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All humans have the desire to live in their own state with their own people. This goes for Jews as well. This desire influenced the Jews' actions thousands of years ago and it undoubtedly motivates them now to do certain things. In fact, if you're a person living in a country you don't consider your own, and for one reason or another there's nothing you can do about it, you probably feel kind of enslaved. The Hebrew Bible is filled with stories about Jews going to war with groups of people and different civilizations in a struggle for the security of the Promised Land. One such story involves the Israelites marching around the city walls of Jericho blowing their ram's horns, the sound of which has been used as a kind of trumpet call to spiritual awareness for Jewish religious purposes. The walls of the city then collapsed and the Israelites were able to charge straight into the city and destroy it. The success of the operation depended on the work of the Israeli spies who were living in Jericho. This was all done for the security of Israel. There's certainly nothing wrong with defending your land. Since the stories in the Hebrew Bible were written thousands of years ago as a guide to help the Jews survive, I wonder how stories from the book influence people today.
In Exodus there's a story in which Jews are enslaved by the Egyptians. God then commissions Moses to go to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage. God had Moses practice transforming his rod into a serpent and inflicting and healing leprosy, and told him that he could also pour river water on dry land to change the water to blood. These correspond to some of the ten plagues which would later be inflicted on the Egyptians. The Pharaoh allows the Hebrews to depart after Moses and his God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians(they sort of took turns cursing the Egyptians). The Jews then head toward the Promised Land. These events are commemorated as Passover, referring to how the plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites while smiting the Egyptians. Every passover Jews study this story again. They are inspired by a story that implies that if they are being kept from the Promised Land, then their enemies should be inflicted with disease and illness, and people like Moses can take an active role in making it happen. How does this story influence Jews today?
Here's another story from the book. Lot is a Jew living in the city of Sodom and angels were sent to save him from all the sinning going on around that place. The angels are the bearers of good advice that will help Lot's family survive. The men of Sodom demand that Lot send out his guests (the angels) so they can know them. Instead Lot introduces the villagers to his daughter, risking having her sexually assaulted. Before Lot's family is assaulted the angels lead them out of the city which is subsequently destroyed by God. Since Lot refused to introduce the villagers to the bearers of good advice, wouldn't that contribute to the destruction of the city? That's kinda weird. So how does this story influence Jews today? The way Lot is led out of the city is similar to what happens in the story about Noah's Ark.
Philistine was a threat to Israel. Samson was an Israelite but he travels to Philistine where he falls in love with a Philistine woman. This happens after he had already been married to another woman in Philistine. The marriage was actually part of God's plan to strike at the Philistines. This is explicitly stated in the Hebrew Bible. Basically Samson's woman and the Philistines conspire to cut his hair.(The Hebrews were prohibited by biblical law from cutting their hair or beards, so the cutting of Samson's hair would symbolize Samson becoming less interested in Jewish causes). So they cut his hair. He was assimilated. In the story, Samson is described as being a slave to the Philistines. One day the Philistine leaders assemble in a temple for a religious sacrifice to their god (they're not Jews). Samson, his hair having grown long again (he cares about Jewish causes again), is leaning against the temple's central pillars. He busts the central pillars and down come the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Are Jews influenced by this story today?
In Exodus there's a story in which Jews are enslaved by the Egyptians. God then commissions Moses to go to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage. God had Moses practice transforming his rod into a serpent and inflicting and healing leprosy, and told him that he could also pour river water on dry land to change the water to blood. These correspond to some of the ten plagues which would later be inflicted on the Egyptians. The Pharaoh allows the Hebrews to depart after Moses and his God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians(they sort of took turns cursing the Egyptians). The Jews then head toward the Promised Land. These events are commemorated as Passover, referring to how the plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites while smiting the Egyptians. Every passover Jews study this story again. They are inspired by a story that implies that if they are being kept from the Promised Land, then their enemies should be inflicted with disease and illness, and people like Moses can take an active role in making it happen. How does this story influence Jews today?
Here's another story from the book. Lot is a Jew living in the city of Sodom and angels were sent to save him from all the sinning going on around that place. The angels are the bearers of good advice that will help Lot's family survive. The men of Sodom demand that Lot send out his guests (the angels) so they can know them. Instead Lot introduces the villagers to his daughter, risking having her sexually assaulted. Before Lot's family is assaulted the angels lead them out of the city which is subsequently destroyed by God. Since Lot refused to introduce the villagers to the bearers of good advice, wouldn't that contribute to the destruction of the city? That's kinda weird. So how does this story influence Jews today? The way Lot is led out of the city is similar to what happens in the story about Noah's Ark.
Philistine was a threat to Israel. Samson was an Israelite but he travels to Philistine where he falls in love with a Philistine woman. This happens after he had already been married to another woman in Philistine. The marriage was actually part of God's plan to strike at the Philistines. This is explicitly stated in the Hebrew Bible. Basically Samson's woman and the Philistines conspire to cut his hair.(The Hebrews were prohibited by biblical law from cutting their hair or beards, so the cutting of Samson's hair would symbolize Samson becoming less interested in Jewish causes). So they cut his hair. He was assimilated. In the story, Samson is described as being a slave to the Philistines. One day the Philistine leaders assemble in a temple for a religious sacrifice to their god (they're not Jews). Samson, his hair having grown long again (he cares about Jewish causes again), is leaning against the temple's central pillars. He busts the central pillars and down come the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Are Jews influenced by this story today?
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