Random Thoughts

Someone (a Jewish BW named Chaya from Living Essence blog) once told me this...



Have you ever seen a Torah scroll? It has these two thick sides that you roll up to roll up the actual scroll.  The two sides have sticks protruding from them which are adorned with various decorations.

During a synagogue service (an Orthodox one anyway), the Torah is removed and revealed from its house only during the times it will be read. A man takes it out and opens it a bit. He holds it up high for the congregation to see then closes it. As he makes his way to the bima -the tall table where the Torah is actually read, he goes the long route and everyone tries to kiss the scroll or at least touch it.

Then he finally gets to the bima and the Torah is covered with a piece of cloth until whoever is called up is ready to read to it.

That is what you see.

Here is a "Song of Songs" version of what's happening...

The Torah scroll is lilke a beautiful woman. Her two thighs protrude and above she is adorned with or sorts of jewelry and decorations.

During a synagogue service -during the renewal of vows- the woman is taken from her house, only when she will be sung to.  A man takes her out and opens her a bit.  He shows her off to the whole congregation and they fall in love with her all over again. Then he closes her.  As he makes his way to the private chambers, he goes the long route and everyone praises his woman.

Then he finally gets to his place and keeps his woman covered until he is ready to sing to her...



This is beautiful love making!

It only takes the disappearance of the fear of God, for such a beautiful thing to become perverted.

This is what I think of when I hear about the story of the 11 year old little girl who got gang raped by about 16 men. 26 men!!! Its perfectly perverted. They took their "Torah scroll" and "sang" their ugly song to her.

It hurts me to the core.  If only.  If only I was like Shimon/Simon  and Levi, the two hot headed sons of Jaacob who, upon hearing that their sister, Dinah, was raped by the people of Shchem, took it upon themselves to exact vengence for her.  They slaughtered the whole town -the rapists and the people who were coming up with excuses for them.

(unfortunately, for their hot headedness, they didn't inherit a portion in the land of Israel -instead they were made to dwell among their brothers so as to spread and reduce their hot headedness with each generation of intermarriage. -according to some).

I can't understand how people -even the mothers of these men- can not be apalled at what happened. And what should be done to prevent this from happening again?

I suspect that these "men" are a result of the previous generation's spilled seed. Eventually they produce a "damaged beyond repair" entity and that begets more "damaged beyond repair" entities and so on and so forth. Each time the exponent on these DBRs increase to the point that I wonder if they can be even considered "in the image of God".

BHM 2010 - Message of the Week

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This week is the reading of the portion/parashat Mishpatim which is Exodus 21, 1-24. Mishpatim is plural for mishpat which means sentences. These are a series of dinim or rules for various situation.

For example, if one is a slave or acquires a Jewish slave then here are the rules of dealing with him. Basically, after seven years the slave has the option to walk away. If he is crazy enough to stay being a slave, then the master nails his ear to the door for the whole world to see what a crazy fool this guy is, then then the slave remains a slave forever!

At the end is the part where the famous saying goes...

22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

23 But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. {S} (Exodus 21)

I guess this week is a week of exacting retribution. Probably now would be a good time to request reparations, to cry out about a wrong, to fix, etc. Its in the air.. these rules are awake and shining this week.

May this learning be in the merit that Haiti should recover completely and deal well with the UN, America and any other opportunists out to steal their children, their goods, their dignity. Amen v'Amen.

BHM 2010- Parashat Yitro

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I think its quite interesting to start February 2010, Black History Month, with the whole Jewish community reading the Torah portion called Yitro -a.k.a. Jethro, father of Tzipporah. Poetic justice? God's hand to get people to think about BHM?

We all know the wonderful legend of how the story of Moses and Tzipporah got turned into: "Why you gotta be with that black woman?!" When in actuality, the story was that Miriam and Aaron couldn't believe that Moses would abstain from Tzipporah because she was so gorgeous. Story has it, he did the same to an Ethiopian bride that he had prior to Tzipporah. This, to me, is why Miriam said Cushite (African/ or Ethiopian) twice in the verse.

But what's so special about Yitro himself?

"1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel His people, how that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. " (Exodus 18;1)

According to Oral tradition and various teachings I've heard, I've gathered that:

Jethro was not so impressed with the splitting sea and the rescuing of a people from within another nation alone. Everyone in those times who heard the story was impressed. Many may have wanted to do some repentance and changing their lives around for the better to be more in tune to God's will. But what Yitro heard that others may have missed was that there is an Amalek -and God helped Israel against them too.

The Amalekites were descendents of Esau. Their main goal was the destruction of the Jewish people. (Hitler, Germany was said to be one of their descendents)So much so were they bent on this mission, that even after all the miracles that had occurred, they were unfazed and were willing to be the first to try to attack them as they exited out of Egypt.

So, too, today, many of us have these dogs that bark "you ain't s****!!!" whenever we try to better ourselves. Amalek.

Many people will try to better themselves, but what Yitro did was (1) try to better himself as a result of the miracles that he heard but also (2) attached himself to the group that he knew would one day fight Amalek so he wouldn't have to face them alone should he progress in his service to God.

Repentance: Just Spreading the Word

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We are now starting a new book: Shemot /Exodus. These times are said by Jewish sages to be propicious times for repentance in general -and more specifically, repentance for immodesty, ilicit sexual nature.

Imagine, if you will, a big arrow pointing at this present time -these next 6 weeks- and saying: insert repentance here.

Repentance = thinking of how damaging these acts were, regretting them. Deciding not to do them again.

It could also help to say psalms and give charity.

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Many have fallen in this transgression. And there are lots and lots of traps for ensnaring people in it. Once someone falls in this, it takes a long long while before a rectification is done (according to the Zohar). So, it stands to reason that this would be a "favorite weapon" against those trying to do good and be good.

You can read more about it at Shirat Devorah.
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This Week's Torah Portion

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Now we are up to the Abraham story.



For an ebonics version of this weeks Bible portion, check out Ma Nishtana blog.