God spoke to Moses, saying,
Pinchas (a son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) was the one who zealously took up My cause among the Israelites and turned My anger away from them, so that I did not destroy them in My demand for exclusive worship.
So we kill lest God kill us?
Our legacy as the chosen – to be the children of a bloodthirsty, warrior, chieftain god. “So that you should have no cause to stumble I will instruct you to wipe them out totally – to the man, woman and child – lest you be polluted by your worship of their gods. Thus shall you deal harshly with contagion, for I am the lord your god, and am a jealous, petty and impotent god”.
I wonder . . . did we believe any part of what we read this past Friday night? I should like to think not. As I heard the parasha chanted in the ancient Hebrew trope, my thoughts were darker, more desolate, and inconsolable. This was no cause for rejoicing, this god, of “the mighty hand and the outstretched arm” . . . I was ashamed.
So too must the rabbis have been – for the Midrash states, “. . . on the shores of the Red Sea the Israelites rejoiced with a loud voice at the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. The Holy One, Blessed be He, harshly corrected them, Be Thou Silent!! For the Egyptians . . . his voice trailing off to a whisper . . . they were my children too . . .
Indeed, we make god in our own image and likeness . . . how petty, senseless and cruel we are.
Most versions of that Midrash would have it that God silenced the heavenly host –I like my version better.
© 2009 Renée Thomas all rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment