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High on Mount Sinai?

Tuesday, 4 March, 2008 - 3:03 pm

Sometimes our biggest handicap is ourselves. This hindrance is most prevalent when it involves understanding something that is more obscure, something that is not tangible. This is true of scientific theorem; in order to be able to relate to a new theory, we must first let go of our preconceived notions. We must be open to a new idea, even if it may contradict what we are used to. Too often, we are closed minded and we must fit everything into the prism that we already use. We define everything based on our previous experience, our previous knowledge. In order to be open to a new concept, we have to let go of ourselves and make room for a total paradigm shift.

This is so much more the case when dealing with a concept that is outside of our realm of comprehension, when dealing with belief. Many of us have the tendency to rationalize these concepts based on our perception. We find it difficult to leave behind our notions of what is true and what is not. This is understandable, as we are used to being able to relate to, at least on some level, what we discover and experience. The problem is that belief, by definition, is higher than understanding. We cannot rationalize belief. That is why there can be those who choose not to believe. Through our mind and our logic we can only get “permission” to believe.

I say all this in reaction to this article. So, an Israeli researcher claims that “The biblical Israelites may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai”. Interesting enough, definitely a novel idea. Does he have any proof other than the fact that he finds it hard to believe? In the continuation of the article, we find the secret to his “discovery”:

Shanon wrote that he was very familiar with the affects of the ayahuasca plant, having "partaken of the ... brew about 160 times in various locales and contexts."

In other words, this fellow has taken his individual problems and applied them to Moses. I have news for Mr. Shanon, just because you blew your mind on drugs, does not mean that Moses did.

Although it may be impossible to prove beyond doubt that the events described in the Torah are true, there is enough “permission” to believe. If you need “permission”, here are some good links: http://chiefrabbi.org/ft-index.html, http://www.jewishfolsom.org/83969, http://www.jewishfolsom.org/108385.

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