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February 15, 2023 By Lerhaus Newshul

Weekly Torah Gatherings – Wed 2/15

A difficulty with delineated ‘boundaries’ and perhaps even chaos . . .

What is the Torah trying to tell us here:
(for the text in question: see below at ‘the bottom’ of this email and think back to the crossing of the Red Sea — a place of chaos)

Is this about Gd and Moses . . . or is this about boundaries — chaos at the border before a crossing and yet, still the necessity to forge ahead.

Miles to go . . .

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

____

The Butterfly Effect, an underlying principle of chaos, describes how a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. A metaphor for this behavior is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas.

_______________________

But before we get too lost in the woods …

Old / New beginnings . . . starting out, again:
a) a new path and a ‘Frisch Start’: Former Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch, a Democrat, announced he will seek again the congressional seat currently held by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) after narrowly losing to the Republican last year (my important note: familial relationship ‘unknown’).

Old / New behaviors / . . . turning back:
The Biden administration withdrew its nomination of James Cavallaro for a position at the Organization of American States over recently unearthed social media posts in which Cavallaro called Israel an “apartheid” state and suggested that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was “bought,” “controlled” and “purchased” by pro-Israel groups.

Here’s a thought for Biden-Administration and/or State Department/government types or of any political background or party: choose your people carefully, unless of course when it comes to antisemites — oh wait, this is just another example of an old Foggy Bottom type . . . Ivy, squishy and antisemitic and thus. appears to be qualified).
____

Old Boundaries/Behind the scenes/Behind the curtains

Draw open the curtains, do the research, and choose the truth. In short, be better informed of the most significant Jewish initiative of the last 2,00 years: Restoring the Jewish People, the indigenous people, “a be a free people in their own land.”

Behind the curtains — beyond the boundaries — utilizing Jewish, British, and Palestinian-Arab documents, along with sequestered testimonies . . . . without this material, one may in fact be sentimental, but more importantly, simply ignorant . . .

A fascinating Interview with the author speaking about recently declassified documents (which have now come to light).

— here is an interview excerpt:

Laying the groundwork: “The focus of the book is the Arab Revolt, but I think this is as much a Jewish story as an Arab story,” Kessler explained. “This is a period in which the Jews were transformed militarily, economically, politically and psychologically. This is, I think, the moment at which the mainstream Zionist leadership recognized that despite their best efforts to convince the Arabs of Palestine that they weren’t coming to displace anyone, that they were bringing blessings upon everyone, that there was room here for two peoples, that the Arab opposition was such that the fate of this country would have to be determined and maintained by force. I think that was a realization that they were fairly perturbed to discover, but quickly had to make peace with as it were, had to recognize that that was the reality and that they had to adjust accordingly. And by 1939, when the British implement their infamous white paper, which essentially shut the doors to the land of Israel to the doomed Jews of Europe, once that point was reached, the Jews had created the military, economic, political, territorial basis and springboard for establishing the state nearly 10 years later.”

— here is a link to the interview with its author:
https://jewishinsider.com/2023/02/oren-kessler-palestine-1936-the-great-revolt-and-the-roots-of-the-middle-east-conflict/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20kickoff%20February%2015%202023&utm_content=Daily%20kickoff%20February%2015%202023+CID_26293dee205fafd34ed74789b6535596&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor%20JI&utm_term=Read%20the%20full%20interview%20here
—-

Difficulty with Boundaries

What is the Torah trying to tell us here: Is this about Gd and Moses . . . or is this about boundaries — for all of us — boundaries to cross and boundaries to transcend.

א  וְאֶל-מֹשֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵה אֶל-יְהוָה, אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא, וְשִׁבְעִים, מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם, מֵרָחֹק. Exodus 24: 1 And unto Moses He said: ‘Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off;
ב  וְנִגַּשׁ מֹשֶׁה לְבַדּוֹ אֶל-יְהוָה, וְהֵם לֹא יִגָּשׁוּ; וְהָעָם, לֹא יַעֲלוּ עִמּוֹ. 2 and Moses alone shall come near unto the LORD; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.’

טו
  וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה, אֶל-הָהָר; וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן, אֶת-הָהָר.
Exodus 24: 15 And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount.
טז  וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד-יְהוָה עַל-הַר סִינַי, וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים; וַיִּקְרָא אֶל-מֹשֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן. 16 And the glory/kavod of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
יז  וּמַרְאֵה כְּבוֹד יְהוָה, כְּאֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר, לְעֵינֵי, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. 17 And the appearance of the glory/kavod of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
יח  וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן, וַיַּעַל אֶל-הָהָר; וַיְהִי מֹשֶׁה, בָּהָר, אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם, וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה. 18 And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
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