What happened to the tortoise? One little goat, one little goat.

Remy Ilona, author of the upcoming The Igbos and Israel, sent us the words to a traditional Igbo song to consider:

What happened to the tortoise? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

A breadfruit fell on the tortoise (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the breadfruit? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

A staff pierced the breadfruit (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the staff? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

Termite ate up the stake (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the termite? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

A fowl ate the termite (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the fowl? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

A kite/hawk carried the fowl (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the kite/hawk? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

A gun killed the kite/hawk (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the gun? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

Fire burnt the gun (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the fire? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

Water quenched the fire (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the water? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

The ground soaked up the water (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to the ground? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

The Lord (Chukwu Abiama) created the ground (The tortoise, the tortoise)

What happened to Chukwu Abiama? (The tortoise, the tortoise)

Nothing happened to Chukwu Abiama (The tortoise, the tortoise)

The song's progression through a chain of events - causes and consequences - which finally ends with the direct actions of God, brings to mind another traditional song, one sung in Jewish homes across the world every Passover:

One little goat, one little goat

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The cat came and ate the goat

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The dog came and bit the cat that ate the goat  

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The stick came and beat the dog  

that bit the cat that ate the goat  

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The fire came and burned the stick

that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat     

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The water came and extinguished the fire

that burned the stick that beat the dog  

that bit the cat that ate the goat  

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The ox came and drank the water  

that extinguished the fire that burned the stick  

that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The slaughterer came and killed the ox

that drank the water that extinguished the fire  

that burned the stick that beat the dog  

that bit the cat that ate the goat  

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

The angel of death came and slew the slaughterer

who killed the ox that drank the water

that extinguished the fire that burned the stick  

that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat   

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

Then came the Holy and Blessed One

and smote the angel of death who slew the slaughterer

who killed the ox that drank the water  

that extinguished the fire that burned the stick  

that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat     

Which my father bought for two zuzim (One little goat, one little goat)

Overcoming Our Trials: Thoughts on the Torah Portion from the Dominican Republic

Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota and his wife are doing some great work in the Dominican Republic.  As they help the Dominican-Sepharadi Jewish community become sustainable and independent, hakham Yehonatan currently heads the local Jewish school he founded (Beit Midrash Nidhe Israel) while also helping to provide kosher meat and other foods for the community.

He sent out the following thoughts on this week's Torá portion (our translation follows):

La perashá de esta semana se titula Wayishalah, "Y envió".(Gen. El sentido simple del texto da entender que Ya'aqob envió mensajeros a su hermano Esaw/Edom con la intención de apaciguar la enemistad entre ellos. Hacía mas de 20 años que ellos no se veían y Ya'aqob aún tenía miedo que su hermano lo matase. Uno podría deducir de esta situación que Ya'aqob se sentía culpable por haber tomado la bendición de su hermano. Por esta razón él ofrece una porción de sus ganancias, como para darle a Esaw lo que le correspondía como primogénito. 

Antes de encontrarse con Esaw, Ya'aqob tuvo otro sueño en la Tierra de Kena'án, como lo tuvo cuando salió de ahí. En este sueño, él luchó con una persona, quien él identificó como un mal'akh (angel). Al luchar con él, se quedó cojo al recibir un golpe en su muslo. Esta experiencia es muy parecida a lo que uno siente cuando sueña que está batallando y se despierta dando patadas o puños. Los psicólogos concluyen que las experiencias nocturnas pueden causar efectos físicos al cuerpo; pueden manifestarse como dolor en la espalda, piernas, calambre, hasta asfixia. 

Los Sabios de Israel dicen que los pensamientos humanos, como deseos, fantasías y temores aparecen en los sueños. (Berakhoth 55a). Sabiendo esto, se podría inferir que Ya'aqob tenía miedo volver a su casa, ya que su hermano podría asesinarlo, y por esto fue que el tuvo la visión con el angel. Algunos comentan que este angel era el angel de Esaw, mientras otros dicen que era el Satán. 

La Torá relata la experiencia de Ya'aqob más que a cualquier patriarca. De hecho, algunos Sabios comentan que Ya'aqob nunca murió. Claro está, él murió y descansa en la cueva de Mahpela, pero ellos quisieron enfatizar que la experiencia de Ya'aqob es la experiencia de sus descendientes que están en el exilio. Aún más, los profetas se refieren al pueblo de Israel con el nombre de Ya'aqob para demostrar este concepto. 

La vida de Ya'aqob está repleta de pruebas, decisiones, frustaciones y achaques. ¿Qué más podría pasar después de la violación de su hija Dináh? ¿Porqué es que Ya'aqob sufrió más que su papá o abuelo? Podríamos responder, más grande el hombre, más fuerte su yeser hará (instinto al mal). El sufrió mucho porque él tomó decisiones sin pensar en las consecuencias de la vida. Mi madre, que tenga larga vida, me enseñó, "Uno paga por todo lo que uno hace en esta vida". La perashá de la semana que viene muestra que Ya'aqob inclinó por Yosef, descuidándose de los demás hijos. Talvéz fue por esto que Dináh fue violada.

Ya'aqob es una demostración de que el ser humano es capáz de superar cualquier problema y elevarse. Como dijo el mensajero nocturno, "Has luchado con los hombres y con el Dio, y has vencido...no serás llamado más 'Ya'aqob', sino 'Isra'el'". Así mismo será con los descendientes de Ya'aqob cuando hayan salido de este largo exilio de más de 2700 años. Entonces, seremos dignos de ser llamados "Isra'el".

-------

The Torah portion this week is entitled Wayishalah, "He sent" (Genesis). The plain meaning of the text implies that Ya'aqob sent messengers to his brother, Esaw/Edom, intending to defuse the enmity between them. It was more than 20 years that they were not together and Ya'aqob was still afraid that his brother would kill him. One might infer from this situation that Ya'aqob felt guilty for having taken the blessing of his brother. That is why he offers a portion of his profits, and gives his due to Esaw as firstborn.

Before meeting with Esaw, Ya'aqob had another dream in the Land of Kena'án, as he did when he left there. In this dream, he fought with a person, whom he identified as a Mal'akh (angel). To fight him, he was crippled by a blow to his thigh. This experience is very similar to what you feel when you're struggling in dreams and wake up kicking and with fists. The psychologists conclude that the nocturnal experiences can cause physical effects to the body that can manifest as back pain, leg cramps, choking up.

The Sages of Israel say that human thoughts, and desires, fantasies and fears appear in dreams (Berakhoth 55a). Knowing this, one might infer that Ya'aqob was afraid to go home because his brother would kill him, and this was why he had the vision with the angel. Some say that this angel was the angel of Esaw, while others say it was Satan.

The Torah describes the experience of Ya'aqob more than any patriarch. In fact, some sages say that Ya'aqob never died. Of course, he died and rests in the cave of Mahpela, but they wanted to emphasize that Ya'aqob experiences the experiences of his descendants who are in exile. Moreover, the prophets refer to Israel by the name of Ya'aqob to demonstrate the concept.

Ya'aqob's life is full of tests, decisions, frustrations and pains. What more could happen after the rape of his daughter Dinah? Why is it that Ya'aqob suffered more than his father or grandfather? We could answer, the greater the man, the stronger your yeser hará (instinct to evil).  He suffered a lot because he made decisions without considering the consequences of life. My mother, bless her, taught me, "You pay for everything you do in this life." The Torah portion of next week shows that Ya'aqob inclined toward Yosef, neglecting other children. Maybe it was because of this that Dinah was raped.

Ya'aqob is a demonstration that humans are able to overcome any problem and rise. As the night messenger said, "You have fought with men and with God, and have overcome ... you will no more be called 'Ya'aqob' but 'Isra'el'." It will also be with the descendants of Ya'aqob they have come out of this long exile of more than 2700 years. Then, we will be worthy of being called "Isra'el."

Boas entradas de Sabá! Shabbath Shalom!

"The Best is Yet to Come": Jurriaan Kamp and Matt Ridley's New Book

Ode Magazine's editor-in-chief, Jurriaan Kamp, makes the historical case against pessimism in his e-newsletter, the Intelligent Optimist:

Predicting the future is hard, but it's impossible if you're too pessimistic.

Humankind continuously exceeds its own expectations when it comes to the development of new technology. However, we are really bad at one thing—predicting that development. And that's a problem that leads to a lot of unnecessary pessimism. For example, in almost all future scenarios of climate change, clean and renewable energy advances little by little. As a result, the earth keeps getting warmer and warmer. But these kinds of scenarios are always based on known facts. Yet, as history shows, it is the unknown that revolutionizes the world again and again.

Humanity has a lifetime subscription to defeatism. Every era has had its own preachers of doom and impending doom scenarios. Around 1880, a group of entrepreneurs and scientists gathered in Paris to discuss the future. The question was what the French capital would look like in 50 years. The conclusion was dark: With continued growth of the population and the economy, these French visionaries foresaw that the Parisian avenues would be buried under several feet of horse manure. A dozen years later at the Chicago World Fair of 1893, visitors were asked which invention would define the coming new century. Nobody answered: the car. But in 1903, Henry Ford began building his car plant and in 1908 he launched the Model T. And Paris has never experienced the horrific horse manure scenario.

The horse carriages were not replaced little by little by the automobile. And the advances of television, the Internet, and mobile phones were never gradual. You do not have to be a prophet to predict that the clean energy revolution will surprise the world in the same way.

The following list of quotes should silence the widespread pessimism about the future (for more click here or here):

 "The abdomen, the chest and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon." —Sir John Eric Ericson, Surgeon to Queen Victoria, 1873

 "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." —Lord  Kelvin, mathematician and physicist, 1895

 "It is an idle dream to imagine that automobiles will take the place of railways in the long distance movement of passengers." —American Railroad Congress, 1913

 "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" —H. M. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, 1927

 "There is no hope for the fanciful idea of reaching the Moon because of insurmountable barriers to escaping the Earth's gravity." —Forest Ray Moulton, astronomer, 1932

 "There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will." —Albert Einstein, 1932

 "Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." —Darryl F. Zanuck, Head of 20th Century-Fox, 1946

 "The world potential market for copying machines is 5,000 at most." —IBM to the eventual founders of Xerox, 1959

 "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." —Ken Olson, President of Digital Corporation, 1977

 The human race is a "collective problem-solving machine," writes the British biologist Matt Ridley in his recent book The Rational Optimist. Nobody knows now how and by whom we are going to be saved from the impending explosive growth of Chinese CO2-spewing, coal-fired energy plants. But if history is any guide the inventors with radical innovative solutions are already living somewhere on the planet. Not decades but years from now a coal-fired energy plant will be a hopelessly old-fashioned solution, much like the computer that some 40 years ago occupied the entire basement of an office building. This is an almost inevitable outcome as more and more people trade and do business together, a process that continuously feeds new ideas and new solutions. Make way for optimism!