On textual reinterpretation of problems
2023-Nov-20, Monday 13:04![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorchadas
Saw this post yesterday and I’ve been thinking about it:
Ignoring the "lol lmao" commentary on the video, the thing that gets me is this is a huge missed opportunity for them.
We’re no strangers to reinterpretation and reinvention. It’s been our tradition for millennia. Genesis 22:20 begins with the words ויהי אחר הדברים, which is used all the time in Tanaḥ to mean "some time later." But the Sages said that can’t be it, every single letter and space of Torah has meaning, and the word הדברים (devarim) can mean either "things" or "words," so they came up with an entire debate between G-d and the Satan about how faithful Abraham was and whether he would sacrifice his son.
This happens to extremely problematic parts too! When the Sages read Deuteronomy 21:18-21:
And so on. The approach with a difficult passage is to grapple with the meaning, examining the words with new perspectives. "Turn it [the Torah] and turn it, for everything is in it." The readers here should have had an anti-Zionist drash! They should have looked for a metaphorical meaning of "this land," or something.
Not just trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. How embarrassing.
You can't make this stuff up!
— Lazer Cohen (@Lazer_Cohen) November 19, 2023
Token anti-Israel Jews were holding a Torah reading before a rally with Rashida Talib. Watch her drop her voice to a whisper TWICE when she awkwardly gets to the text, "to you and to your descendants will I give all these lands (Israel)..." pic.twitter.com/vc1obYgLpC
Ignoring the "lol lmao" commentary on the video, the thing that gets me is this is a huge missed opportunity for them.
We’re no strangers to reinterpretation and reinvention. It’s been our tradition for millennia. Genesis 22:20 begins with the words ויהי אחר הדברים, which is used all the time in Tanaḥ to mean "some time later." But the Sages said that can’t be it, every single letter and space of Torah has meaning, and the word הדברים (devarim) can mean either "things" or "words," so they came up with an entire debate between G-d and the Satan about how faithful Abraham was and whether he would sacrifice his son.
This happens to extremely problematic parts too! When the Sages read Deuteronomy 21:18-21:
If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid....they were just as appalled as any modern reader would be and worked to divine the hidden meaning. First, it specifies that the child will not listen, so this involves flagrant disregard by the child over an extended period of time. Second, the parents (both) must bring the child to the elders of the city, so both parents and all the elders must agree that the behavior is execrable. Third, it says they must declare the child "a glutton and a drunkard," so this is only appropriate for a child who frequently steals meat and wine.
And so on. The approach with a difficult passage is to grapple with the meaning, examining the words with new perspectives. "Turn it [the Torah] and turn it, for everything is in it." The readers here should have had an anti-Zionist drash! They should have looked for a metaphorical meaning of "this land," or something.
Not just trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. How embarrassing.
