Hello everyone... it's been a while but I haven't forgot about my project to read through Exodus chapter by chapter and record my thoughts on this board. Last I posted was on chapter 14 so today I post on chapter 15. As always, my source is here.
Exodus 15:2 Wrote:The Eternal's strength and His vengeance were my salvation
Does ancient Hebrew scripture distinguish between justice and vengeance? This is not the only passage that talks about God's vengeance. What do Jews today think of this distinction?
Exodus 15:3 Wrote:The Lord is a Master of war; the Lord is His Name.
This phrase is also repeated a lot in the Bible (or maybe just the Torah). What is the significance of mentioning that the "Lord" is God's name? It's especially curious because a "lord" is not a name but a title. I always assumed this was simply an analogy--as in, God is like a Lord who is master over the Israelites who are like serfs and his vassals. How is one to interpret this word in the context of the ancient Hebrew text? And why is it God's name? And is it connected in any way to "I am that I am" (however much that may be of butchering of the correct translation)?
Exodus 15:6 Wrote:Your right hand, O Lord, is most powerful; Your right hand, O Lord, crushes the foe.
Exodus 15:12 Wrote:You inclined Your right hand; the earth swallowed them up.
Remind me again what is the significance of God's right hand? It is said that Jesus sits at God's right hand. And the "left hand path" is often used to describe the Satanic path. And we in Western culture have come to name the hand with which we usually write as the "right" hand (maybe even the reason why we pronounce "right" and "write" the same way) and the other hand as the "left" hand (as in, whatever's left). Historically, most parts of the world have punished students who wrote with their left hand, as though it were some kind of sin (my father, who grew up in the Middle East, would get his hand rapped for using his left hand to write). It seems that Western culture (and apparently Middle Eastern culture as well, and maybe other cultures) has associated the right hand with "good" and the left hand with "bad". So my question is: why did the ancient texts associate God's right hand with good and righteousness? Was it just arbitrary? As in, well, one of the hands has to be the "right" one, the one that is most powerful and crushes the foe; might as well be the right one as much as it might as well be the left one. And from there history more or less consistently associated the right hand with "good" (thus placing Jesus at God's right hand side and punishing poor left-handed students for writing with the wrong hand). Or was there a deeper reason for associating God's right hand with righteousness and good? Did the word "right" originally mean "right as opposed to left" or "right as opposed to wrong"? If the latter, then in this passage, God's "right hand" doesn't mean the hand that is on God's right side but the hand of God that is righteous and good (whatever side that happens to be) and we came to call it the "right side" because we (somehow) determined (perhaps because of the hand we usually write with) that God's "righteous and good" hand happened to be that on the right side.
Exodus 15:16 Wrote:May dread and fright fall upon them; with the arm of Your greatness may they become as still as a stone, until Your people cross over, O Lord, until this nation that You have acquired crosses over.
What were the Israelites' reasons (or God's reasons) for regarding the inhabitant's of the Levant as the "enemy" (if that's a fair term to use)? I can see it from the Israelites' point of view having just been freed from the Egyptians and needing a land to settle in, and thus would probably have to conquer the inhabitants of whatever land that happens to be. So to regard them as "unworthy" of said land would come natural. There's also the fact that the inhabitants of the Levant (most of them, probably) worshipped different gods who would have been rivals to the Israelite god, and were thus seen as "wayward" if not all together "evil". Then there's God's promise passed down to the Israelites from Abraham onward that they would inherit a land of milk and honey, and I believe (if I remember correctly) the passages that elaborate on this mention (once or twice) the "unworthiness" of the current inhabitants of these lands, so it may have just been a common belief passed down to the Israelites at the current stage in the story.
Exodus 15:25-26 Wrote:25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord instructed him concerning a piece of wood, which he cast into the water, and the water became sweet. There He gave them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. 26 And He said, If you hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God, and you do what is proper in His eyes, and you listen closely to His commandments and observe all His statutes, all the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you, for I, the Lord, heal you.
I assume this is Moses speaking on behalf of God.
That being said, what exactly is the connection between the sweetening of the water and the test imposed on the Israelites? It sounds as if the wood contained some sort of chemical or substance that not only sweetened the water but could have a deleterious effect or a healing effect on the health of whosoever drank the water. So is the test that if you didn't observed God's statutes and commandments, the sickness would get to you (similar to the sickness visited upon the Egyptians), but if you did, you would be impervious to the sickness?
Or is it more like a parent admonishing his/her bratty children, after giving into their demands, "ok, I'll give you what you want this time, but if you complain again in the future (as opposed to following my statutes and commandments), I will afflict you with the same sickness that I afflicted on the Egyptians"? In other words, the sweetening of the water by the wood had no such poisoning effect at all, even to only some of the Israelites, but God recognized this as a sign that he would have to start raising the bar or exacting a bit more discipline in order to teach some gratitude and rid the Israelites of their thankless indignation, but only in the future. This interpretation would make more sense of the comparison to the plight of the Egyptians since "all the sickness that [God] visited upon the Egyptians" is quite a broad range of sicknesses and is unlikely to come from just one piece of wood (whatever chemical it might have contained). Then again, limiting it to sickness (as opposed to the full range of plagues which included non-health related afflictions like frogs and water turning to blood) seems to align with whatever (if any) sickness might come from the piece of wood. Perhaps the answer lies in Exodus 16.
Anyway, those are my initial thoughts upon reading Exodus 15. I may post more in this thread if my research yields answers or further insights into these questions (or I come up with more questions). Please feel free to add your own comments, questions, thoughts, etc..
In just a few days, we will celebrate the holiday of Shavuot and receive G‑d’s Torah anew, as He gifted it to us for the very first time 3,337 years ago at Mount Sinai.
That moment changed the entire universe.
Heaven reached down, earth reached heavenward, and every single Jew—man and woman, elder and child, even the tiniest infants—stood perfectly united, to hear “Anochi … I am the L‑rd your G‑d.” (Exodus 20:2)
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All of history had been waiting for that time, when the Jewish people would accept the task of transforming the physical world into a home for the Divine—thereby ensuring that the holy feels comfortably at home in the physical.
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Feel free to forward these resources to anyone who might enjoy them!
Posted by: Robert - 05-28-2025, 06:42 PM - Forum: Israel
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Quote:'Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to William Joyce and several other people who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the United Kingdom from Germany during the Second World War. The broadcasts opened with "Germany calling, Germany calling," spoken in an affected upper-class English accent. Through such broadcasts, the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda tried to discourage and demoralise allied troops, and the British population. Although the broadcasts were known to be Nazi propaganda, they often offered the only details of Allied troops and air crews caught behind enemy lines.
The nickname, coined by a reporter, was applied to other broadcasters of English-language propaganda from Germany, but it is Joyce with whom the name is overwhelmingly identified.'
For legal reasons, the following has nothing to do with the forgoing.
France 24 English has a new Jerusalem correspondent, by the name of Noga Tarnopolsky who appears to be consistent in manner of reporting with the France 24 English's reporting of Israel news.
Some examples of Noga Tarnopolsky reporting on Israel can be seen here: https://www.france24.com/en/author/noga-tarnopolsky-1/
As of MAy 2025 Baghdad has one synagogue while the number of Jews is reported "...has dwindled to just dozens." The head of the head of Iraq’s Jewish community, Khalida Elyahu, 62. The tomb of Rabbi Isaac Gaon [died year 668] has been restored<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/resurrecting-its-past-iraqs-jewish-community-restores-long-forgotten-shrine/|title=Resurrecting its past, Iraq’s tiny Jewish community restores a long-forgotten shrine|website=Times of Israel|date=May 28,2025 |access-date=2025-05-28}}</ref>
Posted by: Robert - 05-28-2025, 09:33 AM - Forum: Israel
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In the current conflict in Gaza there are many reports of complaints by Gazen "Palestinian" Arabs about Israeli evacuation orders. "Palestinian" Arabs complain about the number of times they have been displaced by these orders within Gaza. No other military in history has taken such trouble to avoid civilian casualties as the IDF. All those "Palestinian" Arabs who complain about the number of evacuation orders they have had to endure, are those whose lives have been saved by the IDF in this manner by keeping civilians clear of combat areas: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/world...tions.html
Yet Israel is constantly accused devoid of evidence, of genocide". Whenever Israel conducts any war of defense / deterrence in response to "Palestinian" Arab attack, Israel is typically falsely-accused of "genocide".
There is no proper evidence of any "genocide" against Israel.
The definition of "genocide" to which most people refer is the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide", adopted 9 December 1948, Article 2 of which requires "intent": https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mec...e-genocide
Israel's warnings to civilians to vacate the immediate combat zone are incompatible with the requirement for "intent" and therefore Israel has not, and is not, committing any "genocide".
Let's take a look at the more general picture of false-accusations against Israel of genocide, for example the pattern these false-allegations have taken in printed sources from 1948 to 2022 according to the "Ngram Viewer". (As at the time of posting, the "Ngram Viewer's" information goes up to 2022.) Whenever Israel is obliged to defend itself, the "genocide" falsehood propaganda typically-appears, devoid of proper evidence.
The reader can enter the following into their web browser's address bar. The URL already contains the search criteria "Israeli genocide" with the date parameters 1948 to 2022 (The "Ngram Viewer" does not currently make available searches beyond 2022). (The reader is also at liberty to manually enter the search criteria): https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?co...moothing=3
A screen-capture of the above Ngram output is attached. Please click on the Attachment "Thumbnail" to open it.
What pattern do we see:
Whenever Israel conducts military operations to defend itself or deter further attack upon it, allegations appear falsely-accusing Israel of genocide !
First, thanks to Chris Jacobs!
Second reposting -
Hello everyone, for the past forty years my Rosh yeshiva (of Toras Moshe/ToMo) had been makpid to raise money for the yeshiva himself so that the guys could focus on learning, but this year he told us that he's old and getting weaker and asked us for help. If you could help us out it would be really appreciated! ??
Posted by: Robert - 05-24-2025, 08:43 PM - Forum: Israel
- No Replies
Quote:[France 24 English video narrated by their correspondent, Wassim Cornet:]
On Wednesday [15 May 2025] Palestinians gathered in Ramallah to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Nakba or catastrophe in Arabic [sic]. It marks the mass expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their land in 1948. The commeration taking place a day earlier this year, took a new tone.
[... Interviewees make accusations about the current war in Gaza devoid of evidence, about alleged displacement and genocide.]
The Nakba marked a turning point in Palestinian history. On May 14th, 1948 the British Mandate in Palestine expired. David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the birth of the State of Israel. The next day neighboring Arabs countries declared war.
[Newsreel reader:] "The city of Haifa and its harbor become the center of bitter conflict as the new Jewish state is born in the tense atmosphere of civil war."
[Wassim Cornet:] During the Arab - Israeli war of 1948 hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced into exile.
[Newsreel reader:] "Haganah forces seek out [?] Arabs as barricades are set up to screen those who have not already fled the city. Everyone is searched.
[Wassim Cornet:] The Haganah, a paramilitary organization formed the core of the Israeli forces and was responsible for expelling Palestinians. Some left on their own to escape the violence. Most fled to Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, or Syria. On December 11, 1948 the United Nations adopted a resolution recognizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees, but Israel has never permitted its implementation.
Source:
Video: "Palestinians mark Nakba amid mass displacement in Gaza and West Bank", 15/05 [2025],
[label at end of video:] "Story by Catherine Viette and Florent Marchais". [Narrated by France 24 English correspondent, Wassim Cornet]: https://www.france24.com/en/video/202505...-west-bank
My concerns about the accuracy of the video:
Interviewees make accusations about the current war in Gaza devoid of evidence, about alleged displacement and genocide in Gaza.
There are many reports of complaints by Gazen "Palestinian" Arabs about Israeli evacuation orders. "Palestinian" Arabs complain about the number of times they have been displaced by these orders within Gaza. No other military in history has taken such trouble to avoid civilian casualties as the IDF. All those "Palestinian" Arabs who complain about the number of evacuation orders they have had to endure, are those whose lives have been saved by the IDF in this manner by keeping civilians clear of combat areas: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/world...tions.html
Yet Israel is constantly accused devoid of evidence, of genocide".
Whenever Israel conducts any war of defense / deterrence in response to "Palestinian" Arab attack, Israel is typically falsely-accused of "genocide".
“[… In 1948] the mass expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians” […] “During the Arab - Israeli war of 1948 hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced into exile." […] “The Haganah, a paramilitary organization formed the core of the Israeli forces and was responsible for expelling Palestinians”:
There is no evidence of any deliberate expulsion of “Palestinian” Arabs from the land of Israel. While Arabs were displaced within the land of Israel due to the conflict the "Palestinian" Arabs started, there is no evidence they were forced to leave the land of Israel. Likewise there is no evidence that the Haganah expelled Arabs from the land of Israel, or had any such role.
“[…]mass expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their land in 1948] ”:
“Palestinians”:
This refers to Arabs. In 1948 the only “Palestinians” that existed were BOTH Arab and Jewish citizens of the British Mandate, a “Palestinian” citizenship that ceased upon the end of that Mandate.
“[...] Palestinians from their land in 1948”:
There has never been any indigenous “Palestine” or Arab sovereign state in the land of Israel upon which the Palestinian Arabs could base any claim to any part of the land.
The “Palestinian Arabs” dropped the name “Arab” so you should not understand they mostly originate from Foreign-Arab-Migrant-Workers who came to the land of Israel just prior to, and during, the British Mandate - See “Arab Immigration to Historic Palestine: A Survey”, by Richard Mather: https://richardmatherblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/
“On May 14th, 1948 the British Mandate in Palestine expired. David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the birth of the State of Israel. The next day neighboring Arabs countries declared war.”:
The narrator fails to mention the civil war (which intensified 1947 to 1948) started by the "Palestinian" Arabs to oppose the United Nations proposed Partition Plan under resolution 181, and to instead take ALL the land of Israel and expel or murder the Jews.
The viewer is left only with the newsreel clip that then followed, which simply refers to a:
“tense atmosphere of civil war”.
“birth of the State of Israel”:
The land of Israel is the ancestral-homeland of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ethnicity as well as a religion. Modern Israel is Re-established within the Jewish ancestral-homeland. Internationally-recognized history shows that the last indigenous sovereign state in the land of Israel (Roman-imposed name “Palestine”), prior to the RE-establishment of Israel in 1948, was the post-Biblical Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom. It included Judah and Samaria (what is now wrongly referred to as the: “West Bank”), plus Gaza, and Golan Heights. Capital (what is now referred to as “EAST”) Jerusalem / “Old City”; between 110 BCE / 754 BH and 63 BCE / 706 BH - Map: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...ingdom.jpg
“On December 11, 1948 the United Nations adopted a resolution recognizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees, but Israel has never permitted its implementation.”:
The “Palestinian” Arabs obtained an artificial, unique, and arguably by common-sense a bogus refugee status, that “passes through the generations”, from the Arab-dominated United Nations, a device to inflate the number of alleged-refugees for bundling with their false-claim for a “right of return. This dishonestly distorts the number of refugees. Such dishonesty based on political bias cannot be imposed on Israel.
Conclusion:
The video:
Asserts the falsehood of expulsion; devoid of objective evidence of any policy to expel Arabs from the land of Israel.
Backdates the name “Palestinians” as referring only to Arabs in 1948.
Alleges Palestinian land, which has never existed.
Fails to clearly inform the viewer of the civil war started by the “Palestinian” Arabs to oppose the U.N. proposed Partition Plan and to instead take ALL the land and expel or murder the Jews.
Fails to clearly inform the viewer that the land of Israel is the ancestral-homeland of the Jewish people, while the Arabs mostly arrived in the land of Israel as migrant workers in more recent times.
Fails to inform the viewer that the "Palestinian" Arabs have inflated the number of their alleged-refugees by having been awarded a unique refugee status by the U.N., which "passes through the generations"; effectively a status akin to a nationality.
Fails to mention that the "Palestinian" Arabs have zero legal or historical claims over any part of the land of Israel, that they were allowed autonomy under the Oslo Accords ("the Accords") which attempted "land for peace", and as a part of which they obtained the whole of Gaza, then promptly elected Hamas who never recognized the Accords and have been waging violence ever since, by way of firing thousands of rockets at Israeli cities, and by the massacre of October 7th, 2023. Also, that under the Accords the "Palestinian" Arabs also got about 40% of Judah and Samaria (aka "West Bank, the"), where Fatah calling themselves "Palestinian Authority, the", continued with terrorism against Israeli Jewish civilians including children, with paying a reward-pension for terrorism indirectly-funded by European Union "humanitarian" aid, and with claiming ALL the land.
