The Derusha Update 2.02
"VIOLENCE, POWER, AND FREEDOM"
24 October 2009
Noah
29 Tishri 5770
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"Every book shares with its readers a glimpse at what once was, what now is, and what - eventually - could be."
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Below are selected clippings from various sources that have been hand-picked to add some spice to your Shabbath reading. We hope you find these selections interesting and informative. Remember, there's always more to learn and another page to turn!
=== Divine Dual Intent (Leibtag)
=== The Effect Of Violence (Talmud)
=== Violence With Words (Kagan)
=== Trapping The Masses With Charisma (Faur)
=== Illiberal Democracies And War (Zakaria)
=== Responsibility Vs Tyranny (Sacks)
=== The Violation Of The Individual (Haddad)
=== The Hebrew Bill Of Rights (Faur)
=== Accountability And Safeguarding Our Freedom (Shasha)
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Looking for Something Good to Read?
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* "The Naked Crowd: The Jewish Alternative To Cunning Humanity" by José Faur [ISBN 978-1-935104-02-5]
Thousands of years ago, the Jewish nation became what Nobel laureate Elias Canetti called a "naked crowd"; a society built on transparency and inclusiveness, impervious to the attempts of would-be tyrants to control the "crowd" through mind-games, linguistic manipulation, and mass hysteria. While the Jewish people have, over the course of history, occasionally lost touch with this foundation of their society, they have never lost the dream of a truly free society for all. In this book, José Faur articulates the essence of the Jewish alternative to the cunning societies of world history.
* "What Is the Meaning of Life" by Marino [ISBN 978-1-935104-00-1]
Evocative of the Beat generation's cry for the victims of an empty and self-destructive culture, the pages of this book deliver the next generation's answer to that howl. Combining breathtaking and provocative poetry with a piercing social commentary penned by a prodigal teenage artist, this book is a must-read for all who are troubled by the slow decay of American society. Features the acclaimed "Allen Ginsberg, Are You Lonely? / Where Have You Gone, Friedrich Nietzsche?"
* "We Are All God's Children" by Joseph Haddad [ISBN 978-1-935104-01-8]
In a world riddled with xenophobia, materialism, and cynicism, many people are searching for the solution to the ills of modernity. This book proposes an "unorthodox" answer - a return to the ancient narratives and core values of the Jewish Bible may be the key to restoring harmony and fellowship to the human race. In this open and insightful introduction to the Hebrew Bible in its most universal aspects, the author uncovers the basic messages and themes that are truly relevant to all of humanity. *Featuring an epilogue on the current financial crisis*
* "Goy" by Ranjit Chatterjee [forthcoming].
This captivating autobiography explores one man's international search for a religious identity. Every step along this spiritual-cultural journey is redolent with existential metaphor and meaning; as the author is slowly drawn to the hidden Judaism of the post-modern philosophers and linguists, his relationship with God unfolds in an unexpected pattern.
[Derusha's books and authors are changing our world]
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Divine Dual Intent
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In Bereishith 6:5-8, God declares His intention to destroy all of mankind, and provides a reason for this decision (note also how these psukim form an independent 'parshia'). Then, in 6:11-13 we find yet another declaration of God's intent to destroy the world, but phrased somewhat differently.
Compare the reasons given for the planned destruction in these two parallel 'parshiot'. Are they the same or different? If they are the same, explain the reason for the repetition. If they are different, explain the primary differences between them.
Is there any apparent thematic need for these two parallel passages?
[From "Questions for Preparation and Self Study: Parshat Noach" by Menachem Leibtag]
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The Effect of Violence
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"God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me.' [Bereishith 6:13]
R. Yohanan said: Come and see how tremendous is the effect of violence; for the people of the generation of the flood trespassed upon everything, and yet the decree of their judgment was only sealed because they went out of the way to commit acts of violent robbery, as was said, "The world is filled with violence through them. I will therefore destroy them with the earth." And it is written, "Violence has stood as the staff [of authority] of a wicked person - not of themselves, nor of their masses, nor of all they have amassed, there is not one among them who yearns [for Me]" [Yehezqel 7:11].
[From Talmud Bavli, tracate "Sanhedrin"]
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Violence with Words
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The Tora condemns shedding "the blood of human in human" (see Bereishith 9:6). God will require the penalty also of one who publicly humiliates another person, whose blood is "shed" when made to blush in shame.
[Adapted from comments of Yisrael Kagan (the "Haphets Hayyim") in "Itturei Tora"]
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Trapping the Masses with Charisma
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The Rabbis also believed that Nimrod was the first man to establish a government whose main agenda "was to incite the entire world to rebel against God." At a certain stage of human development, many people believe that following God's Law equals bondage. In order to escape the rule of God, people chose to live under the tyranny of Nimrod. The building of the Tower of Babel, so tells us Josephus, was part of a plan to take "revenge on God if He wished to inundate the earth again." It is important to note that the Hebrew Scriptures describe Nimrod as "a mighty hunter before the Lord" (Gen 10:9) - because, the Rabbis explained, "he hunted people with his words." In this context, 'hunting' refers to the skills required to trap a victim and give it the fatal blow. The one who is most-skilled in the craft of hunting is the tyrant. Unlike a dictator, a tyrant does not impose his authority on the people by force - the people choose him, adore him, and are willing to die for him. The tyrant's main weapon is charismatic speech, the ability to manipulate and charm the public and (as if by magic) render it vulnerable to his schemes. The Biblical Esau, representing the ancestor of Rome in rabbinic tradition, was not only a master hunter (see Gen 25:27) but a master of oratory and theatrics as well (see Gen 26:38).
[From "The Naked Crowd: The Jewish Alternative to Cunning Humanity" by José Faur]
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Illiberal Democracies and War
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The distinction between liberal and illiberal democracies sheds light on another striking statistical correlation. Political scientists Jack Snyder and Edward Mansfield contend, using an impressive data set, that over the past 200 years democratizing states went to war significantly more often than either stable autocracies or liberal democracies. In countries not grounded in constitutional liberalism, the rise of democracy often brings with it hypernationalism and war-mongering. When the political system is opened up, diverse groups with incompatible interests gain access to power and press their demands. Political and military leaders, who are often embattled remnants of the old authoritarian order, realize that to succeed they must rally the masses behind a national cause. The result is invariably aggressive rhetoric and policies, which often drag countries into confrontation and war. Noteworthy examples range from Napoleon III's France, Wilhelmine Germany, and Taisho Japan to the more recent Armenia and Azerbaijan and the former Yugoslavia. The democratic peace is real, but it turns out to have little to do with democracy.
[From "The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad" by Fareed Zakaria]
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Responsibility vs. Tyranny
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Babel represents the failure of ontological responsibility, the idea that we are accountable to something or someone beyond ourselves. Fired by their technological breakthrough, the discovery of man-made building materials that made tall, multi-storeyed buildings possible, the men on the plain of Shinar attempted to construct a self-sufficient universe (an artificial holy mountain) in which man is accountable to himself. There is no Other beyond nature to whom we are answerable and by whom we are judged. Writing of a later city-state, the Athens of Socrates and Plato, Lord Acton described the inevitable self-destruction that follows in the wake of such an undertaking:
"[T]hey became the only people of antiquity that grew great by democratic institutions. But the possession of unlimited power, which corrodes the conscience, hardens the heart, and confounds the understanding of monarchs, exercised its demoralising influence on the illustrious democracy of Athens. It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority...The philosophy that was then in the ascendant taught them that there is no law superior to that of the State - the lawgiver is above the law. It followed that the sovereign people had a right to do whatever was within its power, and was bound by no rule of right or wrong but its own judgment of expediency."
The result was that 'the emancipated people of Athens became a tyrant.' Responsibility is response-ability: accountability to an authority beyond us, in the here-and-now. The alternative, from Babel to Nazi Germany and Soviet communism, is a story of human blood shed on the altar dedicated to the greater glory of humankind.
[From "To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility" by Jonathan Sacks]
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The Violation of the Individual
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In this...narrative...mankind is united in a perverse unity. Man bands together in challenging God, intending to build a tower "whose tops shall reach the sky" (Genesis 11:5). In a massive biblical understatement, the text does not explain the exact nature of the sin of this generation. It does not have to. This perverse project of Man's self aggrandizement needs no further elaboration. The society that arose in Shinar resembled Communism, though predating it by thousands of years. "Man" collectively became the object of self-worship. Each individual had no value; only the "project" mattered. Traditional biblical commentators, in describing the building of the tower, relate that if a single brick fell, the workers would lament the loss of time and productivity. However, if a worker fell to his death, no one would care. The individual man was irrelevant and worthless compared to the deified collective Man.
Though unity is important and can be positive, it is only so if the individuals who comprise that unity are respected. Without respect for the individual, unity for its own sake becomes a form of idolatry, turning Man into a god. Single-minded opinion, expressed through a single solitary language, forces conformity, perverting the original meaning of what it is that makes us created in God's image. That Godly image implies the diversity and unique makeup of each and every individual. In seeking to supplant God, Man forfeits the essence of his own humanity - that unique part of each and every individual that defines us as being created in God's image. As a result, mankind is dispersed to the four corners of the earth. God confounds Man's ability to communicate by forcing upon him multiple languages. He will have to very slowly learn how to reunite with his fellow.
[From "We Are All God's Children" by Joseph Haddad]
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The Hebrew Bill of Rights
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In the Hebrew economy of ideas the individual creates the family that eventually would create the state. Prior to the foundation of state, man was not a forsaken creature left alone in a hostile environment, as per pagan wisdom. Rather, he was placed in an environment that "was very good" (Bereishith 1:31), and was endowed with the faculty to "rule" over other animals (Bereishith 1:28-30; 9:1-7). Before there was a national government in Israel, a young shepherd who would become king proclaimed that God had put all of His creations "under his [man's] feet" (Tehillim 8:7). As can be gathered from Genesis and Exodus, basic human rights, such as property, life, freedom from bondage, as well as the institute of marriage, were a given, anteceding the state. In actuality, properly read, the first two Books of the Tora constitute the Hebrew 'bill of rights' establishing the rights and institutions fundamental to humankind, prior to government, and therefore immune from government. Thus, according to the rabbis, every human (and not only a Jew) is a "complete and total universe" (Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5).
[From "The Horizontal Society: Understanding the Covenant and Alphabetic Judaism" by José Faur]
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Accountability and Safeguarding Our Freedom
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The Covenant of Noah to this very day signifies the Jewish concept of the interrelatedness of all humanity under the Law of God. It is for this reason that rabbis insist that God made His own promise to Noah not to destroy the world ever again. Even taking into account the fact that the Law may theoretically and practically be violated by man, we must keep in mind that its very foundationalism serves to safeguard the God/Man dialectic; both Man and God are accountable to the terms of the same Covenant and may thus freely encounter one another.
[From "Representing the Human Family: Essays on the Book of Genesis" by David Shasha]
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Have a question? Contact us!
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As always, we are eager to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Regards and best wishes for a meaningful week,
Gil Amminadav
gil.a@derushapublishing.com
Elana Amminadav
elana.a@derushapublishing.com
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About Derusha Publishing LLC
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Derusha Publishing is a dynamic and versatile company that prints poetry and philosophy, history books and prayerbooks, translations of traditional texts and post-modern commentaries on our common culture.
Derusha Publishing is working with readers everywhere to make the world a better place, one word at a time. Publishing is more than just our business - it's our vision.
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Thank you and Shabbath Shalom!
