He disappeared?!

as you may have noticed, life got busy and i took a prolonged break from blogging. i intend to post here every so often although my main activity will now be more bibliographic rather than poetically creative in nature.

below are a few of my recent thoughts, musings and the like

The first Hebrew book printed during the author’s life time: a case of mistaken identity?

In Rabbi Gil Student’s review of People of the Book by Akiva Aaronson (Feldheim 2014), in the summer 2015 edition of Jewish action, Rabbi Student states that the Sefer Ha’agur by Jacob ben Judah Landau which was printed in Naples in approximately 1491 was the first Hebrew book printed during the author’s lifetime. However, in an article entitled “First Hebrew Book Printed During the Lifetime of its Author” states that the Nofet Tsufim authored by Judah Messer Leon and printed in Mantua Italy in 1474 and 1480.

A quick internet search revealed that both Wikipedia and the Jewish virtual encyclopedia mention the Agur not Nofet Tzufim as the first book printed during the author’s lifetime.  One possible reason for this misattribution may be the rarity of the two incunabula printings of the Nofet tsufim. Indeed, many of the catalogue records on worldcat for the incunabula printing of the nofet tsufim actually describe the 1863 Vienna printing.

On page 29 of People of the Book, Aaronson cites the Sefer ha’Agur printed in Naples circa 1491 as the first book printed during the Author’s lifetime. This misattribution may be due to the rarity of the incunabula printings of the Nofet Tsufim and errors in catalogue records for the 1474 and 1480 printings. Unfortunately, Aaronson does not cite his scholarly sources throughout the book although a few reference works are cited in the acknowledgements.

Sources:

Bloch, Joshua. Hebrew printing and bibliography. New York Public Library and Ktav, 1976. 143-144.

Jewish action/Student, Gil. Summer 2015 edition. 23.

my poorly rhymed adaptation of "i am the very model of a biblical philologist"

(rhymming help and comments/feedback are highly appreciated" 

Hebrew bibliography: an extensive reference

I am the very essence of a hebraica librarian

I'm quite the bibliographer and a passing critical scholar

My LHR's are free of all numerological inaccuracy 

I am holding also in matters obscure, ephemeral and possibly heretical 

I side with all the academics and censure the am ha'artzim 

And counter all the JEPD and sometimes R of that anti-Semite (heretic) Wellhausen x2

Then I can give a lecture on the history of Hebrew printing 

And tell you the topic of each LC heading

In short in matters bibliographic, Talmudic and historical, I am the very model of a hebraica librarian

( In short in matters bibliographic, Talmudic and historical, He/she is the very model of a hebraica librarian)

I know my Gra"sh Ztl and all his tosefta Ki'Fshuṭah

Then I can tell the age of every rare and early Hebrew book

And tell the bomberg from the Soncino and the Rom 

I talk in librarian and dream in academish 

Im certain that Artscroll biographies are guaranteed Hagiographa 

And I can tell at sight an incunabula from an illuminated manuscript 

And catalog any book it happens that I wish to own 

I know my way around my BM and BS 

I call BS on gemeras in BS 1255

And reconstruct the contents of the Ben Ezra Synagogue  

glossary of terms:

LC= library of congress; usually in reference to the library of congress classification system.

BM- "judaism subject heasding"

BS- bible subject heading

LHR- local holdings record

GRas"H- Gaon Rabeinu Shaul, a an acronym referring to Saul lieberman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Lieberman)

Bomberg, Soncino, Rom- printers of Hebrew books. Daniel Bomberg printed the first full set of talmud, Gershon Soncino printed many early hebrew books. the brothers and widow rom printed what became known as the vilna shas. 

purim kiddush:

ושמרו שונאי ישראל את הפורים לעשות את הפורים לדורותם ברית המן. ביני ובין שכרי ישראל זאת היא

לעולם. כי שני ימים נלחם העם עם מבקשי רעתם וביום הפורים הצליח והשתכר.

סברי מרנן ורבנן וredundancies‎

וידבר אשתר את משתה היין אל סרי המלך

I am the Flame of Torah

  I am the flame

(Inspired by my experiences on NCSY Yarchie Kallah)

I am the flame

I am the flame which burns within each Jewish soul!

        I am the spark which when given fuel and air,

------------------blossoms into a flame which starts a blaze.  

    I am the spark which is lit at Yarchie Kallah.

I am the flame of Torah which consumes everything.---------

I am the inferno which overpowers all that confronts it.-------------------

I am the Hope

I am the hope 

(Inspired by Jewish history and HaTikvah)

I am the hope of two thousand years

I am the hope!
I am the hope that carried the Jewish people through troubled times---
through the trauma of the destruction of the temple.

I am the hope--- the hope for a return to our homeland.
I am the hope-- the hope for the continuation of the Jewish people.

I am the hope that was fulfilled with the return from Galut Bavel under Ezra and Nechemia.
I am the hope that sustained our people as roman troops sacked the Holy city!
I am the hope which has sustained our people for two thousand years!

I am the hope which grew stronger as our enemies stood upon us to destroy us.
i am the hope which drove the pioneers to begin reclaiming the land .
I am the hope which has sustained, sustained and will sustain our people!

I am the hope which despite the horrors of the ghetto, did yet live in our hearts.
i am the hope for a better future in which our children will no longer  face persecution.

I am the hope that inspired Jews to fight in the Warsaw ghetto.

I am the hope--- the hope of two thousand years.
I am the hope- the hope for a return to our land.

I am the hope;
the hope which drove the burned remnant of the shoah to flood the gates of the land of our fathers.

I am the hope, the hope which is not lost and will never be lost.

I am the hope; the hope which is passed on to our children as they journey to the land of our fathers.
I am the hope; the hope that Jews and Arabs will one day live in peace.
I am the hope; for a better tomorrow; a tomorrow free of terror, war and violence.

I am the hope; to be a free people in our land!
I am the hope which brings us closer to the days of the Messiah!
I am the hope; the hope for live in a world which will be fully redeemed!

I am the flame

I am the flame!

I am the flame which burns in every Jewish heart.

I am the flame which is kindled in the deepest recesses of the heart.

I am the flame which from a match is kindled and becomes a consuming blaze.

I am the flame which though it may flicker will never be extinguished.

I am the flame which throughout the ages has flickered in the wind of oppression.

I am the flame, which flickers despite attempts to extinguish it.

I am the flame which in the Ghetto burned for eight nights.

I am the flame which burned as a symbol of defiance in the face of oppression.

I am the flame, the flame of burning desire.

I am the desire for a world redeemed.

the middle east erupts in war

 This poem was inspired by the haftorah for shabbat chol ha'moed which describes the final war before the coming of the messiah. i used the text of the haftorah as a model and then added modern details. i used some songs from the play les mis for inspiration 

When the King, The Mashiach arrives

I saw the tanks roll along the road into the wilderness.
the soldiers went to their bases, and toward war went the soldiers.
to the ships and into battle went the sailors.
to their airbases, went the pilots, to the airbases to stand guard against an attack went the airmen.
to the airbases went the airmen- ready to sortie and strike the enemy.

to the hospitals went the medics and doctors to the hospitals to prepare for the flood of the wounded.
to the hospitals went the nurses to tend to the wounded and to the hospitals with the nurses went the soldiers to defend the wounded from attack.

To their targets flew the missiles, to their targets to prevent the enemy’s strike sped the missiles and to war went the troops who stand guard over the state of Israel- the first flowering of our redemption.

to war went the soldiers, sailors and airmen who stand guard over the state, the State of Israel.

to war went the soldiers, sailors and airmen who returned forever altered, damaged and scarred by the beast, by the beast which  consumes all; by the beast which damages, scars and mian; by the beast which is called war.
to war went the soldiers; the soldiers of the enemy; to destroy their enemy- and thus in war- soldiers head to war to defeat their perceived enemy.

to war went Hamas; to war went Hizbollah, to war went Fatah, to war went the remnants of al- Queda, and to war went the ones who seek to destroy the people of Israel; to war went Iran, to war went syria.

    as i walked through Tzfat, i could hear the people sing; singing a song of angry men, i could hear the music of a people who would not be attacked again. when the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drum; a new dawn will begin. In the streets, i heard the cries of “One Day More”; one day more till the geulah, we will destroy the enemies of israel, they will wet themselves with blood. and in the bomb shelters, i heard them singing about their dream; a dream for a day when the red glare of the rockets will be no more. i heard them sing, “I dreamed a dream in days of terror. when hope was  high yet life not worth living. i dreamed that Hashem would be forgiving. but the missiles come at night, with the the wail of the air raid sirens. with the sirens soft as thunder. as they tear your hope apart. as they turn your faith to doubt.”

and in Yerushaliyaim, they sang a different song. at the kotel, thousands gathered for selechos beseeching HaShem to protect and defend his firstborn nation from the red one; from the iranian threat.  and at the kotel, you could hear them singing, singing a song of angry men. when the fervor of your tefilot echoes the beating of the drums, there is a new day about to arrive. and at the kotel, you could hear the whispered prayer, the prayer from the depths of despair.

and at the military bases, a different song was sung. I believe with complete faith in the  coming of the Moshiach and even though he may tarry, i do still believe.  and as the order to deploy was heard, a song burst forth; a song of Maalot- I lift my eyes to the hills, from where shall my help come? My help shall come from Hashem, maker of heaven and earth. Behold, The guardian of Yisrael neither sleeps nor slumbers.

The Roots of Evil: Lord of the Flies and the nature of evil

The Roots of Evil: Lord of the Flies and the nature of evil

    Joseph Mengele (may his name and memory be erased and may the blood of his victims be avenged) committed sadistic medical experiments on inmates at the infamous Auschwitz Death Camp; acts that have forced us to revisit the questions of good and evil. Certainty, a doctor who was sworn by the Hippocratic Oath to preserve life could not possibly kill for the sake of so called science?! Are people like Mengele (May God avenge the blood of his victims and blot out his memory from under the skies of Adonai) evil? Are their actions evil? If not, then what is evil? For as long as philosophers have debated perplexing questions of human existence, a series of questions remain unanswered pertaining to people's ability to commit evil while knowing good and why evil exists. Due to the fact that evil is such an intrinsic part of the human experience and human history, a plethora of explanations for evil exist. These explanations attempt to resolve a critical question of human existence that will never be fully answered; the question of how can evil exist if humans know good but at the same time commit acts of unspeakable evil. 


       Author William Golding wrote the book Lord of the Flies after the Second World War as an attempt to answer this question of why people can commit evil while knowing good. Golding uses the characters in Lord of the Flies to explain how different elements of human nature lead to evil.

Lord of the Flies points to one explanation for evil; each of us has an inner evil that we either control or submit to. The events in Lord of the Flies suggest that while humans can control their inner evil, it is much easier to submit and become the evil than to resist the urge to dehumanize, mistreat and inflict pain on others. Even civilized members of society who are placed in a situation where reason and justice are absent will participate in acts of cruelty that they would normally recognize as evil acts.
      
     When humans submit to their inner desires, they commit acts of evil such as the Shoah. Golding argued that evil is a part of human nature and that if given the right circumstances, humans will act in evil ways. 


     When Roger is first introduced, he appears to be a mischievous boy who taunts the "littluns". At the beginning of the book, he is limited to petty cruelty as he like the other boys, has an aversion to killing. As the book progresses and the boys become more a part of the island, he begins to lose his aversion to killing and begins to inflict physical pain on the "littluns" by throwing rocks at them and other minor forms of aggression. Near the end of the book, he kills Piggy which shows that given the right circumstances, he will let his inner evil win out over his human tendency. What must be noted is that Roger represents a sadist who gradually loses his aversion to cruelty and, as time progresses, becomes more refined in his methods of torture and inflicting pain. He could be compared to the infamous Nazi Doctors of Auschwitz, such as Joseph Mengele (May his name and memory be cursed for eternity and obliterated from under the skies of Hashem and May God avenge the blood of the innocents who he tortured, brutalized and killed in his diabolical medical experiments) who performed sadistic experiments on their victims. Roger is described as a "terror" which shows that he makes no effort to fight his inner evil bur rather embraces it. Like Roger, Jack also undergoes a transformation that leads him to become capable of committing evil acts.   


     When Jack's character is analyzed, it is important to note that he represents a tyrant and inspired by Hitler (yimach shemo v'zechro) (may his name and memory be erased.) (I will abbreviate that expression as YSV). When he is first introduced, he is already in a position of authority and is left in that position by Ralph {to placate him} which leads to Jack taking ever growing power for himself just as Hitler (YSV) did. This parallels the peace that Neville Chamberlin made with Hitler (YSV) to try to keep him from launching a war; in the end, it failed and only served to increase Hitler (YSV's) lust for conquest.

While Jack is based on Hitler (YSV) he is also used as an analogy for losing the aversion to killing another living being. At the beginning of the book, on the first hunt, Jack is unable to kill the pig {which represents} his aversion to killing a living being. As the book progresses, he loses his aversion to killing and comes to enjoy the blood lust of the hunt. This loss of respect for human life is the manifestation of his inner evil, which like Hitler's (YSV) leads him to ascend to power as a military dictator who ruthlessly hunts down his opponents; in Jack's case, Ralph and Piggy; in Hitler's (YSV) case, it was anyone who was considered Untermensch (sub-human and therefore only for extermination and slave labor). Like Hitler (YSV) and many other ruthless tyrants and mass murderers, Jack uses fear to control his enemies and subdue them. This creates terror and fear of retribution among the ranks of the opposition preventing them from mounting an organized campaign to overthrow the tyrant. In Jack's case, his ruthless murder of Simon and the murder of Piggy at the hands of Roger leaving Ralph terrified and fearing for his life; preventing him from attempting to regain power. While Jack plays a key role in perpetrating the evil on the island, even Piggy plays a role in acts of evil.

According to Golding's theory of evil, even civilized and rational people will participate in evil activities. An example of this is Piggy. At the beginning of the book, when Ralph picks up the conch shell, it is Piggy who suggests that they use it to call everyone to a meeting; Ralph just picks it up because it looks interesting. Piggy is a logical thinker who understands how to use available resources and materials to achieve a purpose. He is also concerned about proper behavior and how adults will view their actions. Yet even Piggy the rational one has the ability to participate in evil. Later in the book, after a hunt, and during a dance, the assembled hunters go wild and end up brutally killing Simon. While Piggy tries to deny his involvement, his is on some level, aware that his actions were morally wrong. This demonstrates Golding's point that in the right circumstances, anyone, no matter how righteous or enlightened they are-- has the capacity for evil actions.   




    While human action plays a large part in acts of evil, many acts of evil are perpetrated due to intolerant religious beliefs. In general, God's involvement falls into two categories: passive and active. A passive role would be allowing evil to occur while an active role would be condoning evil, for example acts of evil that are religiously sectioned. Over the centuries, many groups and individuals including the Crusaders, the Inquisitors of Spain, numerous Russian Czars, Osama Bin Laden, Yigal Amir, and members of the West Burro Baptist church have cited religious reasons as justification for committing acts that resulted in numerous deaths and, in some cases, prolonged reigns of terror. The above named groups and individuals would be labeled as religious fanatics. A religious fanatic is a person or group of people who will commit acts of evil because high ranking religious authority such as Pope Urban II urged them to carry out God's will which involved the killing of innocents. In the case of the Crusaders, the word of God as interpreted by a high ranking religious authority gave them a mandate to launch a military expedition to reclaim the Holy Land. The end result was that those considered enemies of faith were brutally dealt with. The Inquisition used God's will as a pretext for a reign of terror and torture that lasted nearly four hundred years during which enemies of the Church and anyone who was not Catholic were brutally persecuted. On the other hand, today's extremist terrorist groups use the word of God as a pretext for attacks against anyone who is an unbeliever and who defames Allah. While these groups differ greatly in their religious views, they all used the word of God to incite religiously fueled attacks on their enemies which were carried out by the faithful who believed that they would be rewarded for their actions. The great evils of the last generations both religiously sanctioned and government sanctioned have profoundly changed how people, especially Jews, think about the question of good and evil.

My beliefs on evil stem from the Jewish doctrine on evil which, due to the many layers of Jewish traditions, is inherently disorganized and not systematically presented as is the case in Lord of the flies. (Apple)

     One explanation for evil with which I completely disagree comes from an article by Ron Rosenbaum called "Staring into the heart of the heart of darkness." The explanation is that people commit evil deeds because they believe their actions are in reality good deeds. The article brings the case of Susan Smith who murdered her two children and later told investigators that, "I wanted the best for my kids," implying that she would send them to the Garden of Eden and into the hands of God by murdering them. Or alternatively, God wanted to brighten up the Garden of Eden and therefore orchestrated the murder of the two boys (Susan Smith's two children) so He could plant them in His Garden. (Rosenbaum) I find this explanation absolutely contrary to a traditional Jewish view of God since it directly contradicts my belief that God is merciful and plentiful in showing kindness and that Adonai is a God of Truth, and a True and Righteous Judge. How can it be that a merciful God would have orchestrated the death of two innocent boys to brighten up the Garden of Eden?! In Judaism, God has thirteen attributes (Midoth) which go as follows and are taken from Exodus 34:6-7. "The Lord! The Lord! God, Compassionate and Gracious, Slow to anger and Abundant in Kindness and Truth, Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, Forgiver of iniquity, willful sin, and error, and who Cleanses (Sin)"
(JPS Tanach). The explanations for evil with which I agree are based on key concepts of Jewish thought and philosophy that can be traced to biblical sources in Genesis.   




One explanation for evil I agree with is the basis for Golding's explanation in Lord of the Flies; a concept in Judaism known as Yetzer Ha'tov (the good inclination) and Yetzer Ha'ra (Evil inclination). Judaism teaches that God is the source of all that exists in this universe and that all things both good and evil come from God (Isa. 45:7, JPS Tanach, Apple). 
 
God gave humans free will and the ability to choose as we are told in Deuteronomy, "Behold for I have placed before you this day a blessing and a curse." (Deut. 11:26, 30:19, JPS Tanach).
This is proof that God gave humans free will and the ability to choose good over evil; after all, how can a person choose evil if they only have the option to choose good. Humanity's mission is to choose good when presented with the opportunity to do evil and by doing so; humanity has the opportunity to repair the world. Ultimately, I believe that evil exists to be overcome and so that humanity will be challenged to do good and repair the world. However, this answer does not allow us to come to terms with why great crimes such as the Shoah were perpetrated and forces us to reexamine the question of good and evil and our individual views on this subject. 


For untold generations, philosophers and great religious thinkers have struggled with the unanswerable questions of good and evil. Like these philosophers, Gedolai Ha'dorot (Great thinkers and teachers of the generations), and erudite scholars, I too struggle with this question which is a highly complex and central element of Jewish thought and mysticism. My struggle with this question has shown me that my beliefs and as yet unclear since I have not studied this topic in depth from a religious perspective with a learned teacher. Currently, my beliefs are unclear and confusing reflecting the confusing and unorganized nature of Judaism's teachings on good and evil. If the teachings on good and evil are so unclear and complex, then why struggle with them in the first place? My answer is that the concept of good and evil is one that must be struggled with since it is the essence of human existence. However, we may never arrive at an answer that is satisfying due to the fact that acts of evil are inexplicable due to their horrific nature. It may be best that evil is inexplicable since the answer to why evil acts are committed is just as unfathomable as the existence of evil itself. The question of how can one know good yet at the same time commit acts of unspeakable evil is essential to the human experience and one which has been struggled with and forever will be struggled with.


 

Works Cited

Apple, Raymond. "OzTorah » Blog Archive » Evil in Man: The Jewish Point of View." OzTorah. 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://www.oztorah.com/2011/01/evil-in-man-the-jewish-point-of-view/>.

Eisenberg, Ronald L. "The 13 Attributes of Mercy Asking God for Forgiveness." My Jewish Learning. Web. 20 march 2011. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah/High_Holidays/Selichot/13attributesofmercy.shtml

JPS Hebrew English Tanakh. Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society, 2003.

Rosenbaum, Ron. "STARING INTO THE HEART OF THE HEART OF DARKNESS - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/magazine/staring-into-the-heart-of-the-heart-of-darkness.html>.

 

 

On the Topic of the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Journal entries

 

On civil rights

Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech delivered on August 28, 1963 during the march on Washington is one of the most evocative and inspirational speeches I have ever heard.

"…This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity."

    This quote reminds me of how Jews saw the United States after the great traumas and horrors of the Holocaust; as a beacon of freedom and hope. Just like African Americans, Jews have been persecuted for centuries. Even after the establishment of the State of Israel, Jews were still not free. In many Arab countries they faced harsh repressive laws like what African Americans experienced in the south. Many times, the Jewish people have found itself in exile in its own land especially during the many centuries that the Holy Land was under foreign rule. Consequently, for those who survived the holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel was a joyous daybreak after a long night of oppression and captivity. Similarly, when slavery ended in the South the freemen must have seen the Union presence as a chance for a new beginning. It is unfortunate that this new hope was short lived. This country had a chance to put an end to the dark night of oppression and hatred but instead legalized segregation and supported prejudice. Who knows where our country would be know if the battle for civil rights had taken center stage in the late 1860s and early 1870s rather than in the 1950 and 1960s. I believe that if the struggle for civil rights had taken place in earnest during Reconstruction this country would be a more just place than it is today. I also believe that if this had happened progress would have been made on achieving civil rights for other groups and minorities. 

I feel that Jews have a special obligation to help African Americans in their struggle for equality. In the liturgy of the week day morning service (the Yihi Ratzon said after the Torah Reading), we pray for God to help those in peril and captivity, "May God be merciful to our fellow Jews who suffer imprisonment or persecution on land or at sea. May the Omnipotent soon bring them relief from distress and deliver them from darkness to light, from subjugation to redemption soon and in our time and let us say Amen."

 

"…Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood."

I believe that all people no matter what they believe or look like or worship are God's children and therefore created equal and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As a Jew, I believe that we must strive to eliminate injustice in this country. Peace will only come when we can appreciate that everyone is unique and that you skin color or religion don't matter. What matters are what you stand for and your actions. 

"We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. …No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."
 

This reminds me of a song by Debbie Friedman-"not by might and not by power but by spirit alone shall we all live in peace." It also reminds me of a Biblical quote- Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn to make war. I believe that King meant that the struggle for equality must be conducted peacefully- in other words don't fight fire with fire. By meeting physical force with non-violence he showed the nation and the world that justice is stronger than guns and police. I believe that many nations must learn that no matter how cruelly they oppress those seeking their freedom they will ultimately loose. Freedom and liberty must ultimately win over violence and war. Only when the oppressed multitudes worlds wide are free can we live in peace. Only when nations stop fighting for political advantage and unify to help other will we live in a world of true peace. As a Jew I believe that we must work to achieve an end to war, violence and oppression. I also believe that eventually during the time of the Messiah, justice will flow like water and engulf the entire earth. Peace and righteousness will spread like wild fire. But this time of eternal peace will only come when war no longer rages and when oppressive leaders no longer rule. 

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

"With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

"This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

On broken promises and cashed checks 

During World War I, many US troops were promised a bonus for fighting. After the War, thousands of veterans marched on Washington D.C. demanding their promised bonus. They were therefore called the Bonus Army. This reminds me of a section of Martin Luther King Junior's famous I Have A Dream Speech. The text of the speech that this reminds me of goes as follows, 

"In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

"But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice." 

I see a parallel between what the Bonus marches wanted and what MLK mentions. The parallel is a check or promissory note that was written but defaulted on. In the case of the Bonus Army, they were promised a bonus pay for fighting and several years after the war still hadn't received the promised bonus pay. In the case of African Americans, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence guaranteed all Americans black and white the "Inalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
According to King, America has defaulted on this promise and rather than honoring this obligation and promise has given blacks a bad check. This check has been returned and marked "insufficient funds."
King then continues by saying that he refuses to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. Women must have felt similarly before the 19^th amendment was passed. African Americans are just starting to campaign for their rights and slowly starting to make progress. They on the other hand have been treated better than African Americans but were still second class citizens. They couldn't vote, they couldn't run for elected office, they were paid less than men, they had limited job opportunities. I am surprised that the Women's suffrage movement didn't come into being earlier. 

    During the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl that preceded it many people lost their jobs and were struggling to survive. In order to survive they had to help themselves and help others with the hope that the favor will be reciprocated. This reminds me of the relationship between General Sherman and his troops. After the Civil War, when his troops hit hard times they would come to him asking him if he could help them out. He would reply that they had helped him in his time of trouble and would help them in their time of trouble. This reminds me of Psalm 121, specifically verses 1-3. The text of the psalm goes as follows, "A song of ascents. 2. I lift my eyes to the mountains - from where will my help come? 3. My help will come from the L-rd, Maker of heaven and earth." This message must have had a comforting affect on the ancient Israelites since during those days God either helped or punished the Israelites depending on their actions. Now this same message might have less meaning since God has not openly preformed miracles which might cause us to doubt God's power in the world.

 

I happened to look at Martin Luther King Junior's I have a Dream speech and noticed some similarities in one section to this psalm. King says that, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." The first sentence conjures up the image of being in the dark valley of segregation which in prophetic terms would be the valley of deepest sadness/ the valley of the shadow of death. Then God brings you to green pastures in a place of calm and comfort. This to me can signify going from the darkness of segregation to the light of equality.

 

The next part of the psalm that I will analyzer goes as follows, "He will not let your foot falter; your guardian does not slumber. 5. Indeed, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. 6. The L-rd is your guardian; the L-rd is your protective shade at your right hand. 7. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 8. The L-rd will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. 9. The L-rd will guard your going and your coming from now and for all time." The part about the Guardian of Israel Not slumbering or sleeping evokes yet another part of Luther King Junior's I have a Dream speech which goes as follows, "And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights." Here, King seems to have either been inspired by this psalm or been adapting it to fit his needs. Both the psalm and king mention neither rest nor sleep or in kings case, tranquility. I can understand why King would be inspired by this text. First, it portrays God as a guardian who is always on watch and will not allow us to falter. It further says that God will guard us from all evil and protect us in our travels. If I were King, I would certainly want God to grant me this protection since he faced constant dangers and challenges. King was true to his word that there will not be tranquility until African Americans and blacks receive their citizenship rights. Even though he did not live to see the fulfillment of his dream he did see great progress being made toward achieving his dream. And when he fell trying to achieve his dream others took his place and continued his quest.