Tag Archives: Bible

Review of The Historical David: The Real Life of an Invented Hero, by Joel S. Baden

books,

   Today has rolled back around to lesson plan set number 63 of 67, by the way.  Now, back to our book review:

     I found Baden’s work both impressive and disturbing. Although I’ve always known that King David had to have been a ruthless person to achieve what he achieved, the very human cost of that and even whether it was worth it is now front and center for me. The fact, if true, that the biblical editors in fact deliberately revised history to clear his name is reprehensible. While I can understand the perceived need to do so, it is still not justified. Yet the beauty and value of books like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (yes, the authorship is traditionally attributed to King Solomon, but…), The Book of Job, all remain. And even that text that we have to struggle with is valuable for the struggle, but, as the author of this biography points out,  we would be immature if we did not find those actions reprehensible today.  Also, according to Baden, youth stories, as opposed to birth stories, allow the buildup of an an approachable character, and humanize a protagonist. But I wonder why he says that “both stories cannot be true as they are told in the Bible?”

This is the book to which I referred with my comment on King David in my review of Du Bois’ biography John Brown.

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Shira

Action Items:

1.) Share your thoughts, please.

2.) Write a story, post or comment that uses those thoughts.

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Click here to read, if you like:

B5, Hakan: Muhafiz/The Protector, Sihirli Annem,  Lupin, or La Casa de Papel/Money Heist & El Ministerio del Tiempo Reviews

Holistic College Algebra & GED/High School Lesson Plans,

Thoughtful Readers, please consider reading about #ProjectDoBetter.  This book review, and my novel writing, and my language learning notes as I post them for others to use, is my personal way  of helping to build diverse tools that might help build more compassion in our world, I hope.  We can really, really Do Better.

Shira Destinie A. Jones, MPhil, MAT, BSCS

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Shira Destinie Jones’ work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Updated repost: Parashat Mishpatim, “Na’aseh VeNishmah” as Do First and Buy-In Later, via Education?

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This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Mishpatim (פרשת מִשְׁפָּטִים),  the 6th in the book of Shemot/Exodus, and the 18th weekly Torah portion in the annual cycle.    This year, 5783, we looked at last week’s parashah, Parashat Yitro from a Public Health point of view.    As with last year, this week, traditional congregations (and maybe a few Masorti/Conservative Movement folks) will read of the inter-generational (in theory, or at least in Midrashic legend) acceptance of […]

Parashat Mishpatim, “Na’aseh VeNishmah” as Do First and Buy-In Later, via Education? — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story

Parashat Yitro 5783, Delegating Authority, and Public Health Effectiveness?

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   In this week’s parashah we see how a visit from an older more experienced leader, like Yitro, can provide guidance on delegating authority to accomplish tasks that would not get done otherwise, not to mention burning one out in the attempt.  Last year, we asked about  Parashat Yitro, and Laws, versus Policies. 

judges desk with gavel and scales
Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

  This year, we ask how those policies can be implemented more effectively for the good of all of us, and how laws can be passed or changed using processes that share power, as Yitro urges his son in law to do.  KingOfficeGandhi  And as both Gandhi and Dr. King did.  covid-19-curves-graphic-social-v3  Public health care especially requires good awareness of how to share knowledge and power effectively for the good of the hospital system and of those who may need it.

 

 

Action Prompts:

1.) Share your thoughts on how Phase I of Project Do Better, linked below, can work from both the top down, at the federal level, and from the grassroots up, at local and state levels, to enhance Public Health Service offerings of mental health services to all residents.

2.) Write something that uses those thoughts.

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Click here to read, if you like:

Learning via Story from Show and Film Reviews

Holistic High School Lessons,

Thoughtful Readers,   please consider    #Project Do Better.

Shira

Shira Destinie Jones’ work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Shabbat Shira, Tu B’Shvat, 2023 CE, 12023 HE, and Collective Mental Health?

Health Care,

       How does one reconcile the Song at the Sea in this week’s parashah, Parashat Beshalach,  with a hope for developing the habit of nonviolence in humanity, over the long term? wikibully  Yes, this is a song being sung by grateful survivors of tremendous horrors from their enslavers, but it still celebrates that very violence which the angels were commanded not to celebrate.  The celebration of Tu b’Shvat, the Birthday of the Trees, seems to help, as it reminds me of the commandment not to cut down fruit trees when going to war, as it says ‘for a tree is not a man, to make war upon’ but of course the more pragmatic sense of the order is that trees are both food and water holders, yet, it is a start at reducing the violence of war, perhaps. 

bullying inside a library
Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

    I hope that this work helps someone, somewhere.  To make a greater impact, our public health services need much upgrading, and public access to long term and specific trauma trained mental health services in particular, need far more support in a variety of ways.  Bullying and violence exist within the context of a “might makes right” culture that enables these ills.  They can be changed, but it will take persistence, patience, and a great deal of cooperation with kind people, and that non-cooperation of which Gandhi spoke and which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. harnessed in the American context, to build lasting change.

KingOfficeGandhi

Action Prompts:

1.) Share your thoughts on how Phase I of Project Do Better, linked below, can work from both the top down, at the federal level, and from the grassroots up, at local and state levels, to enhance Public Health Service offerings of mental health services to all residents.

2.) Write something that uses those thoughts.

***************** 

Click here to read, if you like:

Learning via Story from Show and Film Reviews

Holistic High School Lessons,

Thoughtful Readers,   please consider    #Project Do Better.

Shira

Shira Destinie Jones’ work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Parashat Bo (בֹּא) 5783, Unnecessary Deaths, and Equal Access to Health Care

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        This week’s parashah is Bo (“Come!”), the 15th parashah overall, and third portion of Shemot/Exodus.  The last of the plagues, the first Pesach/Passover, and the Exit from Egypt are all in this week’s annual cycle of the portion for this week.

V0010560F2 The second plague in Egypt. The plague of frogs.

  Last year, we asked about Parashat Bo, and when Come really means Go, hobos2  from a linguistic and other points of view.   From an access to health care point of view, such a basic human right and whether everyone has actual access to that right shows the status of a society, and partly, how just or injust that society is.  This, in turn, shows how stable and prone to revolution or violence that society might be at a given moment in history, which is important for preventing violence, by checking inequality in various areas.

  The first pass-over is not what I would consider an example of justice, nor is it what I would want to hold up as an example of fairness, since the First Born who died were mostly, if at all, not implicated in the decisions and policy-making of that Pharaoh, even if some of those eldest children probably had a hand in upholding the unjust system, as overseers, inheritors, and heads of families.  It is, however, an excellent example of unequal distribution of resources, from information, to wealth, and an unhappy example of the consequences of injustice, that we can avoid in the future.  We really can Do Better.

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     Last week was the start of the book of Names/Exodus: Parashat Vaera 5783,  looking at the role of humility in public decision making and health care outcomes.

     While there are many ways to help increasing empathy,  Language Learning as a Fourth Tool for Empathy Building is both fascinating and practical.

     Empathy building is a crucial task, particularly in our contentious society today.  The task is tiring, and cannot be done all at once, but with careful planning, education, and greater cooperation between the generations, it can be done.

     We can really Do Better, and Project Do Better proposes a long term plan.

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Parashat Vaera 5783, Generational Reparation via Humility, and Public Health Care

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        This week’s parashah is Vaera (“And Appeared”), the 14th parashah overall, and second portion of Shemot/Exodus.  The first of the plagues hits Egypt, V0010560F2 The second plague in Egypt. The plague of frogs. and whether they originated from the explosion of Thira/Santorini, or from some other source, the ensuing catastrophe is the start of a crisis for Egypt and for the enslaved Hebrews.  Last year, we we had No Words for this disaster but words of rebuke for the rejoicing angels, while the year before, we asked about how Moshe/Moses, analogously to Holmes, paget_holmes_yellow_face_child  looked at Aaron as Watson, via Moshe’s humility (or act of humility, in accepting his brother to speak for him).

   Now, we wonder whether humility, and acknowledgment of one’s less strong spots, can help to build bridges, and pave the way to repair the wrongs done in the past.  Acknowledging the failings of our public health system in the United States would be a worthy start, a humble start, to repairing those gaps through which many people are allowed to fall, in this country.  That start needs to happen soon, to stop the waste of human potential for solving the urgent problems confronting our world now.

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     Last week was the start of the book of Names/Exodus: Parashat Shemot 5783, Generational Trauma and Public Health Care .

     While there are many ways to help increasing empathy,  Language Learning as a Fourth Tool for Empathy Building is both fascinating and practical.

     Empathy building is a crucial task, particularly in our contentious society today.  The task is tiring, and cannot be done all at once, but with careful planning, education, and greater cooperation between the generations, it can be done.

     We can really Do Better, and Project Do Better proposes a long term plan.

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Parashat Shemot 5783, Generational Trauma and Public Health Care

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        This week’s parashah is Shemot (“Names”), the 13th parashah overall, and first portion of Shemot/Exodus.  This is the famous “and there arose a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph”  parashah.  Mosheh/Moses is born, rescued and adopted by a daughter of Pharaoh, runs away after killing an overseer, and reintroduced to the promise made to his forefathers.  After the names of all of those who went down to live in Egypt with Jacob/Israel are recorded.   Now we begin to see the long term effects of family relationships, and how trauma can travel down through generations.   Here is another reason that long term planning and access to basic survival and equal health care resources for everyone is essential to all of us, unconditionally.

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   Last year we looked at this portion from a nation-building point of view Parashat Shemot, and Naming a Nation, while this year, we take a more family oriented approach.   Unlike slavery practiced in the United States, slaves in the ancient world were not entirely deprived of their identity and origins, as we see by the statements in the text of Moses going to Hebrew elders in the land of Goshen where their families lived together.  Nevertheless, the trauma of forced labor and harsh punishments was one that all age groups suffered, and became embedded in the generational mentalities, as with slaves here in the USA.  The requirement to at least appear to obey and to submit leaves scars.  These scars even affect generations who do not live through the direct trauma, as we will see later in the upcoming parshiot.

    The fact that trauma can be passed down through generations makes it all the more crucial for every person, from the earliest age, to have access to competent (for the specific type of trauma) and complete long term access to mental and physical health care.  This necessarily implies a need for a comprehensive set of public health care mental health systems that interface with social welfare and safety net systems.   In other words, universal health care, eventually.  mental_health

     Last week was the end of the book of beginnings: Parashat VaYechi 5783, Favoritism vs. Family Mental Health, and The Common Good .

     While there are many ways to help increasing empathy,  Language Learning as a Fourth Tool for Empathy Building is both fascinating and practical.

     Empathy building is a crucial task, particularly in our contentious society today.  The task is tiring, and cannot be done all at once, but with careful planning, education, and greater cooperation between the generations, it can be done.

     We can really Do Better, and Project Do Better proposes a long term plan.

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Parashat VaYechi 5783, Favoritism vs. Family Mental Health, and The Common Good

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        This week’s parashah is VaYechi, the 12th and final portion of Bereshit/Genesis, and first Torah portion of the secular year 2023 CE/ 12023 HE.  In this parashah, Joseph swears to bury his father up north, gets the double inheritance, promises not to kill his brothers for what they did to him, and then, dies, after making them swear to bury his bones up north, some time in the future.  Once again, we see the effects of favoritism, jealousy, and rigid inheritance rules on family relationships, and how harmful this can all be.   Here is another reason that long term planning and access to basic survival and equal health care resources for everyone is essential to the democratic process, right?

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     The common good requires both rule of law and an acceptance by all to refrain from taking personal vendettas to their individually desired conclusions, while trusting in a system of justice that will both resolve existing cases of injustice, and also prevent future wrongs.  This makes favoritism bad both for the general welfare in terms of law and order, and also for public mental and even physical health, due to both fear and threat of violence, as well as the public health menaces which are increased when sanitation, food and water access, and other services are disrupted by ongoing lawlessness.   When a family, especially a ruling or powerful family, does not set the best example for the common good of all without distinction, society degrades into a set of competing groups which then prevents all of us from solving common problems together in a more efficient way for everyone.  Thus, the difference that Joseph shows us between justice (as he got a double portion) and vengeance (as he refrained from taking revenge on his brothers) set an example for later society.    Even if his taking of the land and persons of Egypt were less than just, some progress takes longer…

   Last year we looked at this portion, Parashat VaYechi, from the point of view of Endingsgraveyard_visit.

     Last week was  Parashat VaYigash 5783, Land vs. Public Health, and Tightening Belts.

     While there are many ways to help increasing empathy,  Language Learning as a Fourth Tool for Empathy Building is both fascinating and practical.

     Empathy building is a crucial task, particularly in our contentious society today.  The task is tiring, and cannot be done all at once, but with careful planning, education, and greater cooperation between the generations, it can be done.

     Let’s Do Better.

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Parashat VaYigash 5783, Land vs. Public Health, and Tightening Belts

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       In this week’s parashah, Vayigash, the 11th in the Torah and last of the secular year 2022 CE/ 12022 HE, Joseph ends freedom and begins the slide toward feudalism by taking ownership of almost all of the land in Egypt in exchange for releasing the stored grain to the very farmers who had planted and harvested it, but lacked storage space.  See why long term planning and access to basic survival and equal health care resources for everyone is essential to the democratic process?

   Last year we mentioned R. Hillel‘s comment on responsibility  painting_of_foreign_delegation_in_the_tomb_of_khnumhotep_ii_circa_1900_bce_28detail_mentioning_22abisha_the_hyksos22_in_hieroglyphs29 .

     Last week, we looked at reverse engineering solutions to prevent famine, in Parashat Miketz 5783, Famine Prevention as Public Health, and More Dreams:mary_jackson_1979_portrait_28lrc-1979-b701_p-0708529

While there are many ways to help increasing empathy,  Language Learning as a Fourth Tool for Empathy Building is both fascinating and practical.

Empathy building is a crucial task, particularly in our contentious society today.  The task is tiring, and cannot be done all at once, but with careful planning, education, and greater cooperation between the generations, it can be done.

Let’s Do Better.

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Parashat Miketz 5783, Famine Prevention as Public Health, and More Dreams

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This parashah, Joseph sees more dreams, but not his.  The ruler of the land has two dreams which Joseph is wise enough to both interpret and plan for, long term.  His long term plans prevent a major famine, at least in Egypt, and thus also prevent the knock-on health menaces often associated with famines.  Need I add that long term planning and access to full health care for everyone is essential?

Last year, we looked at engineering,  mary_jackson_1979_portrait_28lrc-1979-b701_p-0708529  in  Parashat MiKetz, and Reverse Engineering.    

Empathy starts to be heard, sort of, in this parashah, the 10th in the Torah.   What do you think, Thoughtful Readers?

While there are many ways to help increasing empathy,  Language Learning as a Fourth Tool for Empathy Building is both fascinating and practical.

Empathy building is a crucial task, particularly in our contentious society today.  The task is tiring, and cannot be done all at once, but with careful planning, education, and greater cooperation between the generations, it can be done.

Let’s Do Better.

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Last week was Parashat Vayeshev 5783, Family Mental Health, and Jealous Brothers  …