Month: ט׳ בטבת ה׳תשפ״ב (December 13, 2021)

In the Beginnings discusses ambiguous periods of time before monotheistic/Temple Judaism developed. I imagined a pair of god statues as same-gender lovers. There was a period of time that ended more recently than Tanakhic literature will admit, during which the average Canaanite/Israelite was polytheistic. The Temple during this period represented, to me, the consolidation of all of the world’s powerful forces and energies from multiple representations into one thing that could not, and cannot, be fully experienced or understood. I use this precedent to explore a historical human reality of migration, cultural exchange, and religious trajectories mentioned in the Tanakh, but of god-figur(in)es unnamed. As part of humanity’s great mosaic, we are one of many ‘beginnings’ and one of many peoples who are all people. The Temple was helpful for lessening feelings of fear or ambiguity regarding atonement and societal strife. Without it, we must do everything in our power to make the world a better place, becoming our own expiation. Part of that means accepting our global diversity and making peace with what we can’t change; as well as wrestling with any rules in our religion that could prevent us from treating a person with dignity or minimizing harm in the world.