Great stuff. I remember learning about this controversy in high school. Back then, I was pretty convinced De Leon made up the Zohar, but Tanach and Talmud was from God.
Now I don't think any of it's from God, but Kabbalah still seems much more wack and inauthentic to me.
> "The Torah is first and last a weapon against the perennial human urge to idolatry, but Judaism had contracted an autoimmune disease and the Torah itself had become the occasion for the most insane form of idolatry to ever be conceived in the history of mankind (allowing for a bit of poetic license and the Noda BiYehuda’s lack of detailed knowledge of Central American history)."
It does seem a bit strange that they'd never heard of the Aztecs by the 18th century, although technically I don't think Nahua cosmogeny is quite as hung up over anogenital imagery.
Wouldn’t the simplest “taych” be that we’re not drawn to outright classical paganism anymore, but obviously the innate primal urge to connect to things in a primitive way stays?
Of course, but also there's no reason to think that a return to forms of outright classical paganism (such as the worship of divine human beings) is out of the question just because a midrash, read literally, might indicate otherwise.
I kind of want to see footnotes 167-9 seen in footnote 3, because this is insane. Is this seriously comparing the male organ to a snake because it bends? certainly not how I expected to start my Sunday morning…
Btw, how does he say “rod” in the Hebrew, and also which book are these screenshots from?
I didn't realise the later Sabbateans were apparently attempting some kind of structural reconciliation between Kabbalah and the Christian Trinity. It's a pity that had to get tarnished by all the orgies and so on.
This is crazy. I have heard many people talk about this who support Emden and they don’t know any of this stuff!
Great stuff. I remember learning about this controversy in high school. Back then, I was pretty convinced De Leon made up the Zohar, but Tanach and Talmud was from God.
Now I don't think any of it's from God, but Kabbalah still seems much more wack and inauthentic to me.
> "The Torah is first and last a weapon against the perennial human urge to idolatry, but Judaism had contracted an autoimmune disease and the Torah itself had become the occasion for the most insane form of idolatry to ever be conceived in the history of mankind (allowing for a bit of poetic license and the Noda BiYehuda’s lack of detailed knowledge of Central American history)."
It does seem a bit strange that they'd never heard of the Aztecs by the 18th century, although technically I don't think Nahua cosmogeny is quite as hung up over anogenital imagery.
I guess you could maybe draw some parallels with the cult of Tlazolteotl, although creation from bones seems to be closer to the central metaphor.
Where does the noda bihuda write his criticism of ואבוא היום אל העין
Also, what’s the big deal if the shechina is no longer virgin? This is a very odd system.
And, which is THAT Midrash?
The one about there no longer being a yetzer hara for avoda zara.
What’s so bad about it?
Because people use it to argue that we don't have to be concerned about AZ these days. It's not really a threat anymore.
Wouldn’t the simplest “taych” be that we’re not drawn to outright classical paganism anymore, but obviously the innate primal urge to connect to things in a primitive way stays?
Of course, but also there's no reason to think that a return to forms of outright classical paganism (such as the worship of divine human beings) is out of the question just because a midrash, read literally, might indicate otherwise.
I kind of want to see footnotes 167-9 seen in footnote 3, because this is insane. Is this seriously comparing the male organ to a snake because it bends? certainly not how I expected to start my Sunday morning…
Btw, how does he say “rod” in the Hebrew, and also which book are these screenshots from?
Enjoy https://www.academia.edu/9851117/Coitus_interruptus_in_And_I_Came_this_Day_unto_the_Fountain.
The Noda BiYehuda quotation is there too.
I didn't realise the later Sabbateans were apparently attempting some kind of structural reconciliation between Kabbalah and the Christian Trinity. It's a pity that had to get tarnished by all the orgies and so on.