[Avodah] Fables and Lies

[T613K at aol.com]

From: R'n Ilana Sober: 
>>I once heard "myth" defined as an account of the past that  gives
meaning to the present. Again - no connotation of  truth/falsehood.

Used in this sense, every nation has founding myths. Our  central
founding myths are the stories of the Avot, and especially  Yetziat
Mitzrayim.  Regarding the Avot - we say maaseh avot siman  l'banim....
 
I am not using the term myth to chas v'shalom imply that anything  in
the Torah is fictional, but to convey WHY it is important for us  to
retell and remember these stories.<<
 
 
>>>>>
"When I use a word, it means precisely what I want it to mean" -- *Alice in  
Wonderland*
 
R'n Chana Luntz made a similar point.  I'm sorry but we just can't use  the 
word "myth" about the historical origins of the Jewish people.  The  
connotation of falsehood is just too strong.  There is also a connotation  that the 
person who is using the term is more sophisticated than the people who  invented 
the myths.  When we speak of our founding stories as "myth" there  is a strong 
implication that we are in possession of greater knowledge  and understanding 
than the simple people in the distant past who  actually took these "myths" 
literally.  Using the word "myth" this way  inevitably implies superiority and 
condescension on the part of the  speaker.  This is exactly what the 
Conservative movement does with the  Torah -- calls it "myth" and then when you 
criticize them for that, they turn  around and say, "Oh by using the word 'myth' we 
didn't mean to imply that your  quaint beliefs aren't actually true!"  Pat pat 
on your sweet little  head.
 
>From the American Heritage Dictionary:
 
--begin quote--
 
myth  n. 1. A traditional story presenting supernatural beings,  ancestors or 
heroes that serve as primordial types in a primitive view of the  world.  2.  
A fictitious or imaginary story, person or thing.   3.  A false belief.
 
--end quote--
 

--Toby  Katz
=============





**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20071204/833c686a/attachment-0001.htm>