After teaching a class on The Seven Bones of Israel (see my post in February 2017) on the Shavuot just passed I decided to take a break from the ethics project.
The Seven Bones idea is an intriguing one and, having taught it twice now, it seemed to me that there is interest in it from both clergy and interested lay students. Its subject is expansive enough to support a (short) book-length exposition and at the same time the subject provides a manageable structure. So I’m going to expand my earlier work on the topic, aiming for a publication in a few months before returning to complete the ethics project.
My first step was to go back over the original research to confirm it. In doing so I used the word search function of the Hebrew/English word processor Davka Writer 7 applied to the text library version of the Tanakh in that software package.
In doing so I found that I had originally missed one instance of the use of the b’etzem hayom hazeh phrase in the account of Yom Kippur. That only acts to reinforce one of the already identified “bones” and so does not require significant alteration to the original work.
However, I also found two very meaningful occurrences of the phrase in the Book of Ezekiel. And those do alter the original work. They actually reinforce the point made about the significance of the phrase and so they need to be directly and importantly addressed in the expanded version of the paper.
The first of the Ezekiel occurrences is found at chapter 24 verse 2. This verse finds God directing Ezekiel to write down the exact day that the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzer began. Obviously a day of critical importance in the history of the Israelites.
The second Ezekiel reference is at chapter 40 verse 2. Chapter 40 begins the account of the design of the re-built Temple and finds the prophet witnessing the return of the chariot that is such a prominent element of Jewish mystical thought.
These two additional references, coming so long after the previous Joshua reference, and referring to the destruction and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple represent a fascinating extension of the basic premise of the original paper. Why my original search did not uncover them is a bit of a mystery but their discovery at this time is fortuitous.
I haven’t decided whether I’ll post portion of the new work here. I might but if I don’t there could be a hiatus in the flow of material here as I work to complete the expansion.
copyright: Charles R. Lightner