The portion of the Torah Jews read during the last week of June, is Parashat Hukkat (Numbers 19:1 - 22:1). At its center is one of the Bible’s best-known stories. Moses strikes a rock to bring forth water for the thirsty children of Israel, for which God punishes him by denying him entry into the Promised Land.
Given the devastating nature of the punishment, one would think that the nature of our greatest prophet’s sin would be clear and unequivocal. Here, if anywhere, one would expect the Torah to be explicit about what Moses did wrong and why the penalty was a fitting one.
Yet the text is ambiguous--so much so that the great 19th-century Italian commentator, Shmuel David Luzzatto, refused to elucidate the question. His predecessors, he said, had attributed no less than 13 sins to Moses, and he feared that if he thought about it, he’d burden the poor man with yet another transgression.
Moses had to provide his thirsty people with water. Israel must provide its citizens with security. However, having the right to invade and bomb doesn’t mean that invading and bombing is necessarily the right thing to do. Military force is a blunt instrument for achieving diplomatic, political, and strategic goals. Even precision attacks too often miss their mark, killing the wrong people. Furthermore, since even armies with the best possible intelligence operate in the face of many unknowns, the outcomes of military actions are notoriously hard to predict. A single misstep—striking camp too far away from the nearest source of water—lost the Crusaders their kingdom in a single, agonizing battle.
But since major military actions inevitably cause pain, death, and suffering, they cannot be justified morally simply by asserting the right to use force. The design and extent of the operation has to be such that it exacts the lowest price consistent with achievement of realistic goals.
Does Israel’s current policy meet this criterion? The ways our sages have defined Moses’ actions at the rock elucidate ways in which a justified action can turn into a serious misjudgment. According to Maimonides, God punished Moses because he acted in anger. His anger was warranted, but violence committed in the heat of anger is not. According to Nachmanides, Moses’ sin was to hit the rock twice when only one blow would have been sufficient.
In the current context, we can see here a warning against the use of excessive force. According to Sforno, Moses erred by not leaving the miracle to God. By striking the rock, he cast himself as a wonder worker, trying to aggrandize himself in the eyes of the people. The Israeli army is a dedicated and disciplined force, subservient to its civilian government—but as in other armies around the world, its officers like to call the shots and reap the glory, even on problems that can be better solved by diplomacy.
I don’t believe that we can open the Bible and find the answer to the intractable dilemmas of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Torah is not an oracle. In fact, the indeterminacy of the story of Moses and the rock shows that, in times of crisis, leaders may, with the best of intentions, make bad decisions. Jews have been arguing for three thousand years what Moses did wrong at the rock. But the Torah story does serve to remind us that while crises call for strong leaders who do not hesitate to act, those leaders would do best to act soberly, and to be humble enough to admit that they can do no more than make the best educated guesses they can about what the outcome of a military operation will be.
I hope that Palestinian Muslim leaders are using the stories of their tradition to reach similar conclusions. Unfortunately, many Muslim extremists seem determined to escalate the conflict. I suspect that they hope for a harsh Israeli response that will gain them international sympathy. But battering the rock until it breaks is not a good strategy for either side.
novamradio.com
Sheldon Drobny was the co-founder of Nova M radio and Air America Radio. He has supported many philanthropic causes and is currently involved in purchasing radio stations for liberal talk radio with his new company, Nova M Radio, Inc. Mr. Drobny specializes in business and tax matters and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court as a non-attorney. Less than 200 non-attorneys have been admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court since its inception in 1942. Mr. Drobny received a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from Roosevelt University in Chicago and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, an honorary fraternity recognizing acadamic achievement in colleges of business administration.
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Hater of Nazis above all. Hobbies include activism, military model building, military history, exciting and vital conversation with retired crooks. Retired |
It strenghtens the narrative. There is little that is moral in the Bible because religious movements hate anyone with smarts. Moses was just another sacrificial lamb added to the narrative to encourge obedience (blind if possible). by
John Hanks (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1186 comments)
on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 7:56:25 AM
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The free gift of the water of life! In 1936 a Polish Anthropologist named Sula Benet discovered that in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament the Word "kaneh bosm" had been translated as calamus by the Greeks when they first rendered the Books in the 3rd century B.C., then propagated as such from the Greek in all future translations as Hebrew ceased to be a spoken language and was not revived again until the late 1800's. Benet claimed through substantial research and etymological comparison the proper translation for "kaneh bosm" is cannabis. In 1980 the Hebrew Institute of Jerusalem confirmed her claim that "kaneh bosm" is indeed cannabis. It is becoming increasingly well known today. Calamus was used by the ancient Greeks and many others, and even yet today as an aphrodisiac and stimulant, it's active chemical asarone is a precursor to the psychedelic MDMA, ecstasy. In Exodus 30:23 God instructs Moses to use 250 shekels of "kaneh bosm" in the oil to anoint all Kings, Priests, and Prophets, for all generations to come, including that of Jesus and even today as the title Christ/Messiah means literally, "covered in oil, Anointed." Kaneh is also listed as an incense tree in Song of Songs 4:14. The mistake was repeated in Isaiah 43:24, Jeremiah 6:20, and Ezekiel 27:19. There are 141 references to anointing and 145 for burning incense in the standard Bible. The discoveries of the Dead Sea and Nag Hammadi scriptures in the 1940's add significantly to this finding. Many of the Nag Hammadi scriptures describe a much different baptism than what we have been taught. In the Gospel of Philip it is written; "There is water in water, there is fire in Chrism." And again; "The Chrism is superior to baptism, for it is from the word "Chrism" that we have been called "Christians," certainly not from the word "baptism." And it is because of the "Chrism" that the "Christ" has his name. For the Father anointed the Son, and the Son anointed the Apostles, and the Apostles anointed us. He who has been anointed possesses everything. He possesses the resurrection, the light, the cross, the Holy Spirit. The Father gave him this in the Bridal chamber. He merely accepted the gift. The Father was in the Son and the Son in the Father. This is the Kingdom of Heaven." From the Acts of Thomas; "And the Apostle took the oil and poured it on their heads and anointed and Chrismed them, and began to say; Come, thou Holy name of the Christ that is above every name. Come, thou power of the Most High, and the compassion that is perfect. Come, gift of the Most High. Come, compassionate mother. Come, communion of the male. Come, she that revealeth the hidden mysteries. Come Mother of the seven houses, that thy rest be in the eighth house. Come, Holy Spirit, and cleanse their reigns and their heart, and give them the added seal, in the name of the Father and the Holy Ghost." There are many of these baptisms described throughout the Acts, alway's with a cup of Oil! There are many, many references to the anointing in many of these books. This mystical Chrism is found not only throughout these scriptures but the Bible as well. All four Gospels claim that John baptized with water but Jesus would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. However, Mark 6:13 is the only mention of the Holy Oil, what we are not taught is that the references to the "Holy Spirit," the "Counselor," and the "Laying on of hands" are all synonymous with the anointing. In 1 Samuel 16:13 the Holy Spirit comes upon David only after he has been anointed. In 1 John 2:18-29 he warns of many antichrists and says; "But you have an anointing from the Holy One and all of you know the Truth. I do not write you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth." And again; "As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit- just as it has taught you, remain in him." In James 5:14 he says; "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned he will be forgiven." The literal definition of antichrist is "opposed to or against anointed." All mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have cannabinoid receptors throughout their body that work independent of those that govern the heart and breathing which is why cannabis cannot kill you. In 2000, Dr. Manual Guzman of Complutense University in Madrid Spain rediscovered THC will destroy cancer, In 2006 it was found to promote the growth of brain cells at the University of Saskatchewan by Dr. Xia Zhang, and prevent Alzheimers at the Scripps Institute here at home. These findings have been confirmed many times since. It's True! In fact it is being used to treat Alzheimers, MS, autism, epilepsy, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, arthritis, migraine, asthma, emphysema, obesity, ALS, ADHD, OCD, cystic fibrosis, lupus, nausea, herpes, skin disorders, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, Tourettes, Crohn's disease, and more. Too bad our FDA only demonizes it. The hemp seed is the single most nutritious thing you can eat and is a great source for essential fatty acids, reintroduced into our diet we can alleviate many of the diseases mentioned above. Anything made from oil, coal, timber, or cotton can be made with cannabis hemp. Canvas is Dutch for cannabis. All paper, plastics, packaging, fuels, paints, varnishes, lubricants, textiles, plywood, structural components, insulations, many cosmetics, medicines, and health foods, over 25,000 known products can be made ecologically friendly with cannabis hemp. It is by far the #1 source of biomass on the planet. Farming six to eight percent of our nations land with hemp could handle our energy requirements currently provided by oil and coal. One acre of hemp equals four of timber for pulp and you harvest it every year, tree's take a lifetime. It grows without most fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides to foul the soil and water, in climates and conditions other crops won't grow. Food, fuel, shelter, medicine, pleasure, spirituality, Unity. The Tree of Life, kaneh bosm, cannabis, haoma, hemp, taima, etc, etc.... The Apocryphal Testament of Levi says that in the last day's there shall be a new Priest to execute the judgement of Truth upon the Earth. "And he shall open the gates of paradise, and shall remove the threatening sword against Adam; and he shall give to his saints to eat from the Tree of Life, and the Spirit of Holiness shall be on them." Revelation says; "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the Tree of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the Tree are for the healing of nations. No longer will there be any curse." Peace! Wash you Robes! Psalm 133 by
Garry (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments)
on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 3:57:08 PM
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