![]() But does that mean we must? or that God does?ĭoes being “ ikesh” mean that the People are somehow unable to accept discourse that comes down as the rain? Or might it mean that the People absorb and process Torah in way that Moses does not get?ĭoes the “ uftaltol” part of the apparent insult mean that the People are “twisted” in the sense of perverse, unaccepting of Torah? Or might it mean that the generation angering Moses is braiding up insights and then bringing their light forth in a way that is foreign to him?Īfter all, Moses has had trouble before with rocks and water, the People and God. The roots of two of his accusations suggest that Moses dislikes and fears what is not straight and apparently unchanging. In the accusation, “ shichet lo,” the verb form “shichet” is defined in Jastrow as “to pervert, ruin, or do harm.” The root is shin-chet-tav: “to be low, bent.” The first place that we find this root in Torah is in the very damp story of Noah - where it appears repeatedly.(Another association with moisture, and with sex, as in the Talmudic prohibition against “two wicks in one lamp”, Gittin 58b). ![]() Fatil is a twisted cord, border, or edge (of cloth or vessel), and f’tilah is a twisted thread or wick. F’taltol is a hapax legomenon, understood as related to the root pey-tav-lamed, to twist or braid.Jastrow’s Dictionary does not define ikesh - a word that appears 11 times in the Bible but only this once in the Torah - instead pointing to the noun, akosh “, a thing believed to prevent (or absorb) rain.” Haazinu opens with rain and showers and dew and droplets (Deut 31:1-4), so it is interesting to consider how ikesh might be related to the absorbing (or not) of moisture.The accusations Moses hurls at the People (Deut 32:5) use words related to “bending,” “braiding,” or “twisting,” all having some association with moisture: Please see aside on generation of this post and experiment for the new year. The next verse stumbles along, with Moses hurling accusations at the People to suggest a generation - maybe “unworthy children,” maybe “non-children” - of characteristics contrasting with God’s ( Deut 32:4-5).ĭoes this reflect failings actually exhibited by the People, or by us? Or does this represent a final failure, by Moses, to understand and accept how many humans and God relate? Early on in Torah portion Haazinu, God is declared “the Rock!” and described smoothly as steadfast or faithful, never false or without corruption, upright, of perfect deeds and just ways.
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