500 Words a Day - Whispers

Mother Superior was ancient. Or at least that was the impression she had given off for the twenty three years she had been in charge of the convent. As far as anyone knew, she had always been ancient, born with wrinkled skin, greying hair and knowing eyes. Only now did the years seem to weigh heavy on her shoulders, pressing down on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. It had been two days since she had taken to bed - even agreeing to accept the luxury of a feather pillow - and the convent had been awash with whispered rumours. Mother Superior was about to meet her maker.

For those two days, Sister Maria had not left her side. She had barely slept at all, and eaten only some mouthfuls of soup. No, her own physical form was unimportant, all that mattered was tending to her teacher, and making sure she was comfortable and at peace.

Mother Superior had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the last day or so, with her moments of lucidity getting ever shorter and more spaced out. Sister Maria sat and prayed from her small book of psalms and hymns, hoping that the words were easing the old woman’s spirit, if not her body.

“Maria…” Mother Superior croaked hoarsely, as she rose back from oblivion. “Maria…”

“Easy Mother Superior,” soothed Maria, reaching for a cup of water and helping her teacher to sip. “Do not push yourself on my account, you have a long and wonderful journey ahead of you.”

“Maria, there are things you must know… must tell you… before it’s too late.” She closed her eyes once more and seemed to sleep.

Food Fit For God - VaYikra - Mythic Torah

Feasting in Valhalla

Does God need to eat?

Now you make think that the answer is 'obviously no', of course God, who has no corporeal body in any literal sense of the word, does not need physical sustenance from food and drink. But the Ancient Greeks, and other ancient cultures, would certainly have disagreed with you - the Gods of Olympus dined regularly on nectar and ambrosia in order to maintain their youth and immortality. In Norse mythology too, the Gods of Valhalla feast regularly alongside the Einherjar, the honoured dead who were slain in battle.

As we begin the book of Leviticus (VaYikra) with its long descriptions of the sacrifices that had to be brought in temple times in various life situations, we have to ask ourselves this question about the God of the Bible, and consider what the answer might mean about the Torah and its meaning for us today.

Why might we think that God eats?

Well, the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh, that predates the Bible includes a really interesting description of how the gods relate to sacrifices, in an image that is both resonant and dissonant with this week's parasha.

Questions or Answers? - Reflections on Parashat Toldot

Toldot seems to be my parasha this year, in addition to speaking at CSAIR tonight and tomorrow afternoon, I also have a dvar torah published for the Assembly of Masorti Synagogues in the UK.

For now it's here but since I expect that link to change I have included the text after the jump.

From the Deep - Praise the Lord - Psalm 148

Marduk and Tiamat

Psalm 148:1-7

1] Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights. 2] Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him all his hosts. 3] Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him all the bright stars. 4] Praise him, highest heavens, and waters that are above the heavens. 5] Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded that they be created. 6] He made them endure forever, placing a boundary that they cannot cross. 7] Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters (taninim) and all depths (tehomot).

 א הַֽלְלוּיָ֨הּ ׀ הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־ה מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֑יִם הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בַּמְּרוֹמִֽים: ב הַֽלְל֥וּהוּ כָּל־מַלְאָכָ֑יו הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ כָּל־צבאו [צְבָאָֽיו]: ג הַֽ֭לְלוּהוּ שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ וְיָרֵ֑חַ הַ֝לְל֗וּהוּ כָּל־כּ֥וֹכְבֵי אֽוֹר: ד הַֽ֭לְלוּהוּ שְׁמֵ֣י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְ֝הַמַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר ׀ מֵעַ֬ל הַשָּׁמָֽיִם: ה יְֽ֭הַֽלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם ה כִּ֤י ה֭וּא צִוָּ֣ה וְנִבְרָֽאוּ: ו וַיַּֽעֲמִידֵ֣ם לָעַ֣ד לְעוֹלָ֑ם חָק־נָ֝תַ֗ן וְלֹ֣א יַֽעֲבֽוֹר: ז הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־ה מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ תַּ֝נִּינִ֗ים וְכָל־תְּהֹמֽוֹת:

If you've been reading 'From the Deep' from the beginning, you might be starting to wonder why I keep talking about the sea monsters as the enemies of God and God's divine order. Where are all the mentions of combat and fighting? Apart from in Psalm 74, we've seen little evidence of such myths. Well, today we still won't, as we conclude our journey through the sea monsters of the book of Psalms with a final harmonious view of the sea monsters in creation.

Psalm 148 is traditionally recited every day as part of the morning service, and it describes God's harmonious creation with everything in it praising God. Among those mentioned that should praise God, in a list that goes on to include mountains, beasts and all human beings, are the sea monsters and the depths. We've already seen in Genesis 1 that the word Tanin shares a root with the Canaanite Tunannu, but the word 'depths' or Tehomot in Hebrew, is new to our exploration.

Tehomot is related to the Babylonian Tiamat, who in the epic myth of Enuma Elish, is the divine primordial ocean, progenitor of the gods, who must ultimately be slain by Marduk in his rise to chief deity. Thus both Taninim and Tehomot have deep mythological connections.

So why are they placed in the list of beings that should praise God?

Radiance 3 - My head is drenched with dew

So we've reached the third chapter of Radiance, in which we meet our second main character - Virgo. 


Do you like the first three chapters? Have they grabbed your attention? Do they do a good job of introducing the characters? What could I have done instead/as well to improve them?


All comments gratefully received!


9th Av 5775

    It was a fitting night to be in Jerusalem.
    Five thousand, seven hundred and five years ago to the day, Roman soldiers had been standing on this very spot, while the blood of Jewish zealots had stained the ground red. The sky turned a shade of crimson as the holy temple, God’s seat on earth, was consumed by flame.
    Still we mourn, thought Virgo, as she hurried through the winding streets of the Old City. But for how much longer?
    It was heavy, hot and dry in Jerusalem, though that was nothing strange in the heart of the summer. Still, there was something unusual in the air, an electricity, a strange sort of energy. In New York, Virgo might have said that a storm was coming - but this was Jerusalem, and the rainy season, if you could really call it that, was still two months away. No, this was something else. This was the reason why Virgo had come, why she had persuaded the Seven to leave Asher where he was and deal with a more imminent situation.
    And so Virgo was in Jerusalem on the ninth of Av, observing the strictures of the fast day, and hunting a creature of the Other Side.