Monthly Archives: January 2022

The Jewish obligation to observe commandments is traditionally divided along male/female lines: men pray three times daily, while women dont have to; men put on tefillin, while women do not. Some womens recent efforts to observe the religious privileges theyre exempt from have made ripples in the Jewish world, and even the news.

But what if we told you that the foundation for all this was wrong? That Judaism recognized not two, but as many as eight genders? The Mishnah describes half a dozen categories that are between male and female, such as saris or ailonit the terms refer to an non-reproductive version of the male or female body, respectively and categories that refer to ambiguous or indeterminate gender.

Although these terms seem to provide the refreshing view that a binary view of gender in Judaism is relatively recent, a closer look shows that Mishnaic rabbis were apt to privilege maleness in the case of indeterminate or multiple genders. But contemporary scholars like Rabbi Elliot Kukla are repurposing that halakhic discourse to provide a road map for our recognition of non-binary people in todays Judaism. Gender-neutral restrooms start to look like small potatoes.

November 9, 2015

Go here to see the original:

The 8 Genders of the Talmud - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud

Kodashim (Hebrew: , "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, its maintenance and design, the korbanot, or sacrificial offerings that were offered there, and other subjects related to these topics, as well as, notably, the topic of kosher slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial purposes.

This Seder (order, or division) of the Mishnah is known as Kodashim (sacred things or sanctities), because it deals with subjects connected with Temple service and ritual slaughter of animals (shehitah). The term kodashim, in the Biblical context, applies to the sacrifices, the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service; and it is with these holy things, places and people that Kodashim is mainly concerned. The title Kodashim is apparently an abbreviation of Shehitat Kodashim ("the slaughter of sacred animals") since the main, although not the only subject of this order is sacrifices.[1][2][3]

The topics of this Seder are primarily the sacrifices of animals, birds, and meal offerings, the laws of bringing a sacrifice, such as the sin offering and the guilt offering, and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple (tractate Middot), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple (tractate Tamid). The order also includes tractate Hullin, which concerns the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial use, as well as other dietary laws applying to meat and animal products. Although Hullin is about the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial, and therefore unsanctified purposes, because the rules about the proper slaughter of animals and birds, and their ritual fitness for use were considered to be an integral part of the concept of holiness in Judaism, they were also included in the order regarding holy things.[2][3]

Seder Kodashim comprises eleven tractates, with a total of 90 chapters, as follows:[2][3][4]

This Seder, or order, has eleven tractates, arranged, like most of the orders of the Mishnah, mostly in descending sequence according to the number of chapters.[3]

The traditional reasoning for the order of the tractates according to Maimonides, beyond the ordering according to number of chapters, is that Zevahim is first as it deals with the main physical purpose of the Temple, namely, animal sacrifices. Menahot continuing the subject of offerings, and so is placed next, according to the scriptural order and the status of meal-offerings as supplementary to the meat offerings. After dealing with offerings to the Temple, Hullin follows, dealing with the related topic of "secular" slaughter for meat. Bekhorot, Arakhin and Temurah all discuss auxiliary laws of sanctity and follow the order in which they appear in the Torah. Keritot then follows, as it largely discusses the offering for the transgression of certain commandments, and Me'ilah follows that as it also deals with transgressions of sanctity, although of a lighter nature. After dealing with laws, two mostly descriptive tractates were added, Tamid discussing the daily sacrifice and Middot which overviews the Temple in Jerusalem. Finally, Kinnim was placed last as its laws deal with accidental and rarely occurring situations.

In the Babylonian Talmud the sequence of the treatises follows the general order except that Bekorot is before Hullin, and innim is placed before Tamid and Middot.[4]

As part of the Mishnah, the first major composition of Jewish law and ethics based on the Oral Torah, Kodashim was compiled and edited between 200220 CE by Rabbi Yehudah haNasi and his colleagues. Subsequent generations produced a series of commentaries and deliberations relating to the Mishnah, known as the Gemara, which together with the Mishna are the Talmud, one produced in the Land of Israel c. 300350 CE (the Jerusalem Talmud), and second, more extensive Talmud compiled in Babylonia and published c. 450500 CE (the Babylonian Talmud).

In the Babylonian Talmud, all the tractates have Gemara for all their chapters except for Tamid which has it only for three chapters and Middot and Kinnim which don't have any[2][3]

Although the subject matter was no longer directly relevant to life in the Babylonian academies, the Gemara was motivated by the idea that the study of the laws of the Temple service is a substitute for the service itself. Also, the rabbinic sages wanted to merit the rebuilding of the Temple by paying special attention to these laws. However, in the modern Daf Yomi cycle and in the printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud, the Mishnah for the last two tractates are added at the end, to complete the order.

The Jerusalem Talmud has no Gemara on any of the tractates of Kodashim. Maimonides, however, mentions of the existence of a Jerusalem Talmud Gemara to Kodashim; however, it is doubtful he had seen it, as he is not known to have cited it anywhere. Nonetheless, this order was a subject of study in the Talmudic academies of the Land of Israel, as many statements contained in the Gemara of the Babylonian Talmud are attributed to the rabbinic scholars known as Amoraim in the Land of Israel. The assumption is that there was once a Jerusalem Talmud Gemara to Kodashim but that it has been lost.[2][3][9]

There is a Tosefta for the tractates Zevahim, Hullin, Bekhorot, Arakhin, Temurah, Me'ilah, and Keritot. Tamid, Middot and Kinnim have no Tosefta.[3]

More:

Kodashim - Wikipedia

LOS ANGELES Adam Nimoy gazed across a museum gallery filled with Star Trek stage sets, starship replicas, space aliens, fading costumes and props (think phaser, set to stun). The sounds of a beam-me-up transporter wafted across the room. Over his shoulder, a wall was filled with an enormous photograph of his father Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock on the show dressed in his Starfleet uniform, his fingers splayed in the familiar Vulcan live long and prosper greeting.

But that gesture, Adam Nimoy noted as he led a visitor through this exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center, was more than a symbol of the television series that defined his fathers long career playing the part-Vulcan, part-human Spock. It is derived from part of a Hebrew blessing that Leonard Nimoy first glimpsed at an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Boston as a boy and brought to the role.

The prominently displayed photo of that gesture linking Judaism to Star Trek culture helps account for what might seem to be a highly illogical bit of programming: the decision by the Skirball, a Jewish cultural center known mostly for its explorations of Jewish life and history, to bring in an exhibition devoted to one of televisions most celebrated sci-fi shows.

But walking through the artifacts Adam Nimoy recalled how his father, the son of Ukrainian Jews who spoke no English when they arrived, had said he identified with Spock, pointing out that he was the only alien on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Jewish values and traditions were often on the minds of the shows writers as they dealt with issues of human behavior and morality, said David Gerrold, a writer whose credits include The Trouble with Tribbles, one of the most acclaimed Star Trek episodes, which introduces the crew to a cute, furry, rapidly reproducing alien life form.

A lot of Jewish tradition a lot of Jewish wisdom is part of Star Trek, and Star Trek drew on a lot of things that were in the Old Testament and the Talmud, Gerrold said in an interview. Anyone who is very literate in Jewish tradition is going to recognize a lot of wisdom that Star Trek encompassed.

That connection was not explicit when the show first aired. And a stroll through the exhibition, which covers the original television show as well as some of the spinoffs and films that came to encompass the Star Trek industry, mainly turns up items that are of interest to Star Trek fans. There is a navigation console from the U.S.S. Enterprise, the first script from the first episode, a Klingon disrupter from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a display of tribbles.

To some extent, the choice of this particular exhibition Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds to help usher the Skirball back into operation after a Covid shutdown reflects the imperatives museums everywhere are facing as they try to recover from a pandemic that has been so economically damaging. These days honestly, especially after the pandemic museums are looking for ways to get people through the door, said Brooks Peck, who helped create the show for the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Museums are struggling to find an audience and are looking for a pop culture hook.

It seems to have worked. The Star Trek exhibition has drawn 12,000 attendees in its first two months here, a robust turnout given that the Skirball is limiting sales to 25 percent of capacity.

This has been bringing in new people, no question, said Sheri Bernstein, the museum director. Attendance is important for the sake of relevance. Its important for us to bring in a diverse array of people.

Jessie Kornberg, the president of Skirball, said that the center had been drawn by the parallels between Judaism and the television show. Nimoys Jewish identity contributed to a small moment which became a big theme, she said. We actually think the common values in the Star Trek universe and Jewish belief are more powerful than that symbolism. Thats this idea of a more liberal, inclusive people, where other and difference is an embraced strength as opposed to a divisive weakness.

The intersections between the television series and Judaism begin with its two stars, Nimoy and William Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk. These are two iconic guys in outer space who are Jewish, said Adam Nimoy. And it extends to the philosophy that infuses the show, created by Gene Roddenberry, who was raised a Southern Baptist but came to consider himself a humanist, according to his authorized biography.

Those underlying connections are unmistakable for people like Nimoy, 65, a television director who is both a devoted Star Trek fan and an observant Jew: He and his father often went to services in Los Angeles, and Friday night Sabbath dinners were a regular part of their family life.

Nimoy found no shortage of Jewish resonances and echoes in the exhibition, which opened in October and closes on Feb. 20. He stopped at a costume worn by a Gorn, a deadly reptilian extraterrestrial who was in a fight-to-the-death encounter with Kirk.

When he gets the Gorn to the ground, hes about to kill him, Nimoy recounted. The Gorn wants to kill Kirk. But something happens. Instead he shows mercy and restraint and refuses to kill the Gorn.

Very similar to the story of Joseph, Nimoy said, referring to the way Joseph, in the biblical book of Genesis, declined to seek retribution against his brothers for selling him into slavery.

Leonard Nimoy died in 2015 at the age of 83. Shatner, who is 90 and recently became the oldest person to go into space, declined to discuss the exhibition. Unfortunately Mr. Shatners overcommitted production schedule precludes him from taking on any additional interviews, said his assistant, Kathleen Hays.

The Skirball Cultural Center is set on 15 acres, about 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

The exhibition ran for about two years in Seattle after opening in 2016 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek TV shows 1966 debut. (That version was on NBC for three seasons.) The exhibition had been intended to tour, but those plans were cut short when the pandemic began to close museums across the country.

The exhibition was assembled largely from the private collection of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and founder of the Museum of Pop Culture, who died in 2018.

Peck said he wanted to commemorate the anniversary of the series with an exhibition that explored the outsize influence the television show had on American culture. The answer that I am offering is that Star Trek has endured and inspired people because of the optimistic future it presents the good character of many of its characters, Peck said. They are characters that people would like to emulate.

Skirball faced a bit of a challenge in trying to explain to its audience how Star Trek' fit in with what they do, he said. Happily it completely worked out. I had always hoped that Skirball could take it. Skirballs values as an institution so align with the values of Star Trek and the Star Trek community.

Bernstein, the Skirball director, said the exhibition seemed a particularly good way to help bring the museum back to life.

There was never a better time to present this show than now, she said. We very much liked the idea of reopening our full museum offerings with a show that was about inspiring hope. A show that promised enjoyment.

By spring, Star Trek will step aside for a less surprising offering, an exhibition about Jewish delis, but for now, the museum is filled both with devotees of Jewish culture, admiring a Torah case from China, and Trekkies, snapping pictures of the captains chair that Kirk sat in aboard the Enterprise.

There is no such thing as too much Star Trek, Scott Mantz, a film critic, said as he began interviewing Adam Nimoy after a recent screening at the museum of For the Love of Spock, a 2016 documentary Nimoy had made about his father. A long burst of applause rose from his audience.

See more here:

To Boldly Explore the Jewish Roots of Star Trek - The New York Times

In southeastern Nigeria, many Igbo, members of Nigerias third-largest tribe, believe they are of Jewish ancestry. Some of their traditions, such as circumcision and menstrual rituals, resemble those of Talmudic Judaism. The Igbo population is estimated at 30 to 35 million. Dozens of communities have become fully practicing Jews, and countless more incorporate elements of Judaism into a syncretic belief system. While the tribes origins remain unconfirmed, Igbo Jewish oral tradition traces the Igbo back to an African Hebrew diaspora that resided near the Niger River after the 722 BCE expulsion of the Israelites from the northern kingdom. This predates even the Babylonian exile of 586 BCE.

The Igbo are not accepted as Jews by the Israeli government. Consequently, they remain subject to ongoing threats, including severe persecution in the wake of Nigerias liberation from British colonialism. For example, between 1 million and 3 million Igbo were slaughtered en masse during the Nigeria-Biafra war that lasted from 1967 to 1970.

Early last summer, an Israeli filmmaker went to West Africa with a film crew to document Igbos stories. While there, the crew was arrested in Ogidi by the Department of State Services (DSS) on July 9 and imprisoned for approximately 20 days without trial. An elderly Igbo woman, who had welcomed them, was also arrested by the DSS and imprisoned alongside the team. After the international community got involved, the filmmakers were released and subsequently returned to Israel. A Nigerian film director and cinematographer was then arrested at the end of July for associating with the filmmakers.

Ambitious filmmaking projects that feature marginalized communities are admirable. However, outsiders must fully understand the specific risks to these communities. They must recognize when their efforts do more harm than good to the locals, lest they endanger them.

This time, heavy press scrutiny and extensive international support mitigated the worst. The filmmakers, who got the lions share of attention, were released within three weeks. The locals received far less media coverage, despite being the subjects of the film, and lacked the support of international embassies. Although elderly, the Igbo Jewish woman was detained for a longer period of time. Unlike the Israelis, she was not given hospital visits or Chabad kosher meals.

While the Nigerian government clearly violated basic human rights, the filmmakers also contributed to the fallout. They traveled to Nigeria claiming to aid the locals and while there, frequently posted about their experiences on social media. Some of their posts contained overtly political undertones and disclosed identities of specific Igbo Jews. One Instagram photo showed the filmmaker with Igbo King Eze Chukwuemeka Eri and the following description: Israel X Igbo are locking arms.

Irrespective of intent, this and other posts could easily be interpreted as promoting a political alliance between Israel and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or other groups which are viewed as separatist by the Nigerian government. On paper, freedom of speech is protected under Nigerias constitution. In practice, Nigeria typically censors certain types of ideas, including discussions about ethnicity, political diversity, and differing views of morality. In other words, Nigeria is not Israel, the United States, Canada, or Australia; protections surrounding freedom of speech, legal representation, and other rights expected in the developed world are not widely available.

Whether or not this is moral or ideal in our eyes, it is a reality that must be recognized. The Igbo Jews have already suffered immense harm from their own government, as well as from neighboring ethnic groups. The film crews reckless actions further risk an already isolated and vulnerable population. Thus, the filming was in direct contradiction of the Talmudic value of communal responsibility toward the well-being of ones fellow Jew. This is core to the Jews as a nation and a people.

The filmmakers have repeatedly condemned the Nigerian government for the arrests, without taking time to reflect on the ways in which they themselves may have brought harm upon the very community they claim to support. Two local Nigerians are known to have suffered as a result of the film crews lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity. The fallout of this incident could cause harm to many more.

Although it may not be possible to reverse this particular situation, it is possible to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. First, this film crew can reflect on the ways in which they acted irresponsibly, as opposed to milking the story on YouTube and painting the Nigerian government as the villain in an attempt to absolve themselves. Second, they can make a public statement acknowledging the specific ways in which they contributed to the situation. Third, they can do their due diligence in educating themselves about their countries of interest to ensure that this kind of voluntourism mentality does not persist, should they continue their work. Far be it for one Jew to add to the suffering of another.

This post was co-authored by Rebecca Sealfon who is a Reconstructionist Jewish writer and social media consultant who lives in New York City. She started and maintains a popular Israel-Palestine peace forum called Unity is Strength, which receives more than 1,000,000 views per year and attracts writers from Israel, Palestine, and all over the world. Rebecca has published in the New York Daily News, Smithsonian magazine, and the Daily Beast, as well as appeared numerous times on national television.

Iman J. Sultana is completing a Peace and Conflict Studies graduate degree at the University of Waterloo. Her specialty is conflict zones in MENA, including Israel-Palestine, Kurdistan, and Yemen. She is also interested in environmental-based peacebuilding and social entrepreneurship. In her free time, Iman administers online peacebuilding communities.

Read the original here:

A reckless Israeli film crew in Nigeria and the Igbo Jews who paid the price - The Times of Israel

When he began writing about ethical wills in the 1970s, former San Diego Rabbi Jack Riemer would spend much of his time explaining this ancient Jewish tradition before he could even get into the notion of writing one of your own.

Regular wills pass on your valuables, he would tell them, but ethical wills pass on your values. We are more than the sum total of our china and our savings account. Our spiritual treasures also are precious from how weve tried to live our lives to our hopes and wishes for loved ones.

Riemer would talk about their history, with roots in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud. At first, they tended to be delivered orally. As writing became more commonplace, they began to be put down on paper.

Over time, however, familiarity and practice faded. Riemer himself acknowledges ethical wills werent on his radar until a congregant shared one he had written with him. It was, he remembers, marvelous.

He teamed up with the late Nathaniel Stampfer, a well-known Jewish scholar from Chicago, and the pair published a series of books describing what ethical wills were and how to prepare them. They also included samples of good ones and not so good ones.

What a difference a half-century has made.

Today, the crafting of ethical wills has become a kind of cottage industry, with workshops, websites and how-to guides offered across the country for people of all beliefs and cultures.

Law firms also have gotten on board, offering to include them with their clients estate plans.

All this is just fine with Riemer.

This is something that anyone of any faith can do, he says from his Florida home, where he has long since retired from leading synagogues. We are only pleased if others do it, too.

Riemer, whose long career included a stint at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, says many people just assume their kids understand their values.

Sometimes, the things that meant the most to them, their kids havent really understood until they see them in writing, he adds. When we take the time to do that, Riemer says we create a really beautiful gift for generations to come.

But this new wave of teachers also is adding some modern-day massaging to the concept starting with what to call them.

A British scholar named Israel Abraham is often credited with coining the term ethical wills in his 1926 book, Hebrew Ethical Wills.

But for a more-contemporary audience, the name is awkward and confusing. Does it mean writing a last will and testament that is ethical? And, by the way, what exactly is ethical?

Nobody knows what an ethical will is, says Rachael Freed, founder of Life-Legacies, from her home in Minneapolis. When you are doing a cottage industry, you want people to know what you are doing.

Freed, a social worker by training who took several classes on writing ethical wills in the 1990s, calls what she teaches legacy writing.

At first, her program focused on women to help them find their voice. Then she expanded it to include all genders and generations, showing them how to write legacy letters that convey values, wisdom, history and blessings to future generations. And they can be given at any time during a persons life to mark everything from milestones and special occasions to simply wanting to share a life lesson with someone you love.

In her book, Your Legacy Matters, she provides a template: beginning with the context of what you are writing, the story you want to share, lessons you took from it and, finally, a blessing for your own wishes for the recipient.

Up in Seattle, Rabbi Elana Zaiman calls what she teaches forever letters, which also became the title of her book, The Forever Letter: Writing What We Believe for Those We Love.

Zaiman, who used to teach about traditional ethical wills, says the shift in name also reflected another shift.

I realized I was teaching about a different letter entirely, a different letter that needed a new name, she explains. That is how the forever letter was born. The focus of the forever letter is on connection and relationship. Specifically, deepening, healing, strengthening or uplifting relationships.

Like Freed, Zaiman advocates giving these letters while you are still living. This allows the writer and recipient a chance to have a conversation, giving them an opportunity to repair and strengthen their relationship.

She says these letters arent really ethical wills, though they were inspired by the ethical wills from medieval times by the intimacy and urgency and necessity of writing, and focusing on what we most need to say or want to say to the people we love while we still can.

Regardless of what you call them, Encinitas attorney Gabriel Katzner, of the Katzner Law Group, is among a number of firms who offer to add them as another component of the clients estate plans.

What Ive always told clients is it is a way to pass along those lessons that are important, those values that are important to you, Katzner says.

About a quarter of his clients take him up on the offer, while another half or so say they plan to do it.

In addition to advice on what to put in these writings, Riemer and the others also warn about what not to put in them.

There is a temptation to leave a guilt trip from the grave, says Riemer, who maintains that ethical wills have a place at the end of your life and not just those other times. You shouldnt do that. It does no good.

In their book, So That Your Values Live On, Riemer and Stampfer include a stinging example from a 12th century ethical will in which the father slams his son over more than 50 pages complaining about everything from how much hes done for him to his bad penmanship. He ends by asking his son to read this ethical will twice a day for the rest of his life.

Freed offers this advice: I always suggest that they use the Buddhist tenet: do no harm. And I say, Think about being dead for 50 years and somebody reads the letter that you wrote to the grandchild and it is full of anger or resentment or regret. Thats not the place for that. The place for that is your journal or on a piece of paper that you can burn up after youve written it. You dont want to be remembered that way.

When I ask her for any final thoughts, she says she wishes people would not be scared off because they feel writing one of these letters is too formidable. It can do so much good both for the writer and the receiver.

That brought to mind a story Rabbi Ron Shulman had shared with me just a few days earlier. Shulman is the senior rabbi of Congregation Beth El, where Riemer once served.

He was 13 years old and sitting in his bedroom on the night before his bar mitzvah, when his father came in and handed him a letter. I opened it up and he had written me this beautiful letter about how he felt about me. His pride and his hopes for my future and his values. In essence, he had written me his ethical will.

Shulman cherishes that letter to this day (and was inspired when he became a father to do likewise for his daughters). The words written so long ago are like a spiritual tool box that can be opened over and over to provide comfort and guidance. And that may be the greatest reason of all for why to do an ethical will or whatever name you want to call it.

Dolbee is the former religion and ethics editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune and a former president of the Religion News Association. Email: sandidolbeecolumns@gmail.com.

Read more from the original source:

What are ethical wills? They're a beautiful gift for generations to come - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Preface for January 7 2022

This Shabbat

A Word From the Rabbi Finley

People ask me: what is the difference between the Yetzer Ha-Ra and the Inner Pharaoh? The Yetzer Ha-Ra refers to destructive patterns in the unconscious ego-self that operate contrary to our best visions of ourselves.The Inner Pharaoh, as I conceive it, refers to particular patterns of ignorance, mendacity and obstinance. Some people make sure to stay ignorant of the facts, even facts about themselves, because their narrative of how their ego-self sees things is most important. Other people can see the truth, but refuse to admit it. Other people might admit the truth, but their stubbornness has them backpedal to regressive patterns. People strategically forget half of what they know.

Last Shabbat I offered a digressive, verse by verse analysis of a little bit of the parsha:Names of God, Heideggers theory of being, where Moses learned Hebrew, how a sudden accounting of genealogy actually connects Moses and Aaron to King David, etc.

This week I want to teach some very practical Wisdom Work how we work with Inner Pharaoh ego-states and transform them. This work absolutely and directly changes the quality of our lives. Please join in!

Torah Portion Bo The Inner Pharaoh and Truth Within

The Jewish tradition loves serious play with words. This weeks Torah portion begins with Gods telling Moses, Go to Pharaoh. Moses is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The problem is, the Hebrew is bo el Paro, which literally means come to Pharaoh, not go to Pharaoh.

Instead of explaining away this grammatical oddity, the spiritual tradition focuses on the literal meaning of come to Pharaoh. Come to Pharaoh is understood as God saying to Moses, Come to me, but youll have to go through Pharaoh.

Pharaoh is interpreted, from a spiritual perspective, as referring to those forces within that compel us to act in destructive ways, forces that are hidden in the unconscious realm. To find God, or the Authentic Self, we will have to go through forces of resistance. One force of resistance is cynicism there is no authentic self, there is no better or worse. Love, justice, truth and beauty are words that to do not refer to anything real.

Other forces of resistance are depression, anxiety, anger, resentment, overwhelm, and so forth. We might know that there is better and worse, but we just dont feel we can achieve it. Sometimes, the lie of resistance tells us, the good is unachievable because we are not able. Sometime, the lie of resistance tells us, the good is unachievable because the world around us is so bad. The Inner Pharaoh is the liar. There is some good that can be done and nothing in the world can stop us from doing some good, even if only within.

We cant just step around the Inner Pharaoh, though. He will ambush us.

Face your inner destructiveness sounds like a spiritual platitude. People nod and say, Sure, obviously! and then allow those destructive forces to take over their thoughts, feelings and emotions. People say, I couldnt help but get (fill in the blank angry, accusatory, defensive, hopeless, fed up, etc.). I agree. Our inner destructiveness can take us over. At times, we cant help giving in to the forces of the unconsciousness ego self.

To fight the Inner Pharoah, we have to train. For beginners dont talk , text or write an email until you calm down, for example. Stop catastrophizing. We can hear ourselves when a negative script takes over. Stop saying those lines. Write a better play. Rehearse your way out of Pharaohs incessant grip. You can be helped, by you.

The inner destructiveness has many ploys not to allow you to help yourself find and live your Authentic Self. A common one is to rationalize. To rationalize is just about the opposite of being rational. To rationalize means to give a reason for doing something when there is actually something else that is the real cause or motivation. To rationalize is to be pretend to be rational. We create narratives to make acceptable our destructive thoughts, feelings and behavior, and therefore our speech and behavior. We hide from the truth.

That is the Inner Pharaohs game, hide the truth of the matter. For example, the truth of the matter might be that you became too hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Sometimes we get caught off guard. Sometimes we are needy. Sometimes life just becomes too much. Your resistance to the Inner Pharaoh has been weakened.

The path to redemption is to acknowledge our inner turmoil and find a way back to the path of truth, virtue and wisdom. Something pushed you off the path. That happens. The main thing is to dust yourself off and get back on the path, not to make it as if you discovered a new path to truth.

The Inner Pharaoh always has a very persuasive story to keep up from getting back on the path. Or the Inner Pharaoh has us ask pointless why questions such as, Why would someone do such a thing?

The Inner Pharaoh wants us to think that coming up with a relatively pointless rhetorical question is actually doing something. Pointless why questions do accomplish something. They distract us.

There is a famous little saying in the Talmud (Baba Batra 60b), Kshote atzmecha techilah achar kakh kshot acherim. The Aramaic word kshote has two meanings: truth, and also beauty. One meaning of this aphorism might be, Beautify yourself (do the right thing), before you demand that others be beautiful. Another meaning might be Be truthful with yourself, and then you can be truthful with others.

Both meanings are intertwined. I think that most of us want to do the right and beautiful thing, but we cant until we honestly seek out what is going on inside of us as we discover the True Self. Finding the truth is difficult; the Inner Pharaoh stands in the way.

When the Inner Pharaoh tries to push you around, start by pushing back.

See the article here:

The Inner Pharaoh and the Truth Within - Jewish Journal