{"id":3885,"date":"2018-12-20T13:25:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T19:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885"},"modified":"2020-03-23T21:56:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T03:56:29","slug":"torah-ecology-bingo-shofetim-deut-1618-219","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885","title":{"rendered":"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">February 1, 2017, I began a Torah study project. These words described my intention: \u201cToday I begin a\u00a0new project of looking at the weekly Torah portions, searching for insights on food, \u2018animal rights,\u2019 agriculture and ecology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The name of the section I created to hold my weekly notes suggested my starting assumption based on prior studies: \u201cEcology is the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecology\">study of interactions among organisms and their environment<\/a>.\u201d It is a study, therefore, of relationships, and one thing I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019ll find again and again as I study these pages is that Torah is a study of relationships. There are three domains in Torah:\u00a0\u00a0Transcendence\/G-d, human, the rest of creation . . . I want to look at relationships between and within those categories, Torah ecology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Over time my focus narrowed to the relationship between human beings and other animals. \u00a0One of my key questions as I entered this stage of my study was, what rationale does the Torah provide for the superiority of human life over animal life? Because my assumption was that only a hierarchical notion of value could provide a moral basis for killing animals in sacrificial rites or for food. As so often happens in a course of study, I discovered I was asking the wrong question. What I should have asked (since I have some familiarity with Hebrew scripture) was, what compelling experience drove the constant assertion of the supreme value of human life to the extent that it became an overarching theme of scripture?<\/p>\n<p>As a way of organizing my study, I used the framework of Torah portions, which initially I moved through on pace with the Jewish calendar of weekly readings. Somewhere in Numbers it became more difficult to keep up. I missed Deuteronomy during the first year \u2014 and again during the second year when I got stuck in Leviticus \u2014 but am returning to it now. Too bad! It might have brought me more quickly to the heart of the matter, but it makes no difference. It is the journey it has become, and that has been extraordinary in many ways.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KEY UNDERSTANDINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Other than discovering I was asking the wrong question, here are key points in my journey:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the Torah, animals, like humans, are both body (basar\/carcass) and \u201csoul\u201d (nefesh\/breath of G-d\/being).<\/li>\n<li>Only one statement is made describing humans that doesn\u2019t describe other animals: in the image of G-d (b\u2019tzelem\/image). Brown, Driver, Briggs offers the following definition\/s of b\u2019tzelem, which as nearly as I can understand it suggests a shadowy version of the body of G-d (see <i>The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel<\/i> by Benjamin D. Sommer):\n<ul>\n<li>images (of tumours, mice, heathen gods)<\/li>\n<li>image, likeness (of resemblance)<\/li>\n<li>mere, empty, image, semblance (fig.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Torah tells a story in which animals \u201cbegin\u201d on an equal plane with humans \u2014 all are part of a whole system in which each has unique capabilities and all live in harmony. A serpent, like humans and unlike its fellow beasts of the field, is hairless, talks and has the ability to plan strategically. All animals, including humans, are vegan, and there is no death. The ideal vision that begins the Torah story is one in which all of creation is interdependent and creation itself is interdependent with G-d\/transcendence.<\/li>\n<li>The ongoing Torah story following the third chapter of Genesis is of a real world in which humans are permitted to \u201cuse\u201d animals even though they are required not to waste and to exercise compassion for these other beings who, like them, have souls in addition to physical bodies. Meat-eating is ringed with prohibitions, and the Israelites are chastised, sometimes sarcastically, for gluttony.<\/li>\n<li>In the vision of the Garden and in the ongoing Torah story, animals are morally accountable (evident in the Noah story).<\/li>\n<li>Periodically the underlying vision of creation surfaces as in the Ten Words\/Commandments (where domestic animals also rest) or the story of Balak and Balaam (and the talking donkey, who sees what his human counterpart, a \u201cseer,\u201d cannot and who experiences moral indignation).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Still, I was left with nagging questions, how could a text that puts forward such an extraordinary vision of creation in its first words also put forward such a barrage of clinical detail about dissecting living beings at its center? For not only is Leviticus placed (structurally) at the center of the Torah narrative, but the Yom Kippur ritual of the two goats is at the center of the Leviticus narrative. Of course, there is the supreme value of human life, but how did a text that has a different worldview at its root (that all beings sit at the spiritual round table) arrive at that position? In addition, what was the source of the pervasive sense of sin that permeates the text of the Torah alongside the idea of the goodness and sanctity of human life?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I thought perhaps I could find some understanding if I became emotionally embedded in the text of Leviticus. Maybe I would come to understand how it could possibly be religiously or spiritually meaningful to experience the sights and aromas of terrified animals taken to and killed on an altar and dissected and burned. I read slowly and imagined deeply. I simply couldn\u2019t get there, and on my second reading in this particular cycle of studying Torah, I had to stop. I was overwhelmed with the horror that stood behind the clinical details I read. It wasn\u2019t a spiritual or religious experience for me, and I couldn\u2019t grasp how it was for anyone.<\/p>\n<p><b>DEUTERONOMY: RE\u2019EH<\/b><\/p>\n<p>After an extended hiatus, I returned to Deuteronomy to try to complete what I began, a reading of the Torah from a particular perspective. Something was missing for me in terms of understanding. I could feel it but couldn\u2019t place my finger on it. It centered around the emotional and spiritual meaning of sacrifice, something deeper than an intellectual rationale. Why the clinical focus on sacrifice at the structural center of a text that began with the aspirational vision of Gen 1-3?<\/p>\n<p>By the time of my re-entry, we were reading Re\u2019eh (Deut. 11:26-16:17). As I read the <a href=\"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3769\">rationale<\/a> \u201cfor the harsh destruction the Israelites bring to the inhabitants of the Land and their altars: the Canaanites who preceded them performed \u201cfor their gods every abhorrent act that the Lord detests; <i>they even offer up their sons and daughters in fire<\/i> to their gods,\u201d I realized something: \u201cWith Moloch worship (child sacrifice) in the background, animal sacrifice was a step forward in consciousness.\u201d Reading about Moloch worship deepened my sense of shock with regard to this practice but also provided me a clue to unravel what puzzled me, what drove the intense biblical focus on the superiority of human life despite so much material that suggests another worldview.<\/p>\n<p>A consistent theme in Deuteronomy is that it centralizes sacrifice, removing it from the daily life of ordinary Israelites. At first, I thought the primary effect of this might be to routinize killing animals. Then I realized another possible intention of the text: \u201cIf the Torah represents a step forward in consciousness in its vehement assertion of the superiority of human life in a context where child sacrifice is the norm . . . \u201c Deuteronomy might represent \u201canother step forward in consciousness as it attempts to wean the Israelites from a dependence on a sacrificial cult and the idea that human beings can transfer their sins to another living being who pays in their place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who reads the Torah understands that meat-eating was allowed as a concession to the violence in human nature. The idea was to channel that violent impulse and limit killing. The important understanding I missed until I grasped the reality of Moloch worship and child sacrifice is that the concession wasn\u2019t based on an intellectual abstraction but on <i>a real practice that horrified<\/i> segments of the population that saw it. I can\u2019t help but think of the projects of many animal rights activists, whose work I could not do, who seek to expose horrifying practices with animals on factory farms to the general public, making the crime visible and real.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SHOFETIM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I had a professor once who told me the way to write a paper is to write it, then take the conclusion and move it to the beginning, then be certain that every paragraph that follows builds an irrefutable case leading to a repeat of the conclusion at the end. With that in mind, I\u2019ll share here that the next step in my understanding of the biblical project came with Shofetim when I began to understand the text as both polemic and compromise \u201cconstitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shofetim returns to the Moloch theme in two passages, one direct and one indirect through use of the word \u201cabhorrent\u201d (to\u2019evah), a word that occurs more frequently in Deuteronomy than in any other book of the Torah much less the Bible. We might say that Deuteronomy, in comparison to the rest of the Torah text, is obsessed with ridding the nation of \u201cabhorrent\u201d practices, primary among them child sacrifice:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Deut. 16:21-17:7<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"textRange basetext\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 16\">\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"textInner\">\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 16:21\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 16:21\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05dc\u05b9\u05bd\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b4\u05d8\u05b7\u05bc\u05a5\u05e2 \u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u059b \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05e8\u05b8\u0596\u05d4 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05e2\u05b5\u0591\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b5\u0597\u05e6\u05b6\u05dc \u05de\u05b4\u05d6\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u059b\u05d7 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a5\u05e8 \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4\u05be\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05bd\u05da\u05b0\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">You shall not set up a sacred post\u2014any kind of pole beside the altar of the LORD your God that you may make\u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 16:22\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 16:22\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05bd\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b8\u05e7\u05b4\u05a5\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u0596 \u05de\u05b7\u05e6\u05b5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u0591\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a5\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05e0\u05b5\u0596\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u05bd\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">or erect a stone pillar; for such the LORD your God detests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textRange basetext\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17\">\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"textInner\">\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:1\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:1\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b4\u05d6\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05a9 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u059c\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05e9\u05c1\u05a3\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b8\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u0597\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a8\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u0599 \u05de\u0594\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u0596\u05dc \u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05a3\u05e8 \u05e8\u05b8\u0591\u05e2 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05a7\u05d9 <b>\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b2\u05d1\u05b7\u059b\u05ea<\/b> \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d4\u05bd\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect of a serious kind, for that is <b>abhorrent<\/b> to the LORD your God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:2\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:2\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05bd\u05d9\u05be\u05d9\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05e6\u05b5\u05a4\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b0\u05e7\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05da\u05b8\u0599 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b7\u05a3\u05d3 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u0594\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05e0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05a3\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u0591\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05be\u05d0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u0597\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a8\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05a7\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b7\u059b\u05e2 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e2\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05b5\u05a5\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05bd\u05d4\u05be\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05dc\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d1\u05b9\u05a5\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05bd\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">If there is found among you, in one of the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who has affronted the LORD your God and transgressed His covenant\u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:3\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:3\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b5\u05bc\u0597\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b7\u05bd\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05d1\u05b9\u05d3\u0599 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05d7\u05b5\u05e8\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u0596\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u0591\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b7\u05e9\u05b6\u05bc\u05c1\u05a3\u05de\u05b6\u05e9\u05c1 \u05c0 \u05d0\u05a3\u05d5\u05b9 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b5\u0597\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d0\u059b\u05d5\u05b9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05dc\u05be\u05e6\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05a5\u05d0 \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05de\u05b7\u0596\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a5\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05e6\u05b4\u05d5\u05b4\u05bc\u05bd\u05d9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">turning to the worship of other gods and bowing down to them, to the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, something I never commanded\u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:4\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:4\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05bb\u05bd\u05d2\u05b7\u05bc\u05d3\u05be\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u0596 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de\u05b8\u0591\u05e2\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05e8\u05b7\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05a3 \u05d4\u05b5\u05d9\u05d8\u05b5\u0594\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05a4\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05de\u05b6\u05ea\u0599 \u05e0\u05b8\u05db\u05a3\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05d4\u05b7\u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u0594\u05e8 \u05e0\u05b6\u05e2\u05b6\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05ea\u05b8\u059b\u05d4 <b>\u05d4\u05b7\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b5\u05d1\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4<\/b> \u05d4\u05b7\u05d6\u05b9\u05bc\u0596\u05d0\u05ea \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05bd\u05dc\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">and you have been informed or have learned of it, then you shall make a thorough inquiry. If it is true, the fact is established, that <b>abhorrent<\/b> thing was perpetrated in Israel,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:5\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:5\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05bd\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b5\u05d0\u05ea\u05b8\u05a3 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d4\u05a1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05a9 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05a8\u05d4 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d4\u05b4\u059c\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a3\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b8\u05a0\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05a8\u05e8 \u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05a4\u05e2 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d6\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4\u0599 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u0594\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b4\u0595\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u0596\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u0591\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e1\u05b0\u05e7\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05a5\u05dd \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b8\u05e0\u05b4\u0596\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b8\u05de\u05b5\u05bd\u05ea\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">you shall take the man or the woman who did that wicked thing out to the public place, and you shall stone them, man or woman, to death.\u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:6\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:6\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05a3\u05d9 \u05c0 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e0\u05b7\u05a3\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05e2\u05b5\u05d3\u05b4\u0597\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u059b\u05d5\u05b9 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05dc\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05a5\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b5\u05d3\u05b4\u0596\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b7\u05a3\u05ea \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b5\u05bc\u0591\u05ea \u05dc\u05b9\u05a3\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b7\u0594\u05ea \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u0596\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b5\u05a5\u05d3 \u05d0\u05b6\u05d7\u05b8\u05bd\u05d3\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">A person shall be put to death only on the testimony of two or more<i><\/i> witnesses; he must not be put to death on the testimony of a single witness.\u2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 17:7\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 17:7\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05d9\u05b7\u05a3\u05d3 \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b5\u05d3\u05b4\u059e\u05d9\u05dd \u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05bd\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4\u05be\u05d1\u05bc\u05a4\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b4\u05d0\u05e9\u05b9\u05c1\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4\u0599 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u0594\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b7\u05a5\u05d3 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u0596\u05dd \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e8\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u0591\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b4\u05bd\u05e2\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05a5 \u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u0596\u05e2 \u05de\u05b4\u05e7\u05b4\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05bd\u05da\u05b8\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">Let the hands of the witnesses be the first against him to put him to death, and the hands of the rest of the people thereafter. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\"><b>Deut. 18:9-14<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 18:9\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 18:9\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05a4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u0599 \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05a3\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u0594\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05e0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05a3\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u0591\u05da\u05b0 \u05dc\u05b9\u05bd\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b4\u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b7\u05a3\u05d3 \u05dc\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05c2\u0594\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea <b>\u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b2\u05d1\u05b9\u0596\u05ea<\/b> \u05d4\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05a5\u05dd \u05d4\u05b8\u05d4\u05b5\u05bd\u05dd\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the <b>abhorrent<\/b> practices of those nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 18:10\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 18:10\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05dc\u05b9\u05bd\u05d0\u05be\u05d9\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05e6\u05b5\u05a3\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u0594 \u05de\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d1\u05b4\u05a5\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05bd\u05d5\u05b9\u05be\u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b4\u05ea\u05bc\u0596\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b5\u0591\u05e9\u05c1 \u05e7\u05b9\u05e1\u05b5\u05a3\u05dd \u05e7\u05b0\u05e1\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b5\u05a5\u05df \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b5\u0596\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05db\u05b7\u05e9\u05b5\u05bc\u05bd\u05c1\u05e3\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">Let no one be found among you who consigns his son or daughter to the fire, or who is an augur, a soothsayer, a diviner, a sorcerer,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 18:11\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 18:11\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05d5\u05b0\u05d7\u05b9\u05d1\u05b5\u0596\u05e8 \u05d7\u05b8\u0591\u05d1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b9\u05c1\u05d0\u05b5\u05a5\u05dc \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u0599 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05d3\u05b0\u05bc\u05e2\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u0594\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d3\u05b9\u05e8\u05b5\u0596\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b5\u05bc\u05ea\u05b4\u05bd\u05d9\u05dd\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">one who casts spells, or one who consults ghosts or familiar spirits, or one who inquires of the dead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 18:12\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 18:12\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05bd\u05d9\u05be<b>\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b2\u05d1\u05b7\u05a5\u05ea<\/b> \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u0596\u05d4 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05e2\u05b9\u05a3\u05e9\u05b5\u05c2\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b5\u0591\u05dc\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05dc\u05b7\u05dc\u0599 <b>\u05d4\u05b7\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b5\u05d1\u05b9\u05a3\u05ea<\/b> \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u0594\u05dc\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a3\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0594\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05b4\u05a5\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u0596\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b6\u05bd\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">For anyone who does such things is <b>abhorrent<\/b> to the LORD, and it is because of these <b>abhorrent<\/b> things that the LORD your God is dispossessing them before you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 18:13\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 18:13\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9\u05dd \u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05bd\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u0594\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b4\u0596\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u05bd\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">You must be wholehearted with the LORD your God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"segment\" tabindex=\"0\" data-ref=\"Deuteronomy 18:14\" aria-controls=\"panel-1\" aria-label=\"Click to see links to Deuteronomy 18:14\">\n<p class=\"he\" lang=\"he\">\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05a3\u05d9 \u05c0 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05a3\u05dd \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u0597\u05dc\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a4\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u0599 \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05b5\u05a3\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u0594\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u05b9\u05e0\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05a5\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05e7\u05b9\u05e1\u05b0\u05de\u05b4\u0596\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05b8\u0591\u05e2\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u0595\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b9\u05a3\u05d0 \u05db\u05b5\u0594\u05df \u05e0\u05b8\u059b\u05ea\u05b7\u05df \u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u0596 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u05bd\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u05c3<\/p>\n<p class=\"en\" lang=\"en\">Those nations that you are about to dispossess do indeed resort to soothsayers and augurs; to you, however, the LORD your God has not assigned the like.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p lang=\"en\">Scholars argue about the existence of this practice of child sacrifice, the extent of its existence in Israel and whether it is indigenous to Israelite religion or copied from surrounding cultures. The scholarly work and rabbinic traditions that confirm its existence are authoritative for me. The extent of the practice and whether or not it is indigenous to Israelite religion are not material questions from my perspective. What is material is the effect of the practice in shaping Israelite consciousness, the Torah text and other biblical books.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\"><strong>A Little Sourcing<\/strong><br \/>\nThose who follow my posts know I\u2019m not a friend of source criticism of the text and prefer to read it as a whole and unified story. I am better able to get at meanings in that way. This is one place, though, where source criticism and historical context does contribute meaning for me.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">For the historical setting and provenance of the books of the Torah, in particular Deuteronomy, I\u2019ll quote from summaries in various Wikipedia articles, first a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Book_of_Deuteronomy\">Wikipedia article\u00a0<\/a>on Deuteronomy: \u201cPresented as the words of <a title=\"Moses\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Moses\">Moses<\/a> delivered before the conquest of <a title=\"Canaan\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Canaan\">Canaan<\/a>, a broad consensus of modern scholars see its origin in traditions from <a title=\"Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Kingdom_of_Israel_(Samaria)\">Israel (the northern kingdom)<\/a> brought south to the <a title=\"Kingdom of Judah\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Kingdom_of_Judah\">Kingdom of Judah<\/a> in the wake of the <a title=\"Assyrian conquest of Aram\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Assyrian_conquest_of_Aram\">Assyrian conquest of Aram<\/a> (8th century BC) and then adapted to a program of nationalist reform in the time of <a title=\"Josiah\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Josiah\">Josiah<\/a> (late 7th century BC), with the final form of the modern book emerging in the milieu of the return from the <a title=\"Babylonian captivity\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Babylonian_captivity\">Babylonian captivity<\/a> during the late 6th century BC.<sup id=\"cite_ref-Rogerson_3-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/-6768571251349735179-index.html#cite_note-Rogerson-3\">[3]<\/a>\u201d<\/sup><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">So hypothetically Deuteronomy came into its present form and location in the text in three stages: 1) 8th century northern kingdom, 2) 7th century Judah under Josiah, 3) 6th century post-exilic Judah.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">It seems to me that Deuteronomy shares <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jahwist\">themes<\/a> with J (the Jahwist) who provides Gen 2, a key part of what I have called the aspirational vision of Gen 1-3: \u201c<a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Michael D. Coogan\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Michael_D._Coogan\">Michael D. Coogan<\/a> suggests three recurring themes in the Jahwist tradition: the relationship between humans and soil, separation between humans and God, and progressive human corruption.\u201d Conversely the Priestly text shares themes and motifs with the Elohist of Gen 1, most obvious to me the ritualized nature of the creation process.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jahwist\">Wikipedia article<\/a> on the Jahwist indicates 7th century Judah as the earliest possible date (and historical context) for the work: \u201c. . .\u00a0a crucial 1976 study by <a title=\"Hans Heinrich Schmid\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Hans_Heinrich_Schmid\">H. H. Schmid<\/a>, <i>Der sogenannte Jahwist<\/i> (&#8220;The So-called Jahwist&#8221;), argued that J knew the prophetic books of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, while the prophets did not know the traditions of the Torah, meaning J could not be earlier than the 7th century.<sup id=\"cite_ref-FOOTNOTECampbellO'Brien199310_14-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/4207558731197913162-index.html#cite_note-FOOTNOTECampbellO'Brien199310-14\">[14]<\/a><\/sup>A number of current theories place J even later, in the exilic and\/or post-exilic period (6th\u20135th centuries BCE).<sup id=\"cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBaden2009305\u2013313_15-0\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/4207558731197913162-index.html#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaden2009305%E2%80%93313-15\">[15]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Torah\">. . . The modern scholarly consensus<\/a> is that the Torah <a title=\"Documentary hypothesis\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Documentary_hypothesis\">has multiple authors<\/a> and that its composition took place over centuries.<sup id=\"cite_ref-21\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/-5330735886011285364-index.html#cite_note-21\">[21]<\/a><\/sup>This contemporary common hypothesis among biblical scholars states that the first major comprehensive draft of the Pentateuch was composed in the late 7th or the 6th century BCE (the <a title=\"Jahwist\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Jahwist\">Jahwist<\/a> source), and that this was later expanded by the addition of various narratives and laws (the <a title=\"Priestly source\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Priestly_source\">Priestly source<\/a>) into a work very like the one existing today . . .<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">. . . <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Torah\">According to Jewish tradition<\/a>, Torah was recompiled by prophet <a title=\"Ezra\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Ezra\">Ezra<\/a> during <a title=\"Second Temple period\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Second_Temple_period\">Second Temple period<\/a>,<sup id=\"cite_ref-23\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/-5330735886011285364-index.html#cite_note-23\">[23]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-24\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/-5330735886011285364-index.html#cite_note-24\">[24]<\/a><\/sup>and he recited it to the assembled <a title=\"Israelites\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/wiki\/Israelites\">Israelites<\/a> in order to enforce the observance of Torah.<sup id=\"cite_ref-25\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:62678\/F7A7B910-74BE-41AE-BD76-EE5FCE179E5A\/fileProxy\/-5330735886011285364-index.html#cite_note-25\">[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">In short, this leads to a very general hypothesis that several streams of Torah traditions emerged during the 8th to 7th, even 6th, centuries bce. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deuteronomist\">Another Wikipedia article<\/a> on the Deuteronomist diagrams the geographical and timeline links between J and the Deuteronomist with a northern kingdom point of origin that transferred to the southern kingdom during and after the Assyrian conquest.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">In any case, these traditions were formulated into a \u201cunified\u201d document (i.e., redacted with additional creative material) during the 6th to possibly even the 5th centuries bce. Some scholars propose that this creative redaction occurred after 538 when Persia not only authorized a return to the Land from the first (Babylonian) exile but hypothetically mandated a constitution of sorts that would allow the returnees to form a unified nation. This possibility suggests Persian, therefore Zoroastrian, influence on the final redaction.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\"><strong>Back to Shofetim<\/strong><br \/>\nAnd this brings me to my point. As difficult as it is for Americans to understand, who are weaned on separation of church and state and who generally view sacred scriptures as \u201creligious\u201d or \u201cspiritual\u201d documents, the biblical text is as much political as it is religious. There were many voices in ancient Israel just as there are today in, for example, the United States. In stressful times, those voices are sometimes more diverse and strident \u2014 and sometimes more unified. A historical time period that witnesses a civil war (between northern Israel and southern Judah), two national destructions, first of the Northern Kingdom, then of the Southern Kingdom, a local exile from north to south, a national exile and a painful and difficult return to reestablish a nation, is nothing if not stressful. The Torah reflects those stresses and a diversity of voices woven together into an extraordinarily unified text that served far beyond its hypothetical original purpose of building a unified nation.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">In the contemporary study of religions, we say that religions are embedded in culture, time and place, and culture, time and place are embedded in religions. This means there is change over time or they would not be relevant to future generations \u2014 and there are inherent contradictions. Religions are not static. This fluidity and richness with all its complexity, depth, and contradiction is in evidence in the Torah story. It is what makes the Torah story relevant more than two-and-a-half millennia later.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">So as I again came to this theme in Deuteronomy of abhorrent practices and, in particular, child sacrifice, the thought occurred to me that the entire Torah story, indeed the entire Bible, is first, <i>polemic<\/i>, and second, <i>political compromise<\/i>. My hypothesis became clear to me through my increasingly narrow focus on the relationship between humans and animals. This view of Hebrew scripture, that it is both polemic and political compromise, is the missing piece for me and is explanatory.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">A hypothesis is just that: an idea about what something might be. And now I\u2019ll need to go back once again and review the evidence of the text, examine if that\u2019s really where it leads. But first, I\u2019ll point to a couple of details in addition to the Moloch material that brought me to this hypothesis.<\/p>\n<p><b>Polemic<\/b><br \/>\nIn documents that frequently use chiasm as a literary structure, priestly material and, in particular, animal sacrifice have pride of place in the Torah story, at the center. Or do they? Deuteronomy and compatible material in Gen 2, along with some Priestly material that complements it in Gen 1, envelopes the story. Deuteronomy coming last among the five books points toward a different future, much like the function of II Chronicles at the end of Hebrew scripture and Malachi at the end of the Old Testament. In regard to animals and animal sacrifice, it seems related to the worldview of Gen 2, beginning to apply that idea of the interrelatedness of all of creation and the value of all life in the real world through compromise steps. That would make the chiastic arrangement of material one example of a compromise between different traditions as they are woven into a whole.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">Deuteronomy rails against the abhorrent practices (toevot), primary among them child sacrifice, at the very least known, tolerated and even recognized to be effective, in other portions of the biblical text. Whether or not child sacrifice was inherently part of Israelite tradition or was imitative, at some point, it was part of Israelite religious culture, and significant portions of the text refute it vigorously and consistently. It is refuted not only in the strong words of Deuteronomy but in the basic and overriding message of the entire text, the sanctity of human life. It is as if there is a basic Torah instinct that recognizes all life is precious \u2014 but the reality of child sacrifice is so critical that it requires a massive and comprehensive reaction that includes a hierarchy of value in regard to life and replacing human sacrifice with animal sacrifice and its corollary, meat-eating.\u00a0The sanctity of human life is one theme of the text that provides an overarching unity to it.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">Shofetim ties the practice of human sacrifice, child sacrifice in particular, to expulsion from the land\/soil of Israel. Continued presence in that space depends on expelling that and related evils from the community \u2014 and the entire community must participate in removing it through stoning the guilty human being\/s.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">Finally, the one characteristic attributed to humans that differentiates them from animals and thereby provides the rationale for human superiority is that they are \u201cin the image\u201d of G-d. As the vocabulary shows, this was a shadowy idea, and it\u2019s completely unclear to me what that means \u2014 but from my perspective the most obvious meaning flows from an idea of G-d with a body. Deuteronomy rejects this notion unequivocally, saying G-d has no body, and this became the dominant voice in rabbinic Judaism. <i>Logically that rejection sweeps away a rationale for valuing human life on a higher level.<\/i><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">So the polemic behind the biblical text is that in its overall thematic thrust and structure, it vehemently rejects the notion of human sacrifice through a variety of mechanisms, including valuing human life over all other life. \u00a0This polemic explains sufficiently for me how animal sacrifice became central to Israelite religion, at least as the Torah story tells it. It also portrays vividly how religious cultures change with time and situation.<\/p>\n<p><b>Politics<\/b><br \/>\nAnd this brings me to the politics behind the text. In Re\u2019eh, I noted with regard to the centralization of sacrifice theme that it desacralized Israelite daily life. On the one hand, that concentrated power and wealth in the hands of a priestly aristocracy in Jerusalem. It had another important effect, though, and that was to diminish reliance on priests and a sacrificial system in Israel generally.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">Change happens slowly over time, but I believe that had the Temple not been destroyed by the Romans, animal sacrifice would have disappeared eventually anyway. The destruction only hastened the process the Deuteronomist put in motion. This is the power of acculturation. Was it a Deuteronomist plan as they worked out the compromise that included a system of animal sacrifice at the heart of the text? I think so. As animal sacrifice was in the center of the text literarily, it also moved geographically and physically to the center of the land, making it inaccessible and increasingly irrelevant in the daily lives of Israelites.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">The structure of the Torah story, the way common and diverse motifs and voices are woven together, reveals a common impulse among most of the leading voices in ancient Israel, a polemic against human sacrifice. It is a polemic that overlays another strand of thought, that all life is equally precious, all is animated with a soul, the breath of G-d. But life is never simple, and moving forward toward the aspirational vision of justice and harmony throughout creation happens in small steps involving fierce political struggles to arrive at a compromise represented in the very structure of the Torah story.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">Of course another possibility is that the strand of thought that has all creatures at the spiritual round table was not indigenous to the text but was influenced by Zoroastrianism. In this scenario, it would have been back-edited into the text by the redactors along with the version of the Binding of Isaac story that we have in which Abraham is prevented from sacrificing his son. This possibility would be consistent with a Deuteronomist who so vehemently opposed child sacrifice, constructed a program to desacralize Israelite life and marginalize the priestly sacrificial system \u2014 and, I think, ultimately get rid of it.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">If everyone who could testify directly to the meaning of the Constitution of the United States disappeared from the earth, and beings from outer space arrived on our planet and discovered the document \u2014 they would study the document deeply to understand what it said and what motivated its composition. They would see the shards of the struggle with a historical circumstance that resulted in an intense emphasis on individual liberty and rights. Although they might be puzzled by the amendments, they might also catch in them a glimpse of the same theme from somewhat different positions in history. Ultimately the grandeur of the concept and its expression would move them in their own time and place even as they struggled to understand the specifics and apparent conflicts.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">That is our position today with regard to ancient Israel. Behind the American Constitution is a polemic. The Constitution is a lofty document that represents a compromise between the voices speaking at the time of its composition with amendments as history progresses and situations change. Most importantly, The Constitution is a process, not a static document, and in the same way, the Bible is a process which those who read it are invited to continue today.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\">And now that I have finally arrived at a point of answering some questions I have about the text with regard to the relationship between humans and animals, it\u2019s time to begin. I am reminded of the story about Rabbi Hillel when asked to explain Judaism while standing on one foot. He said, \u201cThat which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the commentary. Go and study it.\u201d (\u05d3\u05e2\u05dc\u05da \u05e1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d7\u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05dc\u05d0 \u05ea\u05e2\u05d1\u05d9\u05d3. \u05d6\u05d5 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05ea\u05d5\u05e8\u05d4 \u05db\u05d5\u05dc\u05d4, \u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05d3\u05da \u05e4\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0: \u05d6\u05d9\u05dc \u05d2\u05de\u05d5\u05e8) &#8211;\u00a0<i>Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat 31a<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 1, 2017, I began a Torah study project. These words described my intention: \u201cToday I begin a\u00a0new project of looking at the weekly Torah portions, searching for insights on food, \u2018animal rights,\u2019 agriculture and ecology.\u201d The name of the section I <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torah-ecology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9) - Vegetating with Leslie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9) - Vegetating with Leslie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"February 1, 2017, I began a Torah study project. These words described my intention: \u201cToday I begin a\u00a0new project of looking at the weekly Torah portions, searching for insights on food, \u2018animal rights,\u2019 agriculture and ecology.\u201d The name of the section I Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vegetating with Leslie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-20T19:25:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-24T03:56:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leslie Cook\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leslie Cook\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"21 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Leslie Cook\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0896a9176262075b4139523533e2d382\"},\"headline\":\"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9)\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-20T19:25:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-24T03:56:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885\"},\"wordCount\":4218,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"Torah Ecology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?p=3885\",\"name\":\"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9) - 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I raised a family, owned a farm and enjoyed tending a large organic garden and orchard 40 years ago. I restored a log cabin and enjoyed it as an energy conscious home way before energy consciousness was publicly conscious. I hold a number of advanced degrees focused on religion, literature and languages. I published a chapter in a book on women's rituals in Judaism. I have enjoyed a variety of careers including teaching, educational programming in the not-for-profit sector, technology and web management. For the last eight years I have owned a five-star (YELP) vegetarian cafe. This year we were voted best vegetarian dining experience in McHenry County by the readers of the Northwest Herald. I write articles on food for a local newspaper. My current task is to figure out how this all fits together and what to do with it.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9) - Vegetating with Leslie","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9) - Vegetating with Leslie","og_description":"February 1, 2017, I began a Torah study project. These words described my intention: \u201cToday I begin a\u00a0new project of looking at the weekly Torah portions, searching for insights on food, \u2018animal rights,\u2019 agriculture and ecology.\u201d The name of the section I Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885","og_site_name":"Vegetating with Leslie","article_published_time":"2018-12-20T19:25:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-24T03:56:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Leslie Cook","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leslie Cook","Est. reading time":"21 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885"},"author":{"name":"Leslie Cook","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0896a9176262075b4139523533e2d382"},"headline":"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9)","datePublished":"2018-12-20T19:25:32+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-24T03:56:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885"},"wordCount":4218,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","articleSection":["Torah Ecology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885","url":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885","name":"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9) - Vegetating with Leslie","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","datePublished":"2018-12-20T19:25:32+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-24T03:56:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0896a9176262075b4139523533e2d382"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/A27EC936-F4DE-4885-8C53-09CB742CE092.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?p=3885#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Torah Ecology: Bingo \u2014 Shofetim (Deut. 16:18-21:9)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/","name":"Vegetating with Leslie","description":"Joyful Compassionate Abundance","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vegetatingwithleslie.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0896a9176262075b4139523533e2d382","name":"Leslie Cook","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8e3d3fd7177fedeb197ec5ce2b5373b5b9cb5ca5e473882efe967605724d496?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8e3d3fd7177fedeb197ec5ce2b5373b5b9cb5ca5e473882efe967605724d496?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8e3d3fd7177fedeb197ec5ce2b5373b5b9cb5ca5e473882efe967605724d496?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Leslie Cook"},"description":"I am the mother of two sons, the mother-in-law of two daughters and the grandmother of one grandson. 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