Interfaith Shemot

[pohaikawahine]

I see your point dauer that using the months or holidays as a basis for the groupings would give more focus to judiasm instead of the 'interfaith' aspects of the parhsa .... truthfully I think what is happening is that bandit and I are both moving more toward judiasm through the parsha and have a tendency to want to study everything at one time .... every day new doors open and they are very welcoming ....


thank you for the explanation of how the parshas are named .... now I can use my jps copy and check out the hebrew letters for "Bo'" and then also look for the first hebrew word that matches the letters ....

the parsha of Bo' is a fascinating one because of the last three plagues .... and the start of the parsha where G!d hardens the heart of pharoah .... in one sense a lesson is that when any of us harden our hearts to another, only harm will return .... it is that which brings the darkness into our lives and we must all be set free to enjoy the light in our dwellings ....

although the slaying of the lamb in the story itself is certainly a reflection of what it means to cast out idols (the cooking of the whole lamb and the rush to eat it as a slap in the face of pharoah) I also see the inner connection to the concept of the roasting of the lamb (aires) when the sun moves into that constellation .... perhaps the whole meaning is that when we look outside of ourselves for our savior we will not find him, so we must not worship idols because that is not where we will meet G!d face to face .... we must leave the land of materialism, pull up our roots, and move toward the wilderness to locate the promised land ....

and yes bandit, the reference to "between thine eyes" is also in my view related to the brain .... the 'tefillin' which is attached to the forehead during prayer (except on the sabbath and on festivals) contains tiny parchments inscribed with texts from the torah .... these texts are exodus 13:1-10; 13:11-16; and deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21 .... the theme of 'memory' recurs in these texts .... "you will wear the tefillin like a sign upon thy hand and a memorial between thine eyes" .... Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav said" there is only memory in the world which is to come" or "remember your future" .... so this symbol is really important and I also believe is connected to the role of the pineal gland .... the third eye which can open the doors to all ancient wisdom and can also see into the future .... for all of us, the future or the promise is the land of milk and honey, a new time, a new place, peace .... aloha nui, poh

[Bandit]

we can just touch on the special days as we go along within the parshas. that is fine by me. i will be getting back to this & the tabernacle on monday. i need to clear my head just a little bit, then have a fresh look at things.

have a nice weekend POH & Dauer.

the parsha of Bo' is a fascinating one because of the last three plagues .... and the start of the parsha where G!d hardens the heart of pharoah .... in one sense a lesson is that when any of us harden our hearts to another, only harm will return .... it is that which brings the darkness into our lives and we must all be set free to enjoy the light in our dwellings ....

we are in total agreement here. nice parallel.