On Monday evening (April 18), Jews around the world gathered in their homes for a Passover seder to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The story that emerges from the traditional liturgy is a stunning and radical tale of revolution. It focuses not on personal salvation but on collective redemption. And the hero of the story is none other than the God of Israel. God intervenes actively in human affairs, instigates the revolution, demands freedom for the slaves and does not hesitate to use force in order to promote the common good. The freedom that God cares most about is the freedom to worship and serve God, but justice and fairness for all are also part of God's plan.
The story does not, however, make mention of Moses.
The reason is that the rabbis who created the liturgy wanted the emphasis to be on God's sovereignty -- and on God's sovereignty alone. The phenomenon of a freedom-demanding God was at the heart of Jewish theology and changed the face of religious and political thought for all time -- and the rabbis knew that it must not be compromised in any way. In addition, the desire of rabbinical authorities to avoid the creation of a Moses cult that would confer on Moses a god-like status is evident as well, although the excision here seems shocking and extreme. Does it make sense to tell the story of Israel's redemption in every Jewish home without reference to the story's central human actor?
The reason for their actions is that the rabbis understood the extraordinary appeal of Moses -- prophet, law-giver, interlocutor with God, and, even more important, daring, sensitive and sympathetic human being. The fears of the rabbis were justified; the idea of a free God seeking freedom for a people might easily have been overshadowed by the heroism, courage and down-to-earth accessibility of a very human Moses, even if the latter was simply acting on God's command.
Let us remember the first time we come across Moses as an adult. Walking among the people, he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11) and strikes the Egyptian down. This event, offered by the Biblical text without explanation, establishes for all time that God is not on the side of the established power. Before it happened, innumerable slaves had been beaten by innumerable masters, and no one had taken notice. But Moses had seen and experienced what no one else had seen or experienced: the misery of the slave, the anger of God, the rejection of fatalistic acceptance of the world as it is. Without thinking, Moses was overcome by passion for justice and change, and in no more than a few seconds, he changed the world.
And let us remember too the words of Numbers 12:3: "Now Moses was a very humble man." We are not surprised by these words. True, Moses had spoken to God face to face, argued with God about the fate of the Israelites, confronted the most powerful ruler on earth and governed a difficult, contentious people. But his self-effacing nature and fundamental modesty were never in doubt. Tell me: Is there a single major leader, religious or political, anywhere in the world today, who can truly be said to be "a very humble man"?
And so the rabbis were right to be cautious: if they wanted Passover to be about the glory of God, it was best to leave Moses out. Moses was, after all, no more than a vehicle of the Divine will. But the character of Moses lingers over the Passover story and over the holiday itself. I have no doubt that the rabbis knew this would be the case, and given the greatness of Moses, it is right and proper that it should be so.
The Passover (Pesach) Story - What Is the Passover Story?
Passover - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Complete Passover Story - History - Passover
Put Yourself in the Story of Passover
Nice article, on point!
The Exodus is exceedingly rich with layers of meaning.
God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh “Israel is my first born son”. The Congregation of Israel in Jewish theosophy, shares a common divine soul. The first born son in Semitic practice is a priest. The entire congregation of Israel is a “nation of priests”.
Semitic law obligates family to redeem/rescue captive members. God was following this practice when he redeemed Israel. The Ten Plagues were demonstrations of God’s power over the Egyptian gods.
“Covenant” also is grounded in Semitic law. Semitic peoples entered into agreements with human Kings defining mutual duties and obligations. God in the capacity of Israel’s King entered into such an agreement with the congregation of Israel.
God also instructed Israel to make the mishkan, a “Dwelling” for God’s presence. This is referred to in the Zohar as the palace below which resembles the palace on high: Shekhinah, the indwelling feminine aspect of God, is the palace below. According to the Zohar, Shekhinah resembles her “Mother” (value archetype “Binah”) highest “Dwelling” or palace.
God is King, Queen, Father, and Mother within the basic theosophic metaphor.
Did Jesus intentionally choose passover week to enter Jerusalem? was it a threat to Roman authority ,and to the Pharisees entrusted by Rome with maintaining order, to see such a big crowd [ non-establishment crowd ] gathered at passover time when passion for liberation from Rome was high
i dont know whether the Pharisees were rabbis
i'll not ask whether the treatment of palestinians [ not idol worshippers ] by the state of isreal is a matter for Rabbis to comment on; should isreal be as christ said ' love your enemies " or as Moses ' an eye for an eye "
for much of history one can ask the Vatican the same question
my revolutionary hero is His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , physics degree ; Most Hindus most scientists most clergy havnt understood him yet
a real question at any festival or holy day is where and when will God intervene dramatically in history today ? is it the arab uprising was it the end of the cold war ?
i beleive " global country of world peace ' when it says that groups of Yogic Flyers, which the maharishi had created, are the cause of the end of the cold war and the cause of interfaith understanding and interdisciplinary co-operation among scientists and scholars
Sattva Rajas Tamas the 3 gunas can combine in 4 main ways Sattva dominent rajas secondary , Rajas dominant Sattva secondary, rajas dominent tamas secondary tamas dominent rajas secondary
the combination sattva -tamas is not possible
this also relates to the 4 Varna or broad categories of dharma
and probably to a rabbis blog about the 4 children
in modern superstring theory acccording to Hagelin we have 3 superfields gravity superfield, gauge super field, matter superfield ; these are like the 3 gunas
everything in existence is a combination or permutation of the 3 gunas [ 3 superfields ] acting among themselves; the matter of i do this or you do this is Maya , an illusion
and yet it is real
beyond the 3 gunas [ being without ] is pure Being or in today's words, the superstring field
obviously at this point things are very complex
How does Being which is forever without action or change and is beyond time and space interact with us or cause action in the world ?
making God into a person seems easier for our mind .
the Maharishi says that Being is the simplest state of consciousness
that's why mystics are called mystics
We won.
Let's eat.
And also kills first born children and inflicted plagues on innocents etc. etc. That Jehovah! What a guy!
Anyway, the Exodus story is probably a complete fabrication.
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4191
I've always wondered about that insistence from the very people who deny that their god is not responsible for, say, the earthquake in Japan . . . but then they celebrate HIS miracle of saving one, poor "soul" from the rubble.