<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">From: Arie Folger < ></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">Lavan benefited from an experience we all strive for, but know that, living in times of hester panim, we cannot expect: direct revelation. Before reaching Ya'aqov's camp, G"d appeared to Lavan and told him to abstain from talking to Ya'aqov either good or bad.
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">However, moments after relating that incident to Ya'aqov, he asks "lamah ganavta et elohai?!" Is Lavan out of his mind? He just experienced Revelation, and he asks for his idol?! How can he?
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">To get some idea about what Uncle Lavan's trafim were and how they operated, see Daas Zekenim miBT 31:19. The Targum Yonoson tells a similar story. These were not some simple lifeless getchke - (eg like those models available in the zeida Terach's AZ Emporium)
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">It quotes the Pirkei deRE's description <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>- </font></font></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">A human firstborn was slaughtered, it's head lopped off and salted - with salt and spices. The name of a 'shem ruach tumah' was written upon a gold piece - which was placed upon (or under) the tongue. This was then positioned into a wall with a candle lit before it. They bowed to it and it would talk.
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">And that is why Rochel stole it from her father - so this talking head wouldn't disclose that they had escaped (or maybe where they went).
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">(BTW, I have no doubt that many people - who aren't overly makpid on 'Tammim tihyeh im HE' would - given the chance - also make such use of such highly sophisticated information technology...)
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">Meanwhile the Ramban suggests that the trafim were some sort of fortune-telling clock.</font></font></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">In any case it's quite obvious that the ovdei AZ of those days also believed in HKBH - but preferred to also have some additional technological/witchcraft/magical 'back-up'.
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="2"><font face="Courier New">SBA</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><a href="mailto:sba@sba2.com"><font face="Courier New" size="2">sba@sba2.com</font></a></p>