For The Land Is Mine

FOR THE LAND IS MINE כי לי הארץ

I literally have not been to services or a synagogue since Shavuos. The consequences of this for me as a jew who also wants to be a rabbi aside, I had every intention of making it today. After changing half a dozen times and realizing that a recent shampoo experiment had failed, I still got out of the house and biked to the shul. Unfortunately the sign declared Mazel Tov to a bar mitzvah. They are a blessing to our community and I can see why their entire extended family and every friend they have would want to celebrate that with them but the parking lot was packed and I really just like our quiet services and had no idea if I was going to be an underdressed, greasy haired skeezbag crashing services.

So, I pulled a U-y, and by that I mean I waited to turn left on Sheridan for the rest of my life. I went to the farmer's market instead. I bought delicious healthful produce from the people who labored so G-d could bring it forth from the land for us. And I went home and watched the rest of the game. Nations coming together for healthy sport is part of the Messianic promise, right?

And after talking to one of my friends for a while I am now sitting down to catch up on Torah Portions because I'm clearly a bad jew and a shondes to our people.

I'm more than a month behind.

BUT, I found a gem, which I will now use to justify some of my failings.

Shortly after the commandment for Shmitta year (http://kxshazam.blogspot.com/2011/06/jubilee-biblical-not-marvelical.html), we get this:

Lev. 25: “....for the land is mine; you are but strangers resident with me. 24:Throughout the land you hold, you must provide for the redemption of the land.”

That's a powerful message right there. The first part is that we are the lowliest of renters. The word for strangers is a familiar one to me, which means also a sort of convert-to-be living among Judaism, but it also is used for an alien resident, an immigrant. We are foreign to the earth. Guests here. And as renter-guests, we've laid a heavy deposit.

The second message is that we are responsible for the redemption of the land. And I believe that here it is a capitalized, Redemption. “to provide for”, at all times, we are to be making the land ready for it's re-set, for it's actual Owner. Not, nature itsowndamnself, but you and me-- US.

So as the world is ravaged by some pretty omnipotent [?] weather, increasing in it's potency, and a food crisis. And all the fraking and food packaging and bullshit. Maybe is is okay that I agoraphobia-d from that boy's special day to live a little Torah. Especially if it involved food. Culturally speaking, nothing says Shabbat like food.

And I guess my sabbatical World Cup adherence is just the sin of neglecting Torah study and I own up to that. 

Let's Not Be Like G-d on Pesach

I finally watched Prince of Egypt because the URJ mentioned it was fabulous and every once in a while they're right. So in honor of something I should have done years ago, here's my elusive Passover essay from year's ago.

G-d's Meglomania

Ex. 9:15 I could have stretched forth my hand and stricken you and you would have been effaced from the earth. 16: Nevertheless I have spared you for this purpose in order to show you My power and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world.

Sometimes I feel awful for Pharaoh. He becomes king of THE NATION in its time but there's this giant group of people he doesn't know hanging out and he is afraid the Hebrews are going to pip up and take over the country that he is responsible for. In his then-current logic, he serf-slaves them (though wasn't the entire population a slave as payment for the bread that Joseph-acting for Pharaoh- sold them?).

Ex. 7:3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt.

G-d lets this go for generations, maybe the Impotent One is busy or disinterested. Then G-d taps Moses. For the next monthi-ish? G-d sets about to torture, 1) Pharaoh, 2) the innocent Egyptian people and 3) the Hebrews whom I imagine got quite thirsty when ALL of the water was turned into blood, which they were forbidden to drink ever.

Pharaoh wanted to quit after frogs (and who blames him?), but G-d forced him--taking away his freewill--to stay in the game. G-d puts all of these people through all of these plagues just to flex Divine Biceps. Douche move HaShem.

So at a time of year when we try to hyper-focus our traditions' attention on ending oppression, we have 2 fine examples of oppression:

1) Pharaoh's misguided fear as a world leader
2) G-d's rigged pissing contest where he rapes Pharaoh's free will and tortures millions

I believe in my hippy, libreral, Reform way that sometimes force IS necessary but that liberator's must use special care to not become oppressors themselves. It's not until after Pharaoh is absolutely destroyed--that G-d show's any remorse. Telling the Hosts not to celebrate the death of his creation. A death that G-d created.

That concludes the original, year's old, thought.

I'd also ponder G-d's sort of wicked ways through that gorgeous blending of watercolor and CGI.
Moses marry's a Midianite and her AWESOME father helps the Israelites all the time but Zimri gets with one and Pinchas javelin's him. Hypocrisy.

Speaking of Hypocrisy:

How could G-d, in all of G-d's hypocrisy, condemn the Egyptians for murdering our babies and then go to kill so many babies? Other babies G-d kills include: David's rape-child, Nadav and Abihu. But maybe they died because Aaron did nothing to protect the Egyptian babies? Is it up to us to control G-d? Maybe it is.