Thursday, January 19, 2012

My Tantric Torah: 10 Commandments? Not Really... Part 1

2 comments:

  1. Looking forward to hearing more! Do you recommend Everett Fox's translation of the Torah as an introduction?

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    1. Thanks so much for asking this question, M! I'm not an expert on the Torah by any means, but I have read extensively about most of the world's spiritual traditions, and celebrate the similarities, and variations, between them. That said, I believe Mr. Fox's translation is the one most scholars are recommending these days, because of its fresh approach directly from the original Hebrew (for example, Mr. Fox translates the very first word, "Bereshit," as "At the beginning," rather than the more traditional - and philosophically mis-leading - "In the beginning"), as well as the extensive and nuanced commentary he provides. I've focused mostly on Genesis and Exodus in my personal studies, and read these chapters repeatedly (sometimes out loud, since that was how the text was originally meant to be experienced), making notes on every page as thoughts came up, revealing new connections from the rhythms, rhymes, and repetitions of phrases for my deeper understanding. Each time I read the book, I use different colored pencils for my notes, so now I can go back and see how my own interpretations developed. It's really fun, and fills the ancient text with new vitality for me in so many ways! Oh, and the rest of this fore-word will be posted later today, with each of the Ten Words following in order between now and Passover/Easter...

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