The Storm God of the Torah - Yitro - Mythic Torah

Zeus and Thor by ryomablood.deviantart.com

Thor may have done very well at the box office, with two solo movies together with the Avengers, but he's far from being the first popular storm god.

Across the world, storm gods have been very popular - from Zeus in Greece to Indra in India, the storm gods have brought life giving rain to the people and protected them from rampaging monsters. The world may be full of sea serpents, but it's the storm gods that slay the dragons.

So why is the God of the Bible portrayed as a storm god? And why is the Torah itself given in the midst of a storm?

In this week's parasha of Yitro, the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai, and God appears over the mountain, ready to speak the ten commandments to the whole nation of Israel.

Calling from the Heights

Based on a teaching of the Netivot Shalom about this week's torah reading, Mishpatim.

On the heights I called to You
Clung to Your presence and found You waiting,
Wrapped myself deep within the You that is I,
That i that is You,
Immersed, Submerged and Subsumed.

But the moment cannot be sustained.

Every height has its depth,
To every hill a ravine deep and treacherous -
And all things fall.

And in the depths I called to you,
From the valley of death I lifted my voice,
But could not hear You, so loud were my cries in my own ears.

Yet there is a torah of the depths as well as the heights,
Teaching for the fall as well as the rise -
Not given on flaming mountains, thundered through the shofar blast,
but in small voices,
Silent words of solace,
whispered by the wind.

And in the deep I found my rest,
I found my Me that speaks with You.

And when I’m ready to begin once more, I know the mountain will still be there,
Calling from the heights.

Why Mythology Matters

When I was about 4 years old, some reporters came to interview my mother about her work as a rabbi. They spoke to my sister as well, who obligingly told them that she wanted to grow up to be a rabbi. I was not so helpful, and my answer never made it on to TV - when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered 'He-man'.

Fantasy and the mythological has always entranced me, so when I realised that we had such stories and heroes in our own tradition, I fell hopelessly in love. This blog is called Mythic Writing, and today I want to do something a little different, and reflect on why I chose this name.

You see, today I turn 30 - not perhaps the biggest milestone but it seemed to me that this was an opportunity to write down some of my deepest held beliefs - why does mythology matter to me? And why should it matter to you too?