If you think that it's great to:
- Show how Torah can relate to the natural world
- Enhance the connection between the Jewish People and Biblical Israel
- Demonstrate that Judaism can be exciting and exotic while simultaneously enriching our lives
- Help the charedi public learn about the natural world
...then join the mission of the Biblical Museum of Natural History!
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Help the charedi public learn about the natural world
ReplyDeleteAha! The cat is out of the bag now :). Step 1: Visit Museum. Step 2: What, Shafan is Hyrax? I've been lied to! Step 3: Convert to RZ.
You beat me to it!
DeleteStep 4: Mixed dancing.
DeleteJoking aside, people like Betech lead us to forget that even in the charedi world it is perfectly normative to identify shafan as the hyrax. In the Israeli charedi world, this is unquestioned. Even in America, that's the translation given in all Artscroll texts (even the ones that I wasn't involved with).
ReplyDeleteOf course, it's the loudest and most passionate who win out. If (as is the case) most of the charedi world believes the Menorah had round arms but at the same time doesn't care very much about it, then a relatively small number of Chabadniks who feel very passionately that it did not will be very influential.
DeletePut another way, no charedi has written a book saying the shafan *is* the hyrax. So if Betech is the only game out there (apart from the "controversial" Slifkin), you'll see more and more charedim toeing that line.
And the haskmamos to Betech's book are not encouraging.
DeleteIf you think that it's great to:
ReplyDeleteShow how Torah can relate to the natural world
Enhance the connection between the Jewish People and Biblical Israel
Demonstrate that Judaism can be exciting and exotic while simultaneously enriching our lives
Help the charedi public learn about the natural world
I'd add: "If you think it important to learn some basic peshat in parts of the Torah which you've previously skimmed through due to ignorance, then the Museum is for you."