We’ve reached an odd juncture in the 49-stage journey, one associated in Jewish lore with the ending of a plague that killed 12,000 pairs of students. There is more on this plague and its relationship to racial justice here: Death by Disrespect and Conversing for Racial Justice.
Category Archives: Rethinking Exodus journey
(#32) Beer Lahai-Roi
More on Hagar, including her naming of God at what is then called Beer Lahai Roi
(#31) Exodus without Liberation
Hagar and Ishmael, and their connection to Mitzrayim, add another layer to the story of the Yisrael-ites and Mitzrayim-ites. This stage quotes from Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narrative by Phyllis Trible. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.
(#30) Tevye’s View
In contrast, or complement, to the historical and geographic view of the last stage, here is a literary/imaginative look at the journeying of the biblical Abraham and Sarah. Quoted: Booking Passage: Exile and Homecoming in the Modern Jewish Imagination. Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000. Tevye the Dairyman and The RailroadContinue reading “(#30) Tevye’s View”
(#29) Back Home
Exploring early ancestors behind the Exodus story and locating the story in geography.
(#28) Naming, Again
Exploring the way names are assigned, as when Pharaoh calls the people “Israelite Nation” only to single them out as foreigners and a danger.
(#27) From There
What does it mean to be “from there”? The Hebrew word for “Hebrews” is thought to mean something like “folks from over there” or maybe “from the other side of the river.” How does the view from the other side inform the Exodus and struggle for liberation?
(#26) Hidden
This installment continues exploring the idea raised by considering the Afikoman in the Passover seder. What or who is hidden from us, and so preventing joint liberation? Why? and how can we address that lack of inclusion? This installment comes with an assignment: begin every day a new discipline of looking for the hidden… inContinue reading “(#26) Hidden”
(#25) MIDPOINT: Urgency and Pause
Explore DC’s “Reopen DC” plans and advisory council to see what and who is left out of view — can we insist on inclusion, as with the Afikoman at the close of a seder?
(#24) Lagged, Late, So Long
Uncertain times, the way forward, the Golden Calf, and justice denied.
Rereading Torah Towards Liberation 