TRIP AROUND THE SUN
37
of 52 – Jews - Reformed
Thoughts
during the week:
The inclusiveness
of the Seventh Day Adventists is still on my mind. I want this so much in my
own ingrained church.
In
college, my second year, I went without having set up housing. I had not been
sure that I would have sufficient funds to go, and then I decided I would go
ahead and try. I was picked up at the bus station in
When
“Rush” came, I was invited to join. It came with a cost $25.00 each semester,
however. That amount was a full months rent, which I decided not to afford. But
there was more than that. The Athenians were very exclusive – thought of
themselves as better than members of other units and
certainly better than those not accepted by any of the very selective units. I
was never attracted to join exclusive groups. As I said last week, if I wanted
to be an exclusive person, quoting Bill Cosby, “I wouldn’t join a group that
would let me in.”
I lived
in that Athenian house for the entire school year – both semesters – but did
not join. I helped with math and science and English – which was stimulating to
my own thought process as well. That helped “pay” my way, though I did also pay
my portion of the rent, which was $25.00 each month. Because there were 17 of
us, and many more Athenians who did not live in “the House,” we didn’t have to
cook. Girls who were enamored at the thought of winning for “Belle of the Y” or
“Homecoming Queen” gladly cooked for us in the hopes of being “sponsored.” The
evening meal was always special there – and cost only the groceries. Even the
groceries were only basic. The girls would bring their own “spices,” etc., and
we didn’t have to pay for that. It’s funny in a way – that I enjoyed some of
the benefits of being considered among the “exclusive,” while at the same time
not thinking that a positive thing. Life is full of grey.
There
was a Playboy magazine one evening sitting on the table. I noticed it just
before our “cooks” were to arrive. I said something about maybe that magazine
ought to be taken away before they arrived. Several laughed a little at my
naivety – stating that to catch us with such a thing would only stimulate the
girls and make us more attractive to them. One of these cooks eventually was
one of the runners up in the Belle contest. The magazine was still on the table
when they arrived that evening to cook. They said, “Bad boys – bad bad boys!” Some may wonder that I should include such a
story in my thoughts here, but I believe that “need” for exclusivity leads also
to an exaggerated need for acceptance – especially by the opposing gender.
Understand, this unit, the Athenians, was mild and
dignified when compared with a couple of others. There were many returned
missionaries among them, and most of these were what we would expect them to be
– still, they valued the association and the popularity that came from being
included in an exclusive group.
All
this came into my thoughts because there is a strong correlation between the
need for exclusivity and these other forms of need - for attention and
validation. In getting myself ready for a visit with
the Jews, these thoughts came. The exclusivity that is part and parcel of being
“The Chosen People” was on my mind. My own father on Earth may have on occasion
had a favorite among his three sons – and which one was favored may have
changed from time to time, but even he, an Earthly father, was smart enough not
to advertise it for all the brothers to hear together. If God had “chosen” the
Jews, He wouldn’t have told anyone about it. That would only be asking for trouble – and I don’t think
we want to blame God for all this strife for thousands of years – do we? (The
Old Testament is stories. God is not stupid.) Among the Muslims, of course, it
is believed that it is they who were chosen and not the Jews – that it was not
Isaac taken by Abraham for sacrifice, but Ishmael. I choose to believe that it
was neither.
When I
joined the Church at 12 years old, I didn’t know in any clear way that this
church regarded itself as being selected by God to be the only one with the
“authority” to do His sacred work – that the ordinances of all the others were
invalid. I heard the testimonials, but the principle did not click. My becoming
more clearly aware of this was such a slow process that it was largely ignored,
and as a young teen wanting to be the first missionary to leave from our
branch, I “bought into it.” That’s with respect to “having the truth” and wanting to “share” it with all the uninformed people of the world. I did
love those people in
I have it on
good authority that the Jews think it is not we, but they, who are the
“correct” ones. I’m looking forward to learning what I can.
The
visit:
They
could not have made this more informative. They could not have landed on a more
apropos subject for The Trip Around the Sun.
Taking notes
was most difficult. The reading was fast – half in Hebrew – half in English.
The Hebrew portions were written both in actual Hebrew characters, (Almost as
illegible to me as oriental characters – though an alphabet), and in English
phonetics to make it possible for the rest of us to verbalize what we didn’t
understand. If I took a note – It was near impossible to find my place and be
ready when there was actual English to participate in. As a result, most of
this report will depend on how well I can remember what took place. Some was
memorable enough that I would not forget.
The
music, to me, was not musical at all. There was precious little melody and no
harmony at all – kind of like cantor – with I, as well
as most of the others I think, using the phonetic help to say the words. This
was interspersed among regular spoken words – about half in English and half in
Hebrew.
In a
smattering of notes, I got the following:
“Let
not the tears, that must come to every eye, blind us to Your
goodness.”
“You are
the First and the Last. Besides You, there is no
Redeemer or Savior.”
“But
not a dog shall snarl at any Israelites, at man or beast – in order that you
may know that the Lord makes a distinction between
! ! !
(I
wondered what would be thought if we told them that our position is to agree
with that second quote – that their God is Jehovah – and the only Savior.
Remember the “Unknown God”?)
And
then the meeting took, for me, a more interesting turn. It was time for the
reading of the Torah, over which I was chided for my reference to it as the Old
Testament in later discussion.
The
Rabbi, a woman who reminded me markedly of Yentl,
asked for volunteers for several functions. One would remove the “
But
more interesting, and I suppose coincidence, was where the scripture opened to
and what the reading for today was.
As I
began this Trip Around the Sun, I announced in part my
disavowal of the notion that God killed little babies – included among all the
firstborn of the Egyptians – for the purpose of “softening Pharaoh’s heart.”
And today – for my one and only visit with the Jews – the reading would be the
plagues – to the last – which was this very killing,
that it is supposed took place at God’s bidding. The words were not exactly as
we read in our version of the Old Testament – but substantively the same story.
When
the formal reading was done, we were all given a few moments of silence during
which we could read from our own copy of the Torah the whole story. Included
there also was some commentary – similar to our Mormon version of the Bible –
(Ours is simply the King James version – but with our
own commentary.) But theirs included the commentary along with the verses
throughout, rather than in a special section. I read some of this – and had
some questions on my mind – and saw some revelations. (Not the kind from God –
but of what the Jews believed.) This was all very interesting to me.
I’m
remembering more than I thought I might – I think this whole trip has made me
aware of what some of the questions are – to differentiate among religions –
and that makes it easier to store and remember the meat of things.
After
the reading, the closing, the re-entry into the
(I
don’t mean this disrespectfully – only as a descriptor – the “
And
just then, my dream came true – discussion. These people do this with openness
and grace the likes of which I have never seen among a religious group. We say
“Avoid contention,” while they say “Contend – Contend.” I have asked before,
“Should we not contend for truth, as the hymn advises?” We like the story of
the 12 year old Savior contending with the Priests – and confounding them. Here
here! That process is wonderful – the Savior was
taught as a Jew, and bless his heart, he was good at this.
The
Jews appear to have a “bottoms up” approach to religion – depending not on the
Rabbi to tell them what to believe – but to share the thoughts of all – and to
grow in knowledge with some independence, though the Rabbi is quick to advise
if things go too far astray.
Now
someone brought up the question, “But why would God harden the Pharaoh’s heart
– and then punish him for that very hardness? That does not seem fair.”
Someone
else said, “But it is only the way it was written. Pharaoh’s own heart was
hardened by his own personality – it was not God who hardened his heart –
that’s just the way they wrote it.”
(Now
isn’t that interesting? Just as the Joseph Smith translation dictates. Who
would have known? Well – the Jews. The only difference is that our position is
that it was translated improperly. The Jews appear to accept that it was
written as it appears – but means
something different. The error in translation occurs on our very reading of it
– not due to people’s re-writing of it – yet still they conclude exactly as
Joseph Smith also concluded.)
Some
others also made comments – each a different view – or a different question. I
raised my hand, and when called upon, I asked, “I’m only a visitor – Is it
proper to ask questions or comment?” The enthusiasm was with the entire
congregation, “Yes – of course – please – yes.” It was as if they were
delighted at the prospect.
So I
referred to the commentary I had just read. “I was always bothered by this
story in the Old Testament – Whether Pharaoh hardened his own heart or not is
interesting – but not nearly so bothersome to me as
was the killing of the wrong people. It seems to me that God should have killed
Pharaoh – not the firstborn of all of Egypt. But in the commentary included at
the end of what we just read – it says, ‘We do not know whether it was a fictional
or real Pharaoh who was the antagonist of Moses.’ I know this is not part of
the actual Torah – but is this commentary to be taken seriously?”
With
this, the Rabbi quickly asked, “Where? What page?” I had my finger on it. Page 456 (or whatever the page was) – the first paragraph – about
half way through. I can read it – She nodded – so I read the passage in
context – Here it is:
“Even
though the plagues and many details of the life of Moses cannot be classified
as ‘external’ (i.e. verifiable) history, the story of the Exodus has a
historical kernel. This core consists primarily of the fact that Israel (or
some portion of the people) sojourned in Egypt, suffered servitude there, and
after a series of events that were later embellished in folk literature, left
the land toward a new destiny. We do not know whether it was a fictional or
real Pharaoh who was Moses’ antagonist.”
I asked
again, “Is this commentary portion of our copies of the Torah to be taken
seriously as beliefs of the Jews?”
The
Rabbi answered, “Yes – this commentary is from some of the most respected and
studied Rabbis.”
Something
else was said that was most interesting. One of the opinions (Well – it was
more like an opinion of a possibility – not necessarily believed but thought
possible) – was that the killing of the firstborn may not have been the kind of
killing we usually envision from that word. We’ve heard the word used in
sentences like, “That killed that idea,” etc. The position of a firstborn was
so very important in these societies – among the Jews – and among their enemies
as well. There was lots of competition for this position – and in particular,
when a second born was more powerful than the firstborn, he would sometimes try
to make it believed that he was the firstborn. The father and mother who knew
for sure were often already dead by the time the issue came up. Amidst this
great confusion – growing and growing – it became so confused that the
“firstborn” were destroyed in large numbers – not “killed,” in the normal
sense, but killed by loss of their position. Amidst this confusion, the escape
was made. No one knew who the leaders (firstborn) were, and while they were
fighting amongst themselves, the Jews took their leave. Sure – wouldn’t you?
And when
this was said, there were others who said, “yes –
maybe this could have been.”
They
often said “A’mein” – pronounced ah mane – and I
supposed this was our “Amen.”
The
Rabbi pointed out that “we,” meaning the Jews, “should not be overly happy and
jubilant during Passover celebrations, about, for example, the flooding waters
over the Pharaoh’s men, because those who died were also God’s children.”
(Later
– during a visiting time, I asked the other Rabbi if this commentary would also
be included in the versions of the Torah used by more conservative Jews. She
said they also have commentary – but it would not all be the same. I believe I
must also visit some who are not among the Reformed Jews.)
I think
I may have this next part out of order – and maybe not.
An
elderly woman was called to the front to give a talk on our subject. The Rabbi
indicated that we are to expect an erudite and thorough treatment, as this
woman has done several times before.
The
woman compared the slaying of the firstborn with some of the modern tragedies.
Among them the killing of girl babies in some societies. She also included
child abuse, and even the holocaust. She said suicide bombers bring plagues of
a similar nature.
(This
was most interesting to me – because the “plagues” she compared were not of the
nature of being from God against Israel’s enemies – but even plagues wherein
the Jews were the subject of the suffering. This is important, because it puts
these and even the Moses plagues in a perspective allowing that they were not
brought about by God, but by men – who then, by the way they wrote it down –
put them in the way of being brought about by God. Once again
– exactly my own position. But
I am not a Jew. I simply cannot believe that God will be pleased to have been
given the credit for killing little
babies.)
She
then quoted two Democratic Presidents (refreshing?) “We have nothing to fear
but fear itself.” And “Ask not what your country can
do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
And she
concluded: “Man has the power now to solve problems that are plagues
to us in our day.”
After
the formal meeting, they visited. They had many nice little things to eat – and
little cups – sacrament size – were handed out filled with wine. It was Maneshevitz. I don’t know the spelling, but I know the
taste – from having sips of this delicious mild and fruity treat in my
childhood. They used it like a toast, declaring to one another “Shabbat
Shalom!” (Roughly a Sabbath wish for Peace.) This was
the greeting used throughout the time there – when shaking hands, etc. They had
delectable little treats to eat, and visiting. A young girl came to me and
asked, “You must be a Christian – calling the Torah the Old Testament.” I
laughed and agreed that was my background – and that the stories of Adam and
Abraham and Noah and Moses are about the same. Then the young girl introduced
me to her mother – a nice Jewish woman who was just as friendly as her daughter
– and the second Rabbi came to be in the conversation. That’s when I asked some
of my questions, and when they all seemed so satisfied to give the best answers
they could. Even when the questions are a bit challenging, they love it. It’s
food for their thought, and they are unafraid.
Returning
to my hotrod, the little lady who had given the wonderful talk was there
looking it over. She asked, “But what is this car?” I told her it was a Model T
Ford. “Oh, I thought maybe it was that – but did they really have these big
tires – I couldn’t remember that.” “Oh no – they had much smaller skinny tires
and a little tiny engine. This is a hotrod.” “Oh – Oh – that’s what my
husband said it was – a hotrod!”
“Yes,”
I said, “most husbands know these things.” She laughed. She was a delightful
lady, perhaps in her eighties. I won’t forget when lovely Edith Snapp wanted a ride in the hotrod – and was excited with
the brisk acceleration. Go seniors! I wanted a hotrod when I was sixteen, but
my Dad wouldn’t let me buy it – even with my own money. It was a Mercury coupe
with a flathead – three two-barrel carburetors. Now I’m 62 – and I have one
with two four barrels and a blower – and a license plate that reads “SUN TRIP.”
We do
have lots in common with the Jews – and even an unimportant thing like a hotrod
is included.
37
of 52 – Jews – Reformed