us in every sense of the word. In our stories, the were-panther who preyed on children was not the despised woodsman but the local bishop who no doubt incited very real pogroms against us. In our folklore, the heretical necromancer wasn't some liberated free thinker but someone who converted to the dominant religion and helped to persecute their former compatriots. Even Lilith who has become the mascot for a sort of 'persecuted heterodox' Judaism was by no means persecuted on the world stage in most Kabbalistic Treatise. In these works, Lilith was not the despised vagabond crushed by a patriarchal power system but the consort of Samael and the Princess of the realm of Edom. Symbols of the Christian and Islamic empires that have persecuted us for thousands of years. Or to put it in a snappy manner, the Lilith of the Zohar has much more in common with Margaret Thatcher than Rosa Luxemburg.

Now is there sexism and xenophobia in our own stories of monsters and demons? Unfortunately, yes. The amount of sexist and ethnically chauvinist tropes applied to Lilith in the Zoharic corpus alone are almost impossible to count and deeply troubling for modern readers. But that doesn't change the fact that Lilith was first and foremost a metaphor for SIDs and later on the non Vatican sanctioned medieval Marian Cults that replaced the drinking of sacramental wine with the spilling of Jewish blood as their main devotional acts.

Nor do I think that having progressive or universalist values in Judaism is at all a bad thing. I fully believe in the inclusion of those marginalized by the Rabbinic establishments in the past and do not wish to see us delight in cruelty. In fact, one of my biggest fears is that we might begin to ignore the suffering of gentiles because we rightly or wrongly assume they hold strong antisemitic biases. It's just that now, in an era of increasing antisemitic violence from all sides of the aisle it doesn't seem like a good idea to try and fight people who want to destroy us with beatific compassion and understanding.

[israelseen1]

https://israelseen.com/jonathan-sacks-between-truth-and-peace-ki-tissa/

[rickwhite]

Ki Tissa: A Lesson in Leadership



Moses was on top of Mount Sinai, experiencing Divine revelation on a level beyond the grasp of ordinary prophets.

At the foot of the mountain, however, the people began to worry. Not knowing why Moses was taking so long, not understanding how he could live without food and water for forty days, they felt abandoned and leaderless. They demanded that Aaron make them a golden calf, and they worshipped it.

God’s response was immediate — He banished Moses from Mount Sinai:

“Leave! Go down! The people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt.” (Exodus 32:7)

It seems unfair. The people sin, and Moses is kicked off the mountain?



A Suitable Leader



In order for a leader to succeed, he must be appreciated and valued by his followers. The leader may possess a soul greatly elevated above the people, but it is crucial that the people should be able to relate to and learn from their leader.

At Mount Sinai, the Jewish people were on a lofty spiritual level. As a result, Moses was able to attain a supreme level of prophecy and revelation on top of the mountain. But after they sinned with the golden calf, Moses would no longer be a suitable leader were he to retain his spiritual attainments. It was necessary for Moses to “step down,” to lower himself, in order to continue serving as their guide and leader.

This idea is clearly expressed by the Talmud in Berachot 32a:

“What does it mean, ‘Go down’? God told Moses, ‘Go down from your greatness. I only gave you pre-eminence for the sake of the Jewish people. Now they have sinned — why should you be elevated?’

Immediately, Moses’ [spiritual] strength left him.”



(Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 160-161. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. I, pp. 142-143.)

[lennart11412]

A Summary of the Torah

A description of the highlights of the Torah, according to the divisions of the weekly portions.

BY RABBI RONALD H. ISAACS

Unlike a Reader’s Digest version of the Torah , which would cut out much of the law and all of the lists, a description of the Torah following each weekly portion reflects the real rhythms of the text.  Reprinted with permission from The Bible: Where Do You Find It and What Does It Say?, published by Jason Aronson.

The First of the Five Books of Moses begins with the creation of the world out of the void. It ends with the last days of Moses. Each week a different sidrah (Torah portion) is read on Saturday morning in traditional synagogues. Here is a list of the Torah portions for the entire year and a brief summary of their contents. 

Genesis

The creation of the world. The patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob and his sons go down to Egypt. Jacob blesses his sons before his death.

Weekly Portions

Bereshit(1:1-6:8) The world is created in six days.

Noah (6:9-11:32) A flood destroys the world. God’s rainbow promises that the world will never again be destroyed in its entirety.

Lekh-L’kha (12:1-17:27) Abraham leaves Mesopotamia for the Promised Land.

Vayera (18:1-22:24) Abraham welcomes three angels into his tent and learns that his wife Sarah will give birth to a son.

Haye Sarah (23:1-25:18) Abraham’s servant finds a suitable wife, Rebecca, for Abraham’s son Isaac.

Toldot (25:19-28:9) The birth of Esau and Jacob. Isaac blesses Jacob.

Vayetze (28:10-32:3) God appears to Jacob in a dream. Jacob works fourteen years and marries Leah and Rachel.

Vayishlah (32:4-36:43) Jacob and Esau reunite after twenty years. Rachel dies and is buried in Bethlehem.

Vayeshev (37:1-40:23) Joseph‘s brothers strip him of his coat of many colors and throw him into a pit.

Miketz (41:1-44:17) Joseph successfully interprets Pharaoh’s dreams. Joseph is appointed viceroy.

Vayigash (44:18-47:27) Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, who are dumbfounded.

Vayehi (47:28-50:26) Jacob blesses his sons. Joseph dies at end of book at age 110.

Exodus

The Israelites are enslaved in Egypt. Moses receives the Ten Commandments. The Israelites build a tabernacle.

Weekly Portions

Sh’mot (1:1-6:1) Moses is saved by Pharaoh’s daughter. God appears to Moses at the burning bush.

Vaera (6:2-9:35) God brings plagues upon the Egyptians. Pha­raoh’s heart hardens and he refuses to let the Israelites go.

Bo (10:1-13:16) Egyptian firstborn children are slain by God. The Israelites hastily leave Egypt and bake matzah from unleavened dough.

B’shalah (13:17-17:16) The waters of the Red Sea divide to make a path for the Israelites.

Yitro (18:1-20:23) Jethro, Moses’ father-in law, advises him to appoint judges so as to ease his burden. Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

Mishpatim (21:1-24:18) Moses instructs the Israelites in the Law.

Terumah (25:1-27:19) The tabernacle is constructed.

Tetzaveh (27:20-30:10) Aaron and his sons are put in charge of the menorah. The priestly garments are described in great detail.

Ki Tissa (30:11-34:35) The Israelites build a golden calf; when Moses sees it he shatters the tablets containing the Ten Command­ments.

Vayakhel (35:1-38:20) The people bring an array of gifts for the tabernacle until they are told to stop.

Pekudei (38:21-40:38) The cloud of glory covers the completed tabernacle as the Israelites stand in the distance.

Leviticus

The priestly code; the rules pertaining to sacrifices, diet, and morality; and the Land of Israel and festivals are discussed.

Weekly Portions

Vayikra(1:1-5:26) God reveals the sacrificial laws.

Tzav (6:1-8:36) Moses anoints Aaron and his sons as priests.

Shemini (9:1-11:47) Laws describing kosher and nonkosher animals are enumerated.

Tazria (12:1-13:59) Cleanliness and uncleanliness are defined in relation to childbirth and leprosy.

Metzora (14:1-15:33) The laws for the purification of the leper after he has healed are discussed.

Ahare Mot (16:1-18:30) Aaron’s sons die. Aaron chooses by lot a goat and a scapegoat.

Kedoshim (19:1-20:27) More laws are set forth, including, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Emor (21:1-24:23) Festival seasons are described in detail.

B’har (25:1-26:2) The sabbatical and jubilee years are discussed.

B’hukotai (26:3-27:34) The punishment for rejecting God’s cov­enant is discussed.

Numbers

The Census. More statutes and laws. Adventures of the Hebrews en route to Canaan through the desert.

Weekly Portions

B’midbar (1:1-4:20) Description of the Israelites’ encampments during their journeys through the desert.

Naso (4:21-7:89) Regulations concerning Nazirites and the three­fold priestly benediction.

B’ha’alotekha (8:1-12:16) Kindling of the menorah. Seventy elders are delegated to serve under Moses.

Shelah (13:1-15:41) Twelve spies are dispatched to survey the land of Canaan. Two of the spies return with a positive report.

Korah (16:1-18:32) Korach refuses to accept the leadership of Moses and Aaron. He and his assembly are killed by an earthquake.

Hukkat (19:1-22:1) The laws regarding the red heifer are enu­merated. Moses strikes the rock and water gushes forth.

Balak (22:2-25:9) Balak, king of Moab, sends Bilaam to curse the Israelites. Instead, Bilaam gives his blessing to them.

Pinhas (25:10-30:1) The daughters of Zelophechad are given their father’s inheritance. Moses chooses Joshua as his successor.

Mattot (30:2-32:42) Moses informs the tribal heads regarding the laws of vowing.

Masei (33:1-36:13) The detailed account of the various way stations on the Israelites’ route to the Promised Land. Reference is made to the cities of refuge.

Deuteronomy

A recapitulation of the laws with some additions. Moses addresses the children of Israel and presents them with some warnings.

Weekly Portions

D’varim (1:1-3:22) Moses explains and interprets the law to the people.

Va’et’hanan (3:23-7:11) The Ten Commandments are repeated, with slight variations. The cities of refuge are mentioned. The first section of the Shema is begun with, “You shall love the Lord your God.”

Ekev (7:12-11:25) The Shema continues with the second para­graph, which deals with the theme of reward and punishment.

Re’eh (11:26-16:17) Moses continues his address, telling the people that obedience will bring them blessing, whereas disobedi­ence will bring them curses.

Shoftim(16:18-21:9) Moses warns the people against idolatry. He also reminds the people of the importance of pursuing justice.

Ki Tetze (21:10-25:19) Moses reviews a variety of laws intended to strengthen family life and human decency in Israel. Those laws refer to lost property, the educational responsibility of parents to their children, and kindness to animals, among other things.

Ki Tavo (26:1-29:8) The laws of tithing and first fruits arc discussed.

Nitzavim (29:9-30:20) Moses continues his farewell speech and God tells the people to choose life.

Vayelekh (31:1-30) Joshua is appointed successor to Moses. Moses completes the writing of the Torah.

Ha’azinu (32:1-52) Moses’ farewell song—a beautiful poem in which he calls upon heaven and earth to witness God’s dependabil­ity.

[torahtantra]

Parsha 21. Ki Tissa, “The Ascent.” From Exodus 30:11–34:35.

Ki= because.

Tissa= to fly.

We just learned the Atonement is something performed generationally to ensure we stay out of the eager hands of the Pharaoh.

God says the Fire- the one that burned up the sinful tendencies that got them trapped in Egypt -must be kept alive for time immemorial. It must be bound to the intelligence, to all feeling, to the body itself.

The Tribes, AKA the Attributes, attuned to the soul by the Fire are to be worn as a garment, covering one’s slavery nakedness. The kind of nakedness gossip, slander, propaganda, bloodlust, delusion, ignorance and the stank of corruption cause. 

Freedom= Adornment in the Attributes=Slavery to God. 

Should we follow this easy formula, the Torah says life will continually renew on its own and there will no longer be a need for deliverance or Deliverers. 

Atonement Money

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 

13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,[a] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 

14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. 

15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 

16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

Crossing over= crossing over the Jordan, AKA becoming fertile, means it's time to act like a man. An aspect that is apparently missing from Israelite life is the ability to properly pilgrimage. This is not acceptable. The Book of Kings and the Torah mandate the ability to pilgrimage and educate the generations in the Instructions.

This is a dying world, and only the Temple and the Torah can revive it. They have always been essential but now they are critical, and the Atonement Money, the time and wherewithal needed to turn the tide are being requisitioned by this Torah Tantra:

"Are we at a loss with regards to our ability to attain forgiveness from G‑d due to the loss of our Temple?

I’d first like to point out that this question isn’t specific to sacrifices. There are many mitzvot that we cannot perform today because of our exiled state. (See Nowadays, how many of the Torah’s commandments are still in force?) Among the other mitzvot we cannot observe today are pilgrimage to the Temple for the festivals, many tithes, any many laws associated with ritual purity and impurity.

While we are deprived of these many mitzvot, G‑d gave us alternative ways to realize the benefits that these mitzvot afforded us (albeit not in their most ideal form—otherwise we could always have always made do with the alternatives). Let us use sacrifices and atonements as an example:

Some have claimed that atonement can be attained only through blood sacrifice."

->So long as it is the blood of bigots, cheaters, fools and tyrants, let it be spilled by the gallon.

Basin for Washing

17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 

20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord,

 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

Bronze is the mirror between the self and the self, the water is the mirror between the self and the Self Most High.

Anointing Oil

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels[b] of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels[c] of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin[d] of olive oil. 

25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 

26 Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 

27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 

28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 

29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

Shekels represent the only currency we have in spiritual barter, the Golden Rule. The Torah, above says it's not enough to be a good friend to someone however, you have be spicy:

Myrrh="spicyness". Along with the others mentioned they represent various heights of the Fire of the Intellect.

see = https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/1434066/jewish/The-Spices-of-Life.htm

30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 

32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’”

--> These essences are all oral treatments for oral health. They cure gingivitis, remove plaque, and are prescribed for priests and the Temple raiment as the previous stanzas suggest, to prevent recurrence within the Temple Halls of the plagues of Egypt which were sins of speech and sins of listening. 

Incense

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 

36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 

37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.”

gum= kindness

onycha= rose= seduction, sweet speech= rawr!

galbanum= This is a malodorous spice which is called galbanum. Scripture enumerates it among the spices of the incense to teach us that we should not regard as a light thing the duty of associating with ourselves when we band together for fasts and prayers Israelites who are transgressors — that they should be counted as ourselves (Keritot 6b).

pure frankincense=In the Talmud this frankincense is enumerated as one of the eleven components of the incense (Ker. 6a, b). It was not to be sold to an idolater ('Ab Zarah i. 5). It is also mentioned as an ingredient in the preparation intended to stupefy an individual about to undergo capital punishment.

=Kindness, truth, compassion, and enlightenment.

Bezalel and Oholiab

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel (protection) son of Uri “the fire”,  the son of Hur “purity”, of the tribe of Judah “the most praised”, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 

--> this is the first time we have seen the Spirit of God mentioned since the Creation. And here is that word, “protection” which keeps coming up. About this the Parsha says again: 

“Refuge is conferred by the Most Praiseworthy, those who bind themselves to the fire and are pure of the causes of slavery.” 

6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab “the Father’s House”,  son of Ahisamak, “Who listens”  of the tribe of Dan, ”Superior judgement”  to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— 8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— 10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

-> “In God’s House we will hear and listen to words that confer sound judgement.”

The Sabbath

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

14 “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. 

15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 

16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

-> The only way to interpret this, to me, is to contrast being holy or being dead depending on one’s level of observation of Shabbat. Also remember the name Noach, "Respite" took place after the vault collapsed and chaos covered the earth.

Respite is what takes place after evolution and its pressures have been surpassed. NOT JUST SURVIVED. There is a formulaic approach to all of humanity's problems. One generation at a time, the formulae have focused us, accelerated our races to full sentience and alleviated some of the most pressing and terrifying dilemmas with which we chose to confront ourselves.

Shabbat means "the Seventh Daughter". It is the youngest offspring of God and man capable of relaunching the week, of re-establishing continuity. We must give Shabbat its due or we will definitely not be able to continue living on this world.

We know how obstinate and venomous people who are orthodox in religion can be; they murder themselves and the rest of us through rigid, literal, and often illegal pursuits of liturgy. 

There are people who aren’t religious at all who do good things. 

Torah is a work of non-duality in essence, which means “neither nor” wherever possible. The path of logic suggests solutions to our problems not necessarily explainable by a static script are open to us. 

Temple, which is supposed to a place where answers are forthcoming has often trapped us more effectively than Pharaoh. So do I sow seeds of suspicion about religious traction, which is indeed fucking this world right into hell, or try to convince the world it holds the secret to reprieve? 

The Jews didn’t know the answer during the making of the Foundation either...and look what happened...

In spite of all the miracles, how quickly they retread old familiar paths. 

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[e] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 

4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[f] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 

12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 

13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

18 Moses replied:

“It is not the sound of victory,   it is not the sound of defeat;   it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 

20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 

24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites “servants of God” rallied to him.

27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 

28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

--> Moses was all over the place, standing against God for the cause of mercy to the people then showing strength and authority, two apparently divergent poles on the Ephod: 

Geburah is often called punishment, and Moses sure changed his tune to that once he descended the mountain and saw what was going on between Aaron and the people. 

Aaron “exalted” is often depicted as a kind of an oaf, but the conversations between he and the people and then with Moses are quite lucid. 

The people didn’t want freedom or order, they wanted to be self-indulgent. Aaron took their wealth from them and made a sacrifice of it, while the enemies of the people waxed. 

Why did they insist on disobeying the ordnance forbidding idolatry on the cusp of some of history’s most amazing interventions between God and His People? 

They created a dead thing that contained not one bid of magic in it and reveled as if it were alive, could produce a new nation as Leah, the leading cow did in ages past.

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 

2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” 

6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

-> Moses tries again to stand up to God and it backfires. Big time. No more atoning, no more miracles, no more turns of fortune. He’s pissed. 

He tells Moses: Not you, not anymore. Your descendants. The first born of Egypt were sacrificed, just as the first born of Israel by the Founders...now again, God turns to the youngins to inherit something their wicked, wicked parents could not make for them their ways were just too crooked and incorrigible. 

It is quite common to think of the 40 Years as some kind of endurance test, but really, God was trying to wipe all those Shitty People off the map. 

He even punishes Moses...

Remember how the story ends, witness it unfolding now. Moses wasn't going to last forever, and neither do we. Recall what happened in Beshalach and why and what God told Moses to do to fix it.

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 

9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 

11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

-> To the people who weren’t so shitty, God offers free passage into the Halls of Wisdom and continues to nurture them.  Joshua “God’s Deliverer” son of Nun, “Wisdom” a future Founder, grows up within the Fragrant Temple, avoiding exposure to the lingering essences of shit. 

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

-> The reason we avoid Graven images is stated here- no one can see God so everyone can see Him. His face is secret, it is out in the open...

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

-> God is only going to do so much. By saying He wants us to see His back, He means He wants us to see evidence He was involved in our affairs through His Temple Aides. 

Here again is that theme of God being hidden, inciting our need to go and look. 

The New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 

2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 

5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 

7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 

11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites “warlike”, Canaanites “jealous people”, Hittites “broken”, Perizzites “uncivilized”, Hivites “licentious” and Jebusites “friendless, unfriendly” . 

12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles [straight poles].[g]14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

-> Do not worship a man as if he were a god. Do not seduce one, do not be seduced by one:

15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.

17 “Do not make any idols.

18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

19 “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest. [getting plowed is exhausting].

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year.[h]23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 

24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning. [virgin boys only, no brats or brutes or time wasters].

26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. [they should all be good-every child, every self must do its best and the parents are to ensure they have the aptitude necessary to learn the Torah and all the traditions.]

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” [do not turn a child against its mother].

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

The Radiant Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 

30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 

32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

Thus ends Parsha Ki Tessa, "The Ascent" numbered 21 of 54 contained in the Holy Torah.

[hyperpotamianarch]

Well, yes. But also... begging your pardon on advance [pulls out a megaphon]

THIS PARTICULAR STORY IS NOT FROM THE TALMUD.

Sorry, got... carried away there a little. I might be a little cranky regarding small things lately, but I do think this is a misconception I've seen often enough: seeing some Jewish non-Tanachic source and assuming it's the Talmud. It's bad enoough when people can't differentiate the Talmud from the Mishanh. Being unable to tell the difference between the Talmud and the Midrashim... well, it's still understandable, I suppose. Midrash Tanḥuma was supposedly compiled by Rabbi Tanḥuma, who I believe was an Amora, so it's plausible that the style is similar. The content and the way it's presented is different, however - outside maybe of that one portion of the Talmud which is full on Midrash on the Book of Ester.

This would be a derailment, but basically: the Talmud is framed around the Mishnah and its primary purpose is to discuss the Halacha. It's very associative in nature, though, and will derail the topic to talk about another thing this particular rabbi said or to dive into some side point that was cited previously.

The Midrash, on the other hand, is studying the Torah, sometimes the Tanakh in its entirety. There is also a difference between Midrash Halacha and Midrash Agadah, which is a whole different topic. A standard characterization of Midrash is starting by citing a Tanakhic verse from somewhere other than the portion you're talking about that seems to be completely unrelated and use it to explain something about the portion in discussion - this is called a Ptikhta, a type of Midrashim used at the start of a given portion. Then you have a lot of taking Tanakhic verses and studying them in a somewhat weird way, I didn't really study enough Midrash to explain that. Derailments exist withing Midrashim, but they look a little different.

The particular story here was actually a part of a Ptikhta in the manuscript in which it was found. This is a Ptikhta for Prashat Ki Tissa of all places - the one where the commandments for the Tabenacle are finalised and the whole Golden Calf fiasco happens. The slightly larger context is about how G-d fills His time with matchmaking. The even larger context is somehow about the Golden Calf Fiasco, but I need to study it a bit more to understand how that works exactly.

Sorry for pouring it all out on you, I just really don't like misinformation on those topics.

All right, you know what? My Jewish Fantasy/Disney Princess thread is a little long now, so I'm putting the story of the daughter of Shəlomo HaMelech here, in its own post. To attract traffic I'm sorry, be nice sorry again, to keep people in the conversation, I will tag the people who were a part of this particular reblog chain. I hope this will interest you, at worst you can just ignore another notification. @wanderingmadscientist, @alyssumlovesthecosmere, and @springstarfangirl. Sorry again.

So, this didn't really take a lot of digging, but it appears that my book Kol Agadot Yisra'el wasn't lying about the existence of this story! The source is, as mentioned in the post linked, in the preface to the Buber publication of Midrash Tanḥuma. Now, I've the Buber Tanḥuma cited regularly, so I think it's possible to find under regular circumstances. I did use resources that aren't available for everyone, though - Otzar HaChokhmah, a pay-based resource for thousands of scans of various Jewish religious books. Its name literally means "the Treasury of Wisdom/Knowledge", and a treasury it is - though I'm lucky enough to not be the one to pay for it. My college has access to their stuff, which is currently very convenient to me.

Anyway, that wasn't very helpful, because it was very easy to realize that this preface is long and I had no idea under which section this story is. So I did what every sane person would do in such a situation: I looked up the story in the Internet. To make a long story short, I found a website centered around Bialik's Sefer Ha'Agadah which gave a precise location to the level of pages. This was a little less helpful than you might think, because this website and the Otzar clearly had different ideas on where a page count should start. Fortunately, I expected that obstacle and went looking around a little more until I've found the story. I shall attach a picture of it in the end after the cut, but since it's in Hebrew it may not be of much interest to those here who do not speak the language.

One more not before I tell the story itself and lay down my thoughts: the particular section of the preface this story was found in was a listing of particular deviations in one of the manuscripts Buber was using in editing his edition of Midrash Tanḥuma. Specifically, the third manuscript he found in Oxford, which probably still exists in Oxford (or somewhere else). This is probably an old manuscript but... I'll get to my point after I tell the story.

The story begins with Shəlomo HaMelech having had a beautiful daughter, and wandering who G-d might have meant for her to marry. So he used his vast knowledge of astrology to divine that... she was going to marry a poor, lowborn man. So, he built a tower in the middle of the sea, one without any doors, and put there his daughter - along with seventy eunuchs of the elders of Israel. He also put there enough food for all of them to live by for a long time, and then left it all to see how G-d will turn events about. In the meantime, the girl's soulmate was starving and dying of hypothermia somewhere, so he went to draw some heat from a bull cracass, and went to sleep in it. A large bird (likely of a scavenging kind, regularly said to be a vulture) carried the carcass to the top of the tower to eat it. When the boy woke up, he found himself in the tower with Shəlomo's daughter. She asked him how he came to be there and he told her. Then they fell in love, yadda yadda yadda, they got married with G-d and the angels Michael and Gabriel as their witnesses (no, they do not directly appear in the story, it's about as good as the story about the Pit and the Rat which I'm not going to tell now), they did what married couples do, she got pregnant, Shəlomo came to see and asked her husband how she got there, finishing it all off with "bless G-d who matches a man", more or less.

In many ways, this sounds like a classic European fairy tale. Which has an upside and a downside. The upside is, it might make it easier to Disneyfy (without having to do the whole schtick with no loyalty to the source Disney constanty does) since it already has the esential parts of a Disney story: we've got a girl in need of saving (sort of), a boy for the love interest, a magical story of how they met and a happy ending. Add in a few songs, make her somehow randomly meet him prior to her time in the tower because getting to know him in the tower is kind of creepy even if this is exactly what the original story said (all right, I might consider this part of Disneyfication a way of being disloyal to the source material, but I'm not sure) and you basically have a classic Disney Princess story!

The downside is I'm not sure how Jewish it sounds, in addition to how it's a tiny bit too similar to Rapunzel. Both problems that can be dealt with, of course - so long as we don't let Disney itself actually deal with the story. Can't say I trust them with it. The way to treat both problems, I think, would be to enhance the background story to the "trapped in a tower" trope.

It's really hard to say what consists of a Jewish theme. Certainly, using Shəlomo as a character isn't enough: Christians have already tried to claim him as theirs, and merely having the setting of the story include him won't cause anyone to think "ooh, this must be a Jewish story!"

So, what can we enhance to make this story sound more Jewish? Well, firstly, the mindset of Shəlomo when doing all of this. This isn't too obvious in the story itself - but is a likely read IMO - that Shəlomo actually fully expects for G-d's plan to be fulfilled. He's not attempting to spite destiny, he's attempting to test it, to see the wonders that may result from it. This isn't, to my knowledge, a common mindset in European fairy tales. What he does is still kind of cruel - he locks her in a tower without enterance, with only 70 old men to keep her company, which is unideal to most any young woman. But still, this somewhat unique mindset is worth exploring. (On a side note I should say that the 70 elders thing is also very Jewish, but I'm not sure that there's much to do with it really, so I'm going to leave it here.)

Secondly, there's how, in the story, the male love interest is described as very smart - and a scribe. I kind of forgot to mention that, along with the fact he wrote their Ketubah in his own blood, but it's all there in the source. Either way, idealizing scribes is also a pretty Jewish thing, I think. I don't really know of any Disney prince who is known for his writing abilities. Now sure, in modern times where many people are literate it's not as significant. And yet... there could be something there. An emphasis on caligraphy, perhaps, or being a scribe for Torah scrolls... (I could segue here to a curse allegedly placed upon such scribes to never be rich - but that would be anachronistic, because it was placed by Ezra the Scribe. Don't ask.)

Of course, there are also the very clearly Jewish wedding traditions, which can help. Also, a vulture taking a carcass could actually work interestingly with Jewish symbolism - G-d says once that he talk the Israelites "upon the wings of vultures" and brought them to Him. Also, an eagle dives for the carcasses in Berit Bein HaBetarim, AKA the Covenant of the Pieces (a decent translation, I suppose), and some interpreters actually say it's symbolising G-d, but that's a long story.

The Astrology part is, admittedly, somewhat un-Jewish. The retelling in my book avoided it by changing it to the Urim V'Tumim, which can be a fun way to go, but... honestly, astrology plays a part in many Jewish stories. Plus, while the Urim V'Tumim reflect the will of G-d better than the stars, asking them about your daughter's soulmate is a bit odd, even if you are the king. So I think it's better to stick to the original version in that.

And... that's it for now, I suppose. A picture of the story will be added here, with description after because it's too long for ID text:

[ID: מב) בפרשת (כי) תשא באמצע אות ה' אחרי המלות: "ומביאו מסוף העולם ומזווג לזו בסוף העולם", כתוב בכתב יד: ומעשה בשלמה המלך שהיתה לו בת יפיפיה אין כמותה בכל ארץ ישראל, הביט במזלות מי בן זוגה ומי ישאנה, וראה שהוא עני אחד ואין בישראל עני כמותו, מה עשה, בנה מגדל גבוה בים, וה(/ח?)יה מסביבו בכל עברים מסביב, לקח בתו ושם אותה באותו מגדל הגבוה, ושם עמה שבעים סריסים מזקני ישראל, ובמגדול לא עשה פתח שלא יכנוס אדם בו, ושם בו צידה הרבה, אמר אראה פועל השם ומעשהו, לימים היה אותו עני שהוא בן זוגה והיה יוצא בדרך בלילה, היה ער��ם ויחף רעב וצמא ולא היה לו במה ישכב, ראה נבלת שור מושלכת בשדה, נכנס בה בין הצלעות הנבלה להפיג צינתו היה ישן בא עוף גדול ונטל אותה הנבלה ונשאה על גג אותו מגדל על חדר הבחורה, ושם היה אוכל העוף את בשר הנבלה, וישב שם על הגג כשהאיר השחר. יצתה הבחורה מחדרה ללכת הגגה כמשפטה בכל יום וראתה אותו בחור, אמרה לו מי אתה ומי הביאך הנה, אמר לה יהודי אני מבני עכו אני, אמנם עוף הביאני הנה, מה עשתה לקחתו והביאתו בחדרה והלבישוהו והרחיצוהו וסכתו ונתיפה מאד עד שאין כמותו בכל גבול ישראל, ואהבתו הבחורה בלבה ובנפשה, ונפשה קשורה בנפשו, והיה הבחור חריף ומפולפל וממולח וסופר, יום אחד אמרה לו רוצה אתה לקדשני, אמר לה ומי יתן, מה עשה הקיז דם וכתב לה כתובה ומוהר מדמו, וקידשה ואמר עד ה' היום ועדים מיכאל וגבריאל. בא עליה כדרך כל אדם ונתעברה ממנו, כשראו אותה הזקנים מעוברת אמרו לה כמדומה לנו שאת מעוברת, אמרה להם הן, אמרו לה וממי נתעברתה, אמרה להם מה לכם לדעת, נפלו פני הזקנים שהיו מתייראין משלמה המלך פן ישים עליהם עלילות דברים, ושלחו אליו לבוא לדבר אליהם, נכנס שלמה בספינה ובא אליהם ואמרו לו אדונינו המלך כך הדבר ואל ישים אדונינו בעבדיו עון, כששמע קרא לבתו ושאל לה על הדבר, אמרה לו בחור אחד הביא לי הקב"ה יפה וטוב תלמודי וסופר וקדשני, קראה לבחור ובא לפני המלך והראה לו הכתובה שעשה לבתו, ושאל לו המלך על אביו ועל אמו ועל משפחתו ומאיזה עיר הוא והבין מתוך דבריו שהוא אותו שראה במזל ושמח שמחה גדולה ואמר ברוך המקום שנתן לאיש וזהו מושיב יחידים ביתה. "מוציא אסירים בכושרות כו'" כמו בנדפס. /end ID]

(Note: added punctuation in the ID for the sections written by the publisher, the text from the manuscript is mostly left how it is in the picture.)

[torahgalus]

Ki Tissa

hide in the cleft of the rock, my dove, and I will lay my palm on  your cheek, your softly- shut eyes--you will see only my voice and my  back, but this is what I meant, when I said face- to-face. me, gazing at you; you, blind and expectant.

when I lift my palm, you will be so glorious it hurts. you are too good for them and you will return to them. maybe it will hurt, that they can’t look upon your face as I did. you love them and they cannot see you; you love them and they will only ever see your veil or my glory. but when I passed you, hidden in the cleft of the rock--

your eyelids fluttering, hair stirring, breath soft but eager and the faintest flush on each cheek--

I thought, maybe I have never looked at a human face before.

I thought, you were the loveliest thing I’d ever seen.

[a-kosher-dunk]

“Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!”

-Moses when he saw the golden calf

[oneshul]

Kee Teesa: Egyptian Army Interrogation of an Israelite Refugee

Lt. Djer, Duty Officer of the 18th Regiment, Royal Egyptian Cavalry (“Jaws of Anubis,” Chariot borne), leaned back on his cloth-and-wood army field chair and yawned. He got up, scratching his shaven, bald head, and peered out the tent-flap: almost midnight, by the Moon. He frowned—why must he, an Honors Graduate of the Royal Egyptian Military Academy (Heliopolis), always be assigned to night duty, the midnight shift, here at the Army Forward Operations Base? He, who could bear down from a galloping, fast-moving war chariot, and lance a jackrabbit—had he not received honors for Horsemanship at the Academy? He should have been asleep in his tent, alongside Lt. Nefer (who snored), ready to rise at the crack of dawn, to conduct maneuvers with his squadron. All his troopers needed practice. Private Twosret handled a chariot-lance as if it were a harrow from his father’s farm, and Corp. Hotep had fallen out of the chariot—fallen out, could you believe it?—when his starboard horse stumbled during a rough turn.

And now, Djer had to watch the hours move by, slowly, with nothing to do save fill out report-forms on clay tablets, to send back to Royal Military Headquarters, where no one, it was assured, would read them. He yawned, and stretched—when would this end? He—

The tent-flap burst open, to admit Captain Sobek, Commander of Djer’s overall unit, the 22nd Division of Horse (“Rays of Ra in His Glory”), along with Sgt.-Major Yunet, his aide.

Djer snapped to attention: “Officer on deck!” all thoughts of sleep and early rising to field exercises, forgotten. The two privates who were dozing jumped up, as well. Djer knew that the Regiment’s duty, besides field maneuvers, was to prevent the entry of illegal aliens—for that reason, he and his men had been sent to this obscure outpost—it was a wasteland, but crucial for guarding the boundaries of Blessed Mother Egypt.

The Captain returned the salute: “At ease, Lieutenant.” Djer breathed more easily—Sobek was not out to surprise his men and find them derelict of duty; some other military matter concerned him. Removing his helmet, the captain turned and ordered: “Guards—bring in the prisoner!”

Two burly Military Police dragged in an emaciated man clothed in rags—his body was covered with welts; he had crawled though he had crawled through the Field-of-Thorns which the soldiers had used to block the entrance, both to their Army Camp, and to the border itself. There was also a wall, built of sturdy sandstone, ordered specially by Pharaoh Merneptah to keep out “illegals.”

“Kill these vermin on sight,” the Royal Edict had been given to the Army.

Lt. Djer recognized the man as a Hebrew: he was sunburnt—clearly, he had been a pyramid-construction slave, prior to wandering in the desert with Moses the Rebel Hebrew.

These filthy Hebrews, Djer thought, It’s not enough that they nearly destroyed our nation with their plagues, led by their abominable Invisible God; now, must they attempt to re-enter our land?

The Hebrew stood weakly between the MPs, leaning on them; the two muscled soldiers recoiled from him as from something unclean.

Capt. Sobek turned to the Lieutenant: “Go fetch Scribe Nemhet to record the proceedings of this field-command hearing.”

“May the Lieutenant ask respectfully, to what purpose, Sir?” asked Lt. Djer. He knew the captain to be a by-the-scroll officer, but did not wish to do anything that might endanger his future army career.

“I intend to question the prisoner,” returned Capt. Sobek, “We must best understand the mind-set of these savages, to prevent them from invading our kingdom as in Joseph’s day,,” said the captain, “Send for Nemhet, posthaste!” Lt. Djer nodded to one of the privates who stood at attention behind him. The boy raced into the night.

When the scribe entered the tent, soft clay tablet in hand, the captain began: “Here, in the presence of Royal Egyptian Army officers and personnel, in accordance with Emergency Field Directive A-444, I will question this Prisoner, who is suspected of invading an Army base unauthorized. I charge him with spying....

Gripped between the MP’s, the Prisoner began to wail: “I am innocent—have you no water, Kind Sirs? Water, please!”

The captain raised his hand as if to strike; the prisoner fell silent. “Give him water,” Sobek commanded, and the sergeant gave him a clay jug-full. The prisoner gulped it down.

“Not so fast, Hebrew,” said the captain, in a gentler voice, “You will get a cramp.”

The prisoner nodded. “Are you better, now?” asked the captain.

“Yes,” whispered the scrawny Hebrew. Djer could not help but notice how puny the Prisoner seemed, held between the two burly MPs.

How could this ragtag mob of slaves defeat us, the strongest Empire in the world? he thought.

“So. We begin,” said the captain, “Sit the Prisoner down. What is your name, for the record?”

“An it please you, Your Worship,” replied the Hebrew, “I am called Mephiboshet ben Khareoo’Shoshana.”

“You are to address me as Captain,” returned the officer. “So, your father was Egyptian, your mother Hebrew. By Egyptian law, you are a bastard, guilty of mixing the blood of pure Egypt with your pagan race.”

The Hebrew nodded mournfully, “I have lived with this all of my life, shunned by both Hebrew and Egyptian. After the plague of—begging your pardon, Captain—the Firstborns’ Death, I escaped with the Israelites, but they have not accepted me as pure Hebrew. And so, I left the Camp of Moses, and now wish to return to Egypt.”

“You cannot do that, by our laws,” said the captain, sharply, “for you did not apply for refugee citizenship; you are an illegal entrant, and I accuse you of spying.”

The Hebrew whispered, “By the beard of the Lord, I am no spy, but a refugee with no place to dwell. I cry you mercy, Captain. Mercy, please....”

“Describe the condition of Enemy Moses’s camp,” the captain interrupted, and, turning to Lt. Djer, he added, “Headquarters wishes for us to keep track of the escaped enemy-Hebrews. I hear from Headquarters that orders may come down to attack them, in revenge for all the destruction they caused. Why, the shock may have led to Pharaoh Ramesses II’s death.”

Lt. Djer nodded. “May I question the prisoner?” he asked Capt. Sobek. Sobek nodded.

“Prisoner!” said Lt. Djer, “Our scouts have seen a pillar of smoke, pillar of fire, in the midst of your camp. We have also seen lightning and heard thunder, even during a clear, sunlit day. Are you conjurors, to make these strange phenomena appear?”

The Hebrew slumped, wearily. “All that is caused by our God, who commanded our Moses to ascend the mountain called Sinai—”

“What is the strategic value of this mountain?” demanded Capt. Sobek, “Perhaps Rebel Moses is organizing a ragtag force of armed shepherds, to rush down from Sinai and catch us unawares.”

“Sinai is not a Place for war,” said the Hebrew, “It is where our Lord God will deliver to us His sacred Law, a Law of Peace.”

“What law is this?” asked Capt. Sobek, “I know no law save that of Pharaoh Merneptah, All hail our Pharaoh, Light of the East!” The soldiers saluted; the civilian scribe fell to his knees, and did obeisance to his sovereign lord.

“Did all your people receive this—this—Law?” asked the captain, “Answer quickly, and completely, you were best.”

“Some did,” agreed the Prisoner, “but others implored the brother of Moses, High Priest Aaron, to build them a simulacrum of a calf. He resisted, but did so, in the end. And these rebels did bow down and worship.”

“Hm,” said Lt. Djer, “I am surprised that so many have clearly lost faith in your invisible God. What happened when your Chief Magician, Moses, returned and beheld the Calf?”

The Hebrew began to tremble: “Moses ground it to powder. He then ordered his Levite tribe to go through the camp, and slay all those who committed abominations before the Calf. So much blood and slaughter—it horrified me—I prepared to escape the camp—"

“Prisoner!” called out the captain, no stranger to massacres—he himself had led the slaughter of hundreds of Girgashite prisoners and their families, just three moons prior—“But then, if your Moses returned and made peace, why are you here, spying on our troops and weaponry?”

“I—I—” stammered the Prisoner, “I, knowing my half-breed status, felt it better to run away from the camp. I did not wish to die at the hands of Levites; my mother was a Benjaminite.”

Capt. Sobek turned to Lt. Djer: “What say you, Lieutenant? Does this Hebrew’s tale ring true?”

Djer furrowed his brow, in thought: “I am not certain, Captain. He might be speaking the truth, or he might have been sent to spy out our camp, and then return to Magician Moses.”

The captain slammed his hand on the army-desk, causing the scribe to jump.

“We cannot take chances. As Commander and Magistrate of this Forward Operations Base, I rule that this Hebrew is guilty of penetrating our Wall, and invading our land—his illegal status is clear,” he decided, “Take this offal out of my command tent, and execute him by lancing.”

The Prisoner began to wail in fright, but not for long: the MPs dragged him out quickly. The captain and lieutenant began to follow: Egyptian law required them to witness the procedure.

The privates stood on the prostrate prisoners’ hands, and the larger MP readied his spear. There was one short cry, and then silence.

“Good riddance to a spy,” said Capt. Sobek. The lieutenant nodded, though his hands were shaking. He had never before witnessed a drumhead execution. The hot desert sun was rising: the captain returned to the tent to check the scribe’s report, while the lieutenant went to his barracks-tent to sleep for an hour before field maneuvers—if he was able to sleep.

Rabbi David Hartley Mark is from New York City’s Lower East Side. He attended Yeshiva University, the City University of NY Graduate Center for English Literature, and received semicha at the Academy for Jewish Religion. He currently teaches English at Everglades University in Boca Raton, FL, and has a Shabbat pulpit at Temple Sholom of Pompano Beach. His literary tastes run to Isaac Bashevis Singer, Stephen King, King David, Kohelet, Christopher Marlowe, and the Harlem Renaissance.

[yhebrew]

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[thejewishlink]

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