Some Devarim
The previous post is, mind you, a free composition of my hand and mind, based on this post and on verses of Yehoshua and Bereshit 34, followed by a fragment of Shemot 17, the war against Amalek, followed by an amalgam of phrases of Devarim 27:1,2,5,6 and Yehoshua 8:33, disclosing the event at Har Eval: the Levites blessing the nation that accepted them. It is a reconstruction, many of the details of which are not very important, as no conclusions depend on them.
Rephidim would be the place were the Levites were being supported, recovering from their Brit Milah. When it says "at Rephidim," the meaning would be "when (Israel) was treating them." Note that the fragment is all about support, about Moshe supporting Yehoshua, and about Aharon and Chur supporting Moshe. According to the story, therefore, it is because they accepted and supported the Levites, that the nation of Israel won the support of Hashem, to win the war.
One could ask why there would be Brit Milah in the scroll, when there is also a description of Brit Milah in the book of Yehoshua? And we answer that the scroll describes the Brit Milah of Avraham, applicable to his children in the land of Israel, while the book of Yehoshua initially described the Brit Milah of those who joined the children of Abraham, of "the entire people, that had left Mitzrayim," i.e., of the Levites, as they entered the land.
The initial version of Yehoshua became very soon untenable, in the light of the Torah that was taught to all of Israel, that it was all of Israel which came out of Mitzrayim. Hence, "Sefer Yehoshua," connected tightly to "Sefer Devarim," came to describe the Brit Milah of all of Israel. Accordingly, we see no Brit Milah in Devarim, except for circumcision of the foreskin of the heart (Devarim 10:16). The return of the Brit Milah of Avraham as part of P, loosened the connection with Sefer Yehoshua, and Sefer Devarim became the fifth book of the Chumash, rather than the first book of the history of Israel.
In the same fashion, the story of the Levites blessing K'lal Yisrael for the first time at Har Eval became the story of the twelve tribes, half of them standing on Har Eval, for a curse, half of them standing on Har Gerizim, to bless, where the Levites said nothing but curses, that is, they did not bless for the first time, according to Sefer Devarim's account. It seems to me that here is a clear addition and rearrangement of R.
All followers of Har Gerizim fell for R, and thus they, the Shomronim, are not followers of the ancient tradition, as they want to make us believe. Likewise, closer to home, the followers of Har Habayit seem to follow P and D, the sources we wish to peel off, together with R. Because we understand that we need to separate, aleinu lehitPaReD, from the mule, the PeReD, except for what is truly shared by P and D. And so we are left with E, J, H, by and large, and with EHJH in the words of REJ, the wondrous prophet, who also authored the first part of the scroll.
Furthermore, it seems to me that the (reconstructed) story was to give equal authority to Aharon, leader of the "Levites" in Chevron, in Yehudah, and to Chur, leader of the Levites in Shilo, in Yisrael. The captain of the Lord's host seems to have had a name, Moshe, as he is the one that fights the heavenly fight. The role of Chur as a leader of the Levites seems to have been de-emphasized, to make place for Yehoshua bin Nun, the leader of Yisrael. Thus, it would have said originally:
instead of Shemot 33:11b, and so forth. In fact, Yehoshua would not have appeared in the description of the nation that came out of Mitzrayim, and neither would that nation be referenced by the name Yisrael. There was no mention of the tribes of Israel, and that includes the mention of Yosef and his sons. And Hashem, He may be called G-d of your fathers, but He is not G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchak, G-d of Ya'akov. These are some of the guidelines on the basis of which it is doable to reconstruct the "original" "Churite" description of Yetziat Mitzrayim.
Chag Shavuot Sameach!
Rephidim would be the place were the Levites were being supported, recovering from their Brit Milah. When it says "at Rephidim," the meaning would be "when (Israel) was treating them." Note that the fragment is all about support, about Moshe supporting Yehoshua, and about Aharon and Chur supporting Moshe. According to the story, therefore, it is because they accepted and supported the Levites, that the nation of Israel won the support of Hashem, to win the war.
One could ask why there would be Brit Milah in the scroll, when there is also a description of Brit Milah in the book of Yehoshua? And we answer that the scroll describes the Brit Milah of Avraham, applicable to his children in the land of Israel, while the book of Yehoshua initially described the Brit Milah of those who joined the children of Abraham, of "the entire people, that had left Mitzrayim," i.e., of the Levites, as they entered the land.
The initial version of Yehoshua became very soon untenable, in the light of the Torah that was taught to all of Israel, that it was all of Israel which came out of Mitzrayim. Hence, "Sefer Yehoshua," connected tightly to "Sefer Devarim," came to describe the Brit Milah of all of Israel. Accordingly, we see no Brit Milah in Devarim, except for circumcision of the foreskin of the heart (Devarim 10:16). The return of the Brit Milah of Avraham as part of P, loosened the connection with Sefer Yehoshua, and Sefer Devarim became the fifth book of the Chumash, rather than the first book of the history of Israel.
In the same fashion, the story of the Levites blessing K'lal Yisrael for the first time at Har Eval became the story of the twelve tribes, half of them standing on Har Eval, for a curse, half of them standing on Har Gerizim, to bless, where the Levites said nothing but curses, that is, they did not bless for the first time, according to Sefer Devarim's account. It seems to me that here is a clear addition and rearrangement of R.
All followers of Har Gerizim fell for R, and thus they, the Shomronim, are not followers of the ancient tradition, as they want to make us believe. Likewise, closer to home, the followers of Har Habayit seem to follow P and D, the sources we wish to peel off, together with R. Because we understand that we need to separate, aleinu lehitPaReD, from the mule, the PeReD, except for what is truly shared by P and D. And so we are left with E, J, H, by and large, and with EHJH in the words of REJ, the wondrous prophet, who also authored the first part of the scroll.
Furthermore, it seems to me that the (reconstructed) story was to give equal authority to Aharon, leader of the "Levites" in Chevron, in Yehudah, and to Chur, leader of the Levites in Shilo, in Yisrael. The captain of the Lord's host seems to have had a name, Moshe, as he is the one that fights the heavenly fight. The role of Chur as a leader of the Levites seems to have been de-emphasized, to make place for Yehoshua bin Nun, the leader of Yisrael. Thus, it would have said originally:
וַיָּקָם מֹשֶׁה, וְחוּר מְשָׁרְתוֹ; וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה, אֶל-הַר הָאֱלֹהִים. וְאֶל-הַזְּקֵנִים אָמַר שְׁבוּ-לָנוּ בָזֶה, עַד אֲשֶׁר-נָשׁוּב אֲלֵיכֶם; וְהִנֵּה מִי-בַעַל דְּבָרִים יִגַּשׁ אֲלֵהֶם
instead of Shemot 24:13,14, and
וַיִּשְׁמַע חוּר אֶת-קוֹל הָעָם, בְּרֵעֹה; וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, קוֹל מִלְחָמָה, בַּמַּחֲנֶה
instead of Shemot 32:17, and
וְשָׁב, אֶל-הַמַּחֲנֶה, וּמְשָׁרְתוֹ חוּר בִּן-נוּן נַעַר, לֹא יָמִישׁ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֹהֶל
instead of Shemot 33:11b, and so forth. In fact, Yehoshua would not have appeared in the description of the nation that came out of Mitzrayim, and neither would that nation be referenced by the name Yisrael. There was no mention of the tribes of Israel, and that includes the mention of Yosef and his sons. And Hashem, He may be called G-d of your fathers, but He is not G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchak, G-d of Ya'akov. These are some of the guidelines on the basis of which it is doable to reconstruct the "original" "Churite" description of Yetziat Mitzrayim.
Chag Shavuot Sameach!
רַפְּדוּנִי, בַּתַּפּוּחִים
Support me, with apples.
שָׁמְרוּ אִמְרָתֶךָ, וּבְרִיתְךָ יִנְצֹרוּ
יוֹרוּ מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְיַעֲקֹב, וְתוֹרָתְךָ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל
בָּרֵךְ יְהוָה חֵילוֹ, וּפֹעַל יָדָיו תִּרְצֶה
יוֹרוּ מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְיַעֲקֹב, וְתוֹרָתְךָ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל
בָּרֵךְ יְהוָה חֵילוֹ, וּפֹעַל יָדָיו תִּרְצֶה