Thursday, January 18, 2007

"...who knew not Yosef..." re-writing history

Last week's Parshat Shavua, Torah/Bible Portion of the Week, was Sh'mot, Names, or Exodus, the first of that book.





ח וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ, עַל-מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר
לֹא-יָדַע, אֶת-יוֹסֵף.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not
Joseph.

This crucial verse brings up a lot of questions.

How could it be that so soon after Joseph saved Egypt from famine, he was already forgotten?

It's nothing new.




ט מַה-שֶּׁהָיָה, הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, וּמַה-שֶּׁנַּעֲשָׂה, הוּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂה; וְאֵין כָּל-חָדָשׁ, תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ.
9 That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.
Yes, King Solomon said it well.

Today it's called "re-writing history," and it's amazing how cooperative the public is in believing new versions of everything.

In the story behind Purim, Haman miscalculated when King Achashverosh read the "unedited" history. He then asked Haman for advice on how to honor a man whom the king wanted to reward. Haman was certain that it was the revised version, which praised him and therefore took for granted that he would be honored, not Mordechai.

There's a more recent example, one we're suffering from right now.

After the State of Israel was established, the "government/political powers" wrote Jewish and Zionist History as if the only important historical Jewish Land was that within the "internationally approved" green line. That is why the resulting rewards from the 1967 Six Days War were not received joyfully. Ever since the war ended, the Labor Party and similar ideologists have been trying to unload the riches, our Biblical Homeland, onto the undeserving Arab terrorists.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

when you are right...you are right...me too...yahoooo...shabbat shalom...stupid dangerous people are ruling the world...and some stupid dangerous people elected them...vey...stay safe...love your blog

Batya said...

thanks darling
I must also blog about Bat Paroh, G-d willing.

I hope to visit tomorrow!