Exodus 3:8

Ex 3:8

"So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites."

The word "flowing" always implies energy.
Energy is always trapped.
It always wants to get out.
It's always looking for a way to get out.

When thoughts flow
poets suffer
to get them out because
they are energy.

They're trapped in the soul
and nobody knows
how they got there or
how they can get out.

But when they get out
they shake the world because
they touch the energy
flowing in the land.

God said "let there be light,"
And there was light.
Light is only the energy
of the word that came
from the thought of God.

And the thought came
from the force that has
the most energy of all:
"Love".

God's thought touched
the earth and the energy flowed
in the land.

The energy flows
in the earth,
not on it.

Rivers and rivers of milk and honey
are constantly flowing
deep in the land,
like thoughts flowing deep
in the soul of the poet,

Great and mighty and trapped.
What's on it is where it's managed
to burst forth.

Miles and miles of Date Palms
have burst forth
to give us a view and a taste
of the energy flowing in the land. Every one can taste the dates and the peaches
but only those who delve deep into the heart
of God, the word of Torah
can taste the Milk and Honey

It bursts forth
like the oasis in the desert.

It bursts forth
like water to the thirsty man
who has walked and suffered
for days and days
to give him a taste
of the energy flowing
in the Land.

Drive through the Desert.
The bursting of the land's
flowing energy
is most obvious there.

A bright green patch
on a dull brown background.

A black goat
next to a black Beduin tent.

A sudden oasis
of water, camels and palm trees.

Go to the desert to see
the Land Flowing with Mild and Honey.

God gave us His Torah in the Desert.
The Torah is the Land flowing with Milk and Honey.

Numbers 23:9

For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; lo, the people shall live alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. (Numbers 23:9)

The above statement was made by the foreign prophet, a kind of early social anthropologist, called Balaam, who was sent by king Balak to curse Israel. In other words he was sent to discover the weaknesses of Jews so that the Moabites could figure out the best method of conquering them. A real scientific approach to dealing with a group of people.


The non Jew Balaam represents all the non Jews in the world, the nations among whom the Jews live. This isn't just the way Balaam sees the Jews, it's the way all non Jewish nations see the Jews.

He sees their belief in Monotheism as a characteristic that makes them different from the other nations. He obviously sees this as a weakness that can be used to conquer the Jews. Other nations resemble one another but the Jews are different. The way to vanquish them is to make them a pariah nation among the nations.


Balaam's idea has been used over and over again throughout history, but the plan hasn't worked. After being the first Monotheistic nation others followed them by creating other forms of Monotheism. 

The Jews were Monotheists for more than 1000 years before other nations decided to adopt it. They were indeed alone in this, as Balaam saw. Then even after other nations adopted Monotheism Jews continued to stick to their brand of Monotheism and have been alone in this since the beginning of Christianity 2000 years ago.

How long are the Jews going to be alone in this way? How long will they be rejected by other monotheistic nations because of their belief in their own unique brand of Monotheism?

The answer to this question doesn't lie with the Jews. It lies with the Christians and Moslems.

Exodus 34:6

"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," Ex 34:6

This verse from the Bible is repeated many times in the prayer service of Yom Kippur. It's one of my favorite verses but it has puzzled me for a long time. 

On the one hand I'm comforted when I think that God is merciful. He will forgive my sins and will take away my aches and pains. 

On the other hand I still have aches and pains even after I've prayed and fasted all Yom Kippur.

This raised the question in my mind, "if God doesn't take away my suffering then how does He express His mercy?"

The answer is that God's mercy, graciousness, long suffering, abundant goodness and truth applies not to me as an individual but to all the universe, in its widest sense. It applies to the universe as a whole, in its entirety. 

God's mercy, and other qualities, isn't like man's mercy. God is merciful. to everybody and everything all the time and for all time. 

In Man these qualities, mercy and grace etc, are in addition to himself. He may or may not have these qualities. Some men have these qualities while others don't.

In God these qualities are Him. They are an imperative of His nature. It's not a question of choice. He doesn't choose to have them or not to have them. (this idea has been explained by Maimonides in Guide to the Perplexed part 1) 

The creation of the universe, for example, is an expression of God's mercy. God didn't choose to create the world. He created it because it's his nature to create and it's His nature to be merciful. 

The crucial question that people have always asked is whether the universe is infinite. Will it last forever?

In order to last forever the universe must be perpetual. If the universe isn't perpetual then it's going to stop existing one day. 

In other words it must continue without intervention. The question is important:

If the universe is permanent and perpetual then there can't be any intervention. Intervention negates perpetuity. If God intervenes in the natural sequence of events there wouldn't be perpetuity. There would be an end.

In an infinite and perpetual world it's natural that God's mercy is His non intervention.

In an infinite and perpetual world the only kind of intervention can be man's intervention in his own situation, not God's intervention in the actions and situation of Man.

Man's mercy and not God's applies to healing suffering and maintaining life. It's natural that man should seek better ways to relieve suffering and promote his well being. Not to expect God to intervene to relieve suffering and prolong life..

In an infinite and perpetual world God's mercy applies to His non intervention.

In an infinite and perpetual world individual birth is as necessary as death for the survival of the universe. Birth and death and life without God's intervention is perpetual.

Birth, life and death continue all the time in an infinite world, with no intervention of God.

Man mistakenly thinks that he's praying for God's intervention in healing his aches and pains when actually he's praying for God's non intervention. 

Because God's non intervention is His mercy.

God's intervention would bring an end to perpetuity and an end to the universe. So God does not intervene. 

It may be very comforting for us to think that in His mercy God relieves our aches and pains, but it's much more comforting for us to think that the world is forever because God is merciful and doesn't intervene.

Our aches and pains are necessary for the survival of the universe. Instead of looking for God's intervention to take away our suffering let us rather take comfort that we suffer while at the same time looking for rational, human ways to relieve suffering. 

Numbers 14:20

" And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word."Num 14:20

Why does God forgive?
God is always forgiving, never asking forgiveness.
Nowhere in the Torah does God ask man for forgiveness.
Surely He should ask forgiveness?
He does all the bad things.
Death, disease and suffering.
Should I or need I forgive Him?
In His Torah He asks us
To love, obey and worship Him.
Can I love, obey and worship Him?
After all the suffering, disease and death?
Yes, if I forgive Him.
For doing those terrible things to me.

God's request for us to forgive Him isn't explicit.
His request is implied the command.
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thine soul and with all thine might" Deut 6:5

If we are going to love Him we need to forgive Him.
Our love for God can only be genuine if we forgive Him.
Praying, fasting, dancing, singing etc. before the Lord.
Is all a farce unless we forgive Him.
Like God His creatures cause us suffering.
They kill us, beat us, steal from us, lie etc.
God also brings death and suffering.
By forgiving His creatures for doing these things.
I put myself in a position to show Him genuine love.
The forgiveness I need to give God I give to His creatures.
When I forgive His creatures it's as if I am forgiving God.
God's command to love Him is therefore an implied request to forgive Him.
This we do by forgiving His creatures.

Love of God is our motivation to forgive our fellow man.
We obey the command to love God by forgiving His creatures.
Forgiving them puts us in a position to be kind to His creatures.
God needs us to show kindness to His creatures.
We are the means by which God shows kindness to His creatures.
We forgive them the harm they've done to us and kindness follows.
By forgiving them, as God forgives us, unconditionally, we can be kind to them.

Unlike God, your kindness and mercy aren't built in.
God shows mercy to the universe without waiting for a request.
Forgiving someone and showing kindness makes you like God.
Especially if the person hasn't asked for your forgiveness.
You are acting as if kindness is a built in characteristic.
You can't have God's characteristics.
But, knowing them, you can act as if you have them.
You become as important to man as God is to the universe.
You become His representative on earth.
You fulfill the function for which God placed you here.
In our prayers we call God the healer.
But this is only so if you do the healing.
God needs you to be kind and to heal and alleviate suffering.
But you can only achieve the ability of being kind if you forgive.