Module 2

    "Drink, He Said", written by Dunash ben Labrut, is a poem that addresses the readers of his time period about the wrongs of partying and self-indulgence. In it, he writes of a beautiful garden with many different lush plants, rushing water, cooing birds, and all manners of making one feel safe, and serene. A person could continuously read the first part of that poem and they would not feel as if it was getting repetitive or boring. While reading Dunash's poem for the first time, he allowed me (and every other reader) to become lazy, and basically just accept any idea suggested while in that garden. He suggest that we live our lives in (physical- not spiritual)bliss and not worry about the consequences of our actions.
    " 'Silence', I rebuked him" brings an abrupt halt to the reader's current state of mind. It makes the reader sit a bit straighter and start thinking about the consequences of his sin. Actually, why would the reader ever sin and live in (physical)bliss? There is no bais hamikdash which makes the indulgence even worse! There is no reason to party- no reason to pamper oneself. "The temple and God's footstool are held by unclean hands." The reader now must grapple with Dunash's rebuke and the way he lives his life. He may feel that he is in fact sinful and pampered and change his ways... or shrug it off and rationalize not changing his ways. The reader may also feel that Dunash is not addressing him because perhaps others sin, but not him. There are people who take Dunash's poem as literal, and there are others who say that he was much too harsh, and was not actually calling for such extreme measures.
    The Cairo Geniza was the place where many Jewish people dumped their old documents, letters, shopping lists, books, etc. Whatever was written about Jewish life gives historians a window into the lives of the Jews of the time. The Geniza also contained information of trade with other places, including Spain. We see that Jews traveled from Spain to Cairo and back, which means that items were exchanged, which could include recipes, instructive books, or anything else under the sun that could be helpful for the people in either place.
    It is very interesting to learn about the ethical and religious issues Jews faced in Medieval Spain- especially considering the fact that Jews today still grapple with enticements such as luxury and laziness. The Cairo Geniza opens a window into what those struggles may have entailed in addition to the day to day mundane struggles and culture that was present.

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Comments

  1. ronnie sephardophileJuly 23, 2020 at 11:07 AM

    nice garden!
    what do you mean by "taking the poem literally" ?

    ReplyDelete

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