Kesher Talk

4 Comments:

At 3:52 PM, Eric said...

I think you could build up a theme of written law as the basis for a civil society. The establishment of these very specific property laws served to undercut the power and absolute authority of Tribal Leaders and demagogues by taking these very mundane decisions out of their hands and putting them in the hands of Hashem, the Torah, and the Children of Israel, who each have an equal share in the Torah.

Am I making sense here? There's a way in which these laws, by saying "You may not put someone to death for these particular acts, and you must for these others" limit a ruler's sovereignty (in the literal sense of "the right to put someone to death.") This is, to me, the first step on the road to civilization, and democracy.

In Iraq, we have removed a leader who had no limits on his sovereignty, and are hopefully guiding the people there to elect a ruler who will accept the limits their written constitution and laws will place on his sovereignty and power.

 

At 4:19 PM, alcibiades said...

You could talk about slaves regaining freedom after 7 years of slavery; and how there was a provision for people who chose to stay enslaved, because the Torah realized that moving into a state of emancipation could be too difficult a transition for some people, what with family they had to leave behind or fear for their security or other sacrifices; but how the Sages interpreted the awl hole through the ear as a negative thing, since one's service was due to God, not primarily to a human master before God. Thus, freedom was the desired state of the soul.

That ties in pretty well with the notion that there will be difficulties and sacrifices involved in bringing about the emergent democracy; and also with the Bush/Sharansky theme of supporting freedom worldwide. But all underhanded, like. It's in code.

What minyan do you go to, btw?

 

At 1:08 AM, Ted said...

I think a few lines in chapter 23 could easily lend themselves to more or less political topics related to Iraq -- 23:2, don't be a follower of the majority (or the mighty) for evil -- to me this speaks to how to listen to the mainstream media, or colleagues at work.

and the following lines in 23:4-5 about helping your enemy, and relieving his burden [and the suffering of the innocent donkey] seem appropriate, too.

 

At 2:01 AM, Judith said...

"What minyan do you go to, btw?"

I'll just say for now it's one of the oldest lay-led egal minyanim on the Upper West Side.

All these suggestions are great and definitely along the lines I was thinking. You are all helping me clarify my thoughts. Keep it coming.

 

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