THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | JUDAISM | KABBALAH | NEO KABBALAH

OT: Jewish History: Slavery in Egypt

To: alt.magick.serious,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick
From: axialthrust@yahoo.com (BhP)
Subject: Re: OT: Jewish History: Slavery in Egypt (was Anti-anti....)
Date: 17 Apr 2002 15:30:28 -0700

"Cosmic Busboy"  wrote 
> "Daya Li"  wrote in message
> > Did you ever stop to think, that the enslavement of the Israelites more
> > a metaphysical enslavement?
> 
> Is that what you think most people are claiming?

I don't know what "most people" are claiming, but that is the
interpretation that my family passed down from generation to
generation.

> And was this metaphysical enslavement in Egypt?  How was
> it in Egypt?  Metaphysically?

If I remember correctly, the hebrew word for Egypt (Mitzrayim) also
means limitation, boundary/bounded or something similar.  Freed from
Egypt meant freed from bondage.  This significant fact got lost in the
english translations of hebrew documents.  For more information,
consult a Talmudic Hebrew-English dictionary.

> The Jews were metaphysically in
> Egypt?  Or merely metaphysically
> enslaved by Egyptians while actually
> physically residing elsewhere?

Oh dear!  Egypt, metaphysically, means spiritual bondage, represented
physically as the slavery endured by the Jews.

Just like "Jerusalem" in hebrew religious texts often represents a
metaphysical holy land rather than a physical place.  For example, at
the end of every passover seder, when the participants say "Next year
in Jerusalem!", we are not saying "I hope next year we celebrate
passover in the city called Jerusalem".  We are saying, "This time
next year, may we all be living in the holy land of peace." (Or
something to that extent.)

Path: typhoon.sonic.net!feed.news.sonic.net!HSNX.atgi.net!headwall.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail
From: axialthrust@yahoo.com (BhP)
Newsgroups: alt.magick.serious,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick
Subject: Re: OT: Jewish History: Slavery in Egypt (was Anti-anti....)
Date: 18 Apr 2002 11:30:28 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com/
Lines: 19
Message-ID: <361f09a8.0204181030.28af86d6@posting.google.com>
References:  <3CB49A7C.653A@luckymojo.com> <10cff505.0204110517.1ea5e9be@posting.google.com>  <38wt8.15771$44.100044@typhoon.sonic.net>   <3cbc2ce2$1_1@news.teranews.com> <361f09a8.0204171430.1f406706@posting.google.com> 
NNTP-Posting-Host: 146.129.24.233
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-Trace: posting.google.com 1019154629 22434 127.0.0.1 (18 Apr 2002 18:30:29 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
NNTP-Posting-Date: 18 Apr 2002 18:30:29 GMT
Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.magick.serious:21500 alt.magick.tyagi:32343 alt.magick:297684

thee_process23@yahoo.com (J. A.) wrote 

> But answer me this. When it says to the jew, kill and torture the
> [numerous races]in exodus - is this also metaphysical? 

Of course.

> how does one kill metaphysically? 

By refusing to partake in or perpetuate the paradigm that one is
trying to "kill".  By changing one's behavior, beliefs, internal
programming.  By altering the self.

> Why would anyone be worried about a slavery which
> is not a slavery? 

Non-physical slavery is still slavery, thus people are worried about
it.  Physical freedom means little when one is spiritually or mentally
enslaved.

Path: typhoon.sonic.net!feed.news.sonic.net!newsfeed4.cidera.com!newsfeed1.cidera.com!Cidera!news-hog.berkeley.edu!ucberkeley!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail
From: axialthrust@yahoo.com (BhP)
Newsgroups: alt.magick.serious,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick
Subject: Re: OT: Jewish History: Slavery in Egypt (was Anti-anti....)
Date: 19 Apr 2002 11:26:47 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com/
Lines: 48
Message-ID: <361f09a8.0204191026.725c8762@posting.google.com>
References:   <38wt8.15771$44.100044@typhoon.sonic.net>   <3cbc2ce2$1_1@news.teranews.com> <361f09a8.0204171430.1f406706@posting.google.com>  <361f09a8.0204181030.28af86d6@posting.google.com> 
NNTP-Posting-Host: 146.129.24.233
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-Trace: posting.google.com 1019240808 2015 127.0.0.1 (19 Apr 2002 18:26:48 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com
NNTP-Posting-Date: 19 Apr 2002 18:26:48 GMT
Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.magick.serious:21512 alt.magick.tyagi:32357 alt.magick:297766

thee_process23@yahoo.com (J. A.) wrote 
> 
> Listen, in grade-school I learned to read, and when I saw the word
> 'sword' and 'take up' and 'slay' or 'kill' there was no question of
> misinterpreting. 

When you make it to high school you'll learn that not every word has
only a literal meaning.

This is not just a Jewish phenomena.  For example, from a quick Google
search on "metaphor, bible":

http://www2.auckland.ac.nz/acte/pmb/glossary/metaphor.htm
metaphor
(From Greek "carrying across") In metaphoric language the comparison
being made between one thing and another is not made explicit. Rather
something is talked about as if it were something else: "Oh, you pig!"
Biblical Hebrew usage does not seem to make a strong distinction
between metaphor and simile. Though the lesser precision of what part
of the meaning is being transferred may give metaphor greater power
over the imagination. While the meanings of: "I have gone astray like
a lost sheep" (Ps 119:176) is fairly straightforward, to imagine what
it means to be "the sheep of his pasture" (Ps 100:3) engages our
imagination and different readers will give differing content to the
image.

http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/2corinthians/2corinthians2.htm
2 Corinthians
Chapter 2
Verse 14 
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and
manifests through us the odor of the knowledge of him in every place.
(9)

 9 [14b-16a] The odor of the knowledge of him: incense was commonly
used in triumphal processions. The metaphor suggests the gradual
diffusion of the knowledge of God through the apostolic preaching. The
aroma of Christ: the image shifts from the fragrance Paul diffuses to
the aroma that he is. Paul is probably thinking of the "sweet odor" of
the sacrifices in the Old Testament (e.g., Genesis 8:21; Exodus 29:18)
and perhaps of the metaphor of wisdom as a sweet odor (Sirach 24:15).
Death . . . life: the aroma of Christ that comes to them through Paul
is perceived differently by various classes of people. To some his
preaching and his life (cf 1 Cor 1:17-2:6) are perceived as death, and
the effect is death for them; others perceive him, despite
appearances, as life, and the effect is life for them. This fragrance
thus produces a separation and a judgment (cf the function of the
"light" in John's gospel).

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races