Rebuilding the Beit haMikdash: Musings on Tisha B'Av

Putting Jews aside for a moment, I got a whooper for you :-)

I think the Chinese got it right when they invented the yin -yang symbol to represent the forces in life.  I think there truly are these  "white" and "black" forces.   The difference i'd add is that its not a mere circle but a spiral. winding upwards and downwards in all the dimensions of life.  I do think Black people are thus because they represent the black forces and whites are thus because they represent white forces, its not strictly that way (remember there is that white dot in the black side and the black dot in the white side) but more or less like that. Hispanics, Asians, etc also fall into these two categories depending on how they think.

The whites are in the clouds.  The negative thing about that is that its all sheker /lies.  Not reality, just the imagination at work there. So imagination vs what is real is almost fuzzy.  Maybe that's why many need studies and surveys to actually verify many obvious truths.  The positive side to that is there are no limits, if you can think it up then there's a chance it can be created, why not? I think therefore I am.  The imagination is great.

The Blacks are on the ground. The earth (same place where according to a midrash, Hashem threw down truth).  The negative is that we can be quick to admit our wrongs or see ourselves negatively because truly we are filled with bad and good and without Hashem's help, we lost!  The positive side to that is because we know what's up (when we are connected to truth) and we can actualize things.  Bring it down to earth, make it real, keep it real.

Like two sides of the brain, they do very different work for the "body".  But because of bad middot /bad character traits, they hate each other because one thinks they are superior to the other.  Usually its the Whites who think this, but for the sake of sounding fair, i'll say both.

Heck, the truth is the Whites usually think they are superior and see blacks as "mules" (very physical, real actual. like chomer /donkey represents physicality) and want to ride them to actualize things (??)  and Black folks see Whites as confident because of their seemingly thorough research and thoughts. Both problematic.

Now enter the Jew.  If these people were like the two sides of the brain, then the Jew would be like the Pineal gland.  Or like a mini-brain.  The part that is suppose to bring the left and right side, the black side and the white side into unity and harmony.  The True, Blue (techeilet) Jew can do it.  But he needs his anchors, his mitzvot, his Torah, his prayers, his knowledge. These will balance him right in the middle.  Without those things, he will tend to fall back either towards the White way of thinking or the Black way of thinking (this is regardless if he's hispanic, asian, etc).

This true, blue Jew way of thinking  --if it was actualized and made into a real concrete material, i think it would be the Beit HaMikdash.  But unless the Jewish people are ready to think like this, without secret partiality towards their white idols or whatever, things are not going to change, and the beit HaMikdash won't get actualized.

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In the case of Trayvon Martin, anyone who wants to get "black" about it can see clearly that its not right that Zimmerman followed the 17 year old even when the police told him not to and that (2) he confronts the guy and (3) he shoots to kill.  Wrong is wrong, no matter how its packaged.

A White society can see this same situation and decided in their WILL what they actually want to be. From there they will use their intellect to to reason why what they want is right.  That would be as far as things go.

What will probably happen is (1) as all lights eventually reach the earth and leaves a course light in its wake (i.e. reality happens) Zimmerman will eventually be riddled with guilt.  This G-d aweful "white guilty" may insue which doesn't help anyone, but make White folks behave in self destructive manners and he will probably want to go out and hurt again. And (2) all the Zimmermans out there will feel validated in their idea that Blacks are dangerous --all the more so since they are bummed out from all the Trayvon Martin cases that occurred-- and the cycle continues.

Can the True Blue Jew step in and bring a tikkun here?

Avatar (spoiler)

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Please don't read this if you haven't seen Avatar and don't want to know the ending!

So, I saw the movie Avatar the other day. As someone who hardly watches tv -I don't even own a tv, and rarely sees movies, I must say I was not used to all the suspense there. I think I almost threw up my lungs when the main character, Jake Sully, was being chased by these alien hounds. lol!

The special effects were amazing and very ingenious. Perhaps these things are in other movies that I haven't seen, but to me they were very new -such as the floating mountains, twirling bugs, and not to mention the very interesting concept of hair!!!

If you recall, I wanted to see the movie after reading a post "Avatar and Moshiach" at Shirat Devorah's blog. Then I got more intrigued when I read a critique of it by Annalee Newitz.

Well so I saw it and I do think its related to alot of things but what I connected to most was that it seemed like a story of the struggle of Esau/Esav.

Here was America (white as some one label it) coming to Pandora -alien, primitive i.e. every minority on the planet earth represented here lol! -to basically shove the people aside and take what they possess --called keenly unobtainium. That should give you a hint as to whether its obtainable or not. But nevertheless, the pursuit continues.

Eventually, one of the Americans sent on that mission, Jake Sully (how's that for a last name?) defects and joins the "natives." Naturally, he becomes their leader and leads them to battle the "imperialist Americans" and sends them all back to America or blow them up in battle.

Annalee Newitz called this the white guilt being rehashed over and over. Just as it did in Dunes, in Dances with Wolves, Last of the Mohican, etc etc etc. By the way, I really love the first comment the came after her post. Here is an exerpt:

Speaking as a Left-Leaning White Guy™, I can't help but feel there's a culture of "white guilt oneupsmanship" in academic criticism these days. It's like a game to see who can be more guilty. "You think YOU'VE pointed the finger at racism? Ha! Watch now as I pwn your ass and prove you're just like all those other racist, imperialist honkeys!"

Until the next guilty whitey comes along... and so on... and so on... and so on... (gigshaft, commentor)

I think they are both right.

There is a perhaps subconscious guilt guiding the making of the movie, but most of it is cliched and a money maker.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS GUILT

In the story of Esau/Esav, he was a powerful warrior. He was destined to be the leader of the world and his father, Isaac was very proud of him. But for whatever reason, he was not following the religiosity of his father -he only pretended by asking "how does one tithe salt?" We don't tithe salt. It was evident, especially to the mother, Rifka, that this boy could not be a leader because his heart was not where it should be. Granted, he was quite fierce, so much so, that it is said that when his grandfather, Abraham died, Esau took out his grief by hunting down Abraham's old nemesis, Nimrod and killing him. But, how can someone lead without compassion, love, giving, all those things that religiosity tries to instill in a person? Rifka realized that Esau could not be the world leader. Finally, and maybe because he knew from his grandfather, Abraham, that his descendants were destined to be slaves in a "foreign land" (Egypt) and didn't want that for his progeny, he decided to sell his birthright. It had little value to him anyway. And so he gave up his right and his rightful place as a leader to the world.

When he saw that everything was truly finalized, with the blessings given to Jacob instead, He. Was. Furious.

And so the story goes. Even to this day, I would suspect, anyone who is a descendant of Esau (Western Civilization?) has that potential to be a great leader, but because the birthright is not theirs anymore, its as if they are wandering about life with no real purpose. So, they still try to lead. To conquer the world. To satisfy their greed but without the godly purpose -which was the problem in the first place. As a result, instead of the midas touch, often times when they enter a country they leave civil war in its wake. Colonialization. Slavery. Murder of the body and/or spirit.

But perhaps there is an awakening. A spark. A part which is not 1/60th yet, not enough to tip the scale. A little inkling to do good, to be that good, godly leader to all?

I think that is the subconscious stir that leads many to write/produce/promote/encourage movies like these. Its like stoking an amber that has the potential to become a flaming torrent of good -the Holy Mission one was intended to fulfill.... only to have the movie end and the lights turned back on. Reality bekons. The pull of greed bekons. Comforts bekon. Alas, where will the strength come from?

That is what I saw from one angle. But I saw something else from a different angle.

I like the idea of oneness with nature that the Navis had. Navi in Hebrew means prophecy. It sort of reminds me of a certain spark of holiness that Black folks have -I suspect. And that every group has but I just can't relate to because I am not intuned with them --but for sure in BF I sense this because I can. This special spark that is unobtainium to the conquering groups because it is ingrained in their birthright.

It reminds me of a teaching by Rebbe Nachman that everyone wants the Jewish person's money because it shines. So they raise taxes and take their money. But once its out of the Jewish guy's hand, it doesn't shine anymore. So they tax some more to get more money. But still it just doesn't shine once its out of their hand. In their desparation they keep trying.

I think the same thing goes for every group. We all have something that God gave us. Nobody can take it away. They just can't. They can squeeze and squeeze us like oranges, but the truth is once its out of our hands, it just doesn't have the same shine anymore and the greedy person who took it is left still thirsty for it.

Its our birthright.

At sometimes, just like in the movie, we have to use the same power of Esau to fight the onslaught of those who come greedily to take away from us, but note that it was the tribal woman's primitive weapon in the end that beat the main bad guy. The message: pick up Esau's weapons and tools, but then put it back down. Now that is not something I saw in those other cliched movies. Did anyone take note of that?

MONEY MAKING

And of course, why else does anyone do holywood, if its not for money making? There was so many cliched scenes in the movie, even I, a non-tv watcher, knew them. Typical guy falls in love with native girl, main character guy is like a loose canon to the rest of the group, but he's soooo needed so they keep him, natives have interesting rituals, all the typical characters -its almost like a video game. lol.

Anyway that is my take of it.



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