Passover as if the earth matters

[struggle4progress]

<Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of The Shalom Center of Philadelphia>

The traditional Passover Haggadah teaches that in every generation, some Pharaoh will arise in destruction, and that in every generation, every human being -- not just every Jew -- must look upon herself or himself as if it is we -- not our ancestors only -- who must go forth to freedom.

In this generation, what Pharaoh do we face, and what freedom must we seek? ...

Today, the global climate crisis threatens the whole planetary web of life, and there are some institutions -- pharaohs -- that make the crisis worse. They are bringing on us all the plagues of today -- rivers undrinkable, frogs dying, the Great Lakes drying, hurricanes worsening, glaciers melting, polar bears drowning, seacoasts rising, droughts consuming.

There is a close relationship between our individual profligate consumption of coal and oil, and the behavior of these Pharaohs -- Big Oil, Big Coal, and Big Auto. They seduce us into our addictions while claiming that global "scorching" does not exist, or that if it does, it is not the result of human misdeeds -- or that even if it is, it will cost our economy too much to change. All the behavior of pharaohs protecting their power and wealth by making their products into our idols ...

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/3/26/94652/7564

[patrice]

1. Surprising, how real the Bible turns out to be to those who

are not blasphemers.

[struggle4progress]

2. Whatever the texts contain, the human communities that read and interpret the texts are real

[edhopper]

3. While I applaud the Rabbi's sentiment

I find this no more "real" then saying how Frodo and Gandalf show us how we must opposed today's Saurons who won't deal with the threat of Global Warming.
How about how Harry Potter shows us about the Voldemorts of the world?
Same dif.

[patrice]

4. Answer me this, if you will:

What is this, 5 ?

(Reasoning by analogy here, humor me if you dare.)

[edhopper]

5. What is what?

Are you asking me what the number five is? Or is there a typo in your post?

[patrice]

9. I am asking you what "5" is.

And you answered that it is the number five.

So, what is "V"?

(Bear with me here, if you will; it's just a thought experiment, let's see where it goes.)

[edhopper]

10. "V" is quite a few things

in this context it would be the Roman numeral for quantity of "5". It is also the 22nd letter of our alphabet, the symbol for "victory", etc.
What are you trying to get at?

[Meshuga]

6. Yep

Rabbis and observant Jews are Torah geeks. And Torah reading is approached in a similar manner that Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter is read by some. But Jewish stories are used instead.

Commentary on the weekly Torah portion is common practice for Torah geeks (also known as practicing Jews).

[edhopper]

7. It also

should be noted that since the story of Moses and the Exodus did not really happen and myths based on Babylonian legends, the comparison to LOTR is quite apt.

[Meshuga]

8. In the context of this thread

Even if the stories of Moses and the Exodus were true and whether they were Babylonian legends or not, the comparison would still be quite apt.

[TZ]

12. ...

Mr. Wiggles..the Torah geek!! If you ever get the opportunity to change your screen name that should be it...:)

[Meshuga]

14. The thought of using TorahGeek as a screen name came to mind

Perhaps next time there is a window to change names. :-)

[struggle4progress]

11. Here, of course, is the difference between the real and the imaginary:

my link concerns an actual person, who stands before a group of actual people that assembles regularly to think about life and who asks that group to interpret an ancient tradition in the context of an important modern issue -- whereas your response mainly intends to sneer

[cyborg_jim]

13. So fucking what?

my link concerns an actual person, who stands before a group of actual people that assembles regularly to think about life and who asks that group to interpret an ancient tradition in the context of an important modern issue

Really, so what?

[Meshuga]

15. I think the "so fucking what?" applies both ways

It applies to the comparison to LOTR/Harry potter and to the usage of Torah portion by the Jewish community. At least in my opinion.

[edhopper]

16. There are far more people

in the world who read and revere Harry Potter than the Jewish people who read the Torah. The Torah is just older. The stories from before the founding of the Hebrew Kingdom are as fanciful and "real" as Harry Potter. If a large group gathered to discuss how Harry Potter teaches us to act in todays world is that comparable to your Torah group?
Or is it the tradition that matters. I, for one, don't put much stock in tradition. Like religion it can be used to propagate both good and bad.

[Meshuga]

17. Again

So fucking what? Who cares whether the stories are not real? Or older or more recent? Why would you care if I put stock in tradition and why would I care if you don't put stock in tradition? I don't expect tradition to float anybody's boat much less Jewish tradition which is for the members of the Jewish people to decide whether Jewish tradition is meaningful to them or not. Some think it is shit, others are indifferent, and the "geeks" love it.

There is Torah and there is Judaism. Studying Torah is only one of the components of Judaism. Judaism is a complex beast and it doesn't limit itself to the written Torah. There are a couple of millennia worth of commentary and responsa of responsa of responsa and that developed into an enormous body of work that we use as reference for Judaism today. This huge body of work is used to guide Jewish geeks so they can follow a meaningful Jewish life. And "Jewish life" has a different meaning to each individual Jew, explaining the different movements. And the Jewish geek doesn't limit his/her study to Torah but also study Jewish history, Jewish mysticism, Jewish ethics, Jewish religious practices, Jewish holidays, Jewish food, Jewish music, Jewish literature, Hebrew, Jewish humor or whatever floats the person's boat. So if one compares the study of Harry Potter to Judaism as a whole I would say it's not a really a good comparison. Actually, it would be a rather ignorant comparison. But if the comparison is the study of Harry Potter with the same goal as Torah study and commentary then I would say it is a good comparison.

Harry Potter and LOTR use their fictional characters and stories to bring us their message. Torah study does something similar but using Jewish mythology instead. The tradition says that Torah has 70 facets (each time you read it you get a different perspective) and that it should be read like a shirah (a poem). So, Jewish geeks study torah every week. Some people might think it is stupid and ridiculous to study torah, but again, so fucking what?

[edhopper]

18. delete original post

too snarky and you gave an honest answer.
BTW, I was brought up Jewish.

[Meshuga]

19. I saw your reply...

Too late Ed! :-)

You asked a fair question, whether it is about tradition. And it is, BTW. I went overboard with my answer. I apologize for that!
:blush: