Thanks, LTOS, for continuing with this subject.
Simple parables and silly puns have been stating the obvious all along. Wisdom is in recognizing "Who's on first."
Foolish and even cringe-worthy cliches... man groans and says "UNNGH". Exactly.
It's all just "absurd".
And it's been there all along, this "Who's on first" simplicity. It becomes obvious then why boasting is not possible. Example:
Ex 3.
13. And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the people of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is his name, what shall I say to them:
14. And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and he said, Thus shall you say to the people of Israel, I AM has sent me to you:
15. And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the people of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations:
What is this sort of name? It's a ridiculous "Who's on first" statement of the obvious.
His name is what. His name is this. Exactly. It is *who he is* IOW, "I am that I am".
It's the "learning all the Torah while standing on one foot", followed immediately by "NOW go and study."
And on that track,
There's that interesting midrash about Moses' seeming confusion over how souls can be atoned for through the giving of a coin. Thus, as the parable goes, God pulls out a firey coin from under his throne of Glory and shows Moses a coin of fire. "This you shall give..." (Ex 30.13).
The commentators past and present go along with it (Moses' seeming confusion), explaining the fire as the passion, spirit, and heart of the giver and so forth. This is not a difficult concept, thus many of the commentaries ask the question, "Why wouldn't Moses [of all people] get that?"
No matter, they go on with these explanations, which do make good sense, save for the original issue of why Moses would be confused.
Perhaps those sages were way more sage than these expositors, and wrote a paradoxical parable, in order to convey a simple truth that is not confusing at all. Yet it is hidden.
Look again and what is the *real* point of confusion? It is why Moses [of all people] didn't get it. It's a parable, but the reactions to it are real.
Moses didn't get it? This is Moses! What happens when you simply look at the obvious, that indeed he *would* get the whole idea. NOW what is there to see and study?
What was Moses shown? A coin of fire. What did Moses see? A coin of fire.
That tells you right there that Moses saw (perceived, understood) it. Because if he didn't, he wouldn't have seen the fire. How do you know he saw it? God showed him a coin, and Moses saw that the coin was on fire. Otherwise, he would have asked, "What fire are you talking about? I don't see any fire.". The fire was in his eyes, because he saw it. The fire was reflected in his eyes which reflect the soul, which reflect (show the reader)
the passion, spirit, and heart of the giver.
What interpretation? It's a simple meaning. It's right there, in plain sight. The parable IS the simple meaning.
See what I mean? Of course Moses saw it. But what about the people who were/are confused?
Heh, there's the jumping off point for studying that midrash and the Torah reading that spawned the midrash in the first place. And everything else. What *else* don't we know? Who can boast about having a deep level of ignorance?
Ex. 30.13. This they shall give, all...
Ex 3.13. And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the people of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is his name, what shall I say to them:
How does a half a shekel equal a "whole" [offering].
"Turn it over" to see [the whole thing]..
I AM... all.
Give all and receive all, and the whole process lights up the soul, the eyes. No wonder it's a coin of fire. No wonder it can atone (provide cover). It's like those movies where the gasoline is spilled all over the ground, and someone drops a match.
