I can understand about your wishing to have the dialogue move along organically .... I always hesitate to take the lead because I know that my interpretations are a little out of the ordinary and I feel that I am still learning about the process of the parsha .... I know you were also hoping that this would bring in more perspectives and there are so many on this forum that would make the dialogue very interesting, intriquing, and perhaps open doors to new ways of perceiving and seeing the words of the OT or even other scriptures that speak to the same subjects. I even considered not posting, but just reading, because I didn't know if my thoughts on the parsha were in part "turning others off to the process" .... I noted the high degree of philosophical discussion around another thread and thought that it would be great to have that same level of discussion on the parsha project .... an open door to dialogue on a portion of the scriptures from many different perspectives ....
I also wonder if we have any Kabbalist on the forum .... they would have another perspective on the parsha project based on the Zohar and the Tree of the Sephiroth .... I read a piece that said "the Kabbalah is the priceless heritage of Israel, but each year those who comprehend its true principles become fewer in number and without the key which the Kabbalah supplies, the spiritual mysteries of both the Old and the New Testament must remain unsolved by Jew and Gentile alike." Isn't that part of the idea of the parsha, to try different keys of understanding and to open the doors of the inner mystery of the scriptures ...
A return to the balance is one of the keys to understanding .... it is in part the symbol of the Star of David .... "unbalanced forces perish in the void. So passed the kings of the elder world, the princes of the giants. They have fallen like trees without roots, and their place is found no more. Through the conflict of unbalanced forces, the devastated earth was void and formless, until the Spirit of God made for itself a place in heaven and reduced the mass of waters. All the aspirations of Nature were directed then towards unity of form, towards the living synthesis of equilibrated forces; the face of God, crowned with light rose over the vast sea and was reflected in the waters thereof. His two eyes were manifested, radiating with splendour, darting two beams of light which crossed with those of the reflection. The brow of God and His eyes formed a triangle in heaven, and its reflection formed a second triangle in the waters." (The Secret Teaching of All Ages, Manly Hall)
I added the above because it is a pretty good description of what is described in the OT about the constant struggle between brothers .... it is a message within a message .... the story of Noah, the flood, the tower are all connected, in my mind, with this need to balance the world and our lives in order to survive .... and the body of man is but a microcosm of the greater body of the universe and can be read within the text of the OT ....
I understand well the symbols of the balance of energies within the human body, what I do not understand well is the religious texts associated with this same knowledge because I have shyed away from them for a long time since I connected religion with a form of dogma that seperated men from their true heritage or knowledge .... so much seperation through the teaching of men in churches, yet so much connectedness in the scriptures themselves as in the ways of other traditions .... actually even many of the ancient traditions have gone astray, just look at all the money that is made off the "sacred visits to ancient sites" ....
I see the focus on threads like "if you rape a woman, etc....." and wonder why we insist on such literal interpretations .and why so many love to respond... I cringe when I read some of the sections in the parsha because literally they describe punishment, revenge, war .... I know in my heart and soul that the meaning if very different if we dive deep enough into the ancient ocean to see beneath the veils of meaning ....
Perhaps in this part of the parsha since we are discussing Noah it would be great to see the many "flood" references from other traditions without comment, just the story itself or the reference .... in fact I think I'll post an invitation in the general section for "flood" stories to be posted .... after seeing several flood stories, we might be able to have a dialogue about what they mean and why we all have them .... well I really got carried away here, but I'll get back to Noah .... aloha nui, poh
