Friday Humor (5) Late

Sorry for being late, but I guess I should not be, because no one is paying any attention anyway.   But here goes.

I was watching a video of Robin Williams.  In it, he claims that God must smoke marijuana to create a Platypus.  If we are created in the image of God, and we have a sense of humor, so must God.

My favorite scene in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" is when Roger and the private detective are handcuffed together.  The detective is using a hacksaw to cut through them, but the box is shaking.  Roger removes his hand to steady the box.  When the detective sees this, Roger immediately puts his hand back into the handcuff.  The detective is angry at Roger and says, "do you mean you could have removed your hand at any time?"  Roger responded, "no, only when it is funny".

Since I seemed to be focused on suspension of disbelief, I will look at humor that way.  Is it too difficult for some to do that with the Bible, since, if it is the word of God, it must be taken seriously?  I personally do not think so.  Laughter is an important part of the Bible.  Take for example, Abraham's son Isaac.  His name in Hebrew, יצחק, yitz-chak, means "he will laugh".  Both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God because God was demanding that they suspend their disbelief.  We see this in Genesis 18:12:

וַתִּצְחַ֥ק שָׂרָ֖ה בְּקִרְבָּ֣הּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אַחֲרֵ֤י בְלֹתִי֙ הָֽיְתָה־לִּ֣י עֶדְנָ֔ה וַֽאדֹנִ֖י זָקֵֽן׃

And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that I’ve lost the ability, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?”

Sarah's life experience told her that she was too old to have a child and she laughed at God, but later denies it.  Can suspending disbelief be a joke?  Comedians think so.  So I look at certain stories that I think demands our suspension, and try to understand them in a humorous way.

Let's look at Moses at the Burning Bush in chapters 3 and 4 of Exodus.   The first thing Moses must do is believe that a bush can be on fire, but not be consumed.  Next, he must believe that there is an angel in the burning bush.  Then he must believe that he is being commissioned to take the Israelites out of Egypt.  All of these are clearly outside the realm of his reality.

What I find so humorous in these two chapters is that direct questions are never answered.  I can hear very clearly the voice of Moses as Woody Allen (whose stand up comedy routines I really enjoy).  Question 1 (Exodus 3:11-12):

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים מִ֣י אָנֹ֔כִי כִּ֥י אֵלֵ֖ךְ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה וְכִ֥י אוֹצִ֛יא אֶת־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and I should bring the Israelites from Egypt?”

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ כִּֽי־אֶֽהְיֶ֣ה עִמָּ֔ךְ וְזֶה־לְּךָ֣ הָא֔וֹת כִּ֥י אָנֹכִ֖י שְׁלַחְתִּ֑יךָ בְּהוֹצִֽיאֲךָ֤ אֶת־הָעָם֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם תַּֽעַבְדוּן֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים עַ֖ל הָהָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃

And [God] said, “I will be with you; that shall be your sign that it was I who sent you. And when you have brought the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” 

A lot of issues here.  First, how is "I will be with you" an answer to "who am I"?  Second, what exactly is the sign?  And third, what does worshipping God on the mountain have to do with anything?

Second question (Exodus 3:13-14):

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֣י בָא֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י לָהֶ֔ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְאָֽמְרוּ־לִ֣י מַה־שְּׁמ֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֹמַ֖ר אֲלֵהֶֽם׃

Moses said to God, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers’ [house] has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is [God’s] name?’ what shall I say to them?”

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh,” continuing, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.’” 

Even more issues.  Again, God does not answer the question directly.  Since there is no complete understanding of the biblical verb system, the word אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה, eh-he-yeh, is difficult to translate precisely.  In modern Hebrew, it means "I will be".  So if I am translating this based on modern Hebrew,  God gives the name as "I will be what I will be".  The name is changed twice after this, first to only אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה, without the predicate, and in the next verse, to the four letter name of God.  

Rashi explains the change from "I will what I will be" to "I will be" as God saying in the first name, "I will be what I will be" as I, God will be with you in this trouble as I will be with you in all future troubles.  Rashi bases I will be with you from the answer to the first question of Moses.  Moses complains that the slavery in Egypt is enough, so God shortens the name to "I will be with you now".  A fitting attempt to explain the shortening of the name, but it does not address the question of God's name.  In any case, again, God does not give Moses a direct answer.

It is in chapter four that I find the most humor:

וַיַּ֤עַן מֹשֶׁה֙ וַיֹּ֔אמֶר וְהֵן֙ לֹֽא־יַאֲמִ֣ינוּ לִ֔י וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמְע֖וּ בְּקֹלִ֑י כִּ֣י יֹֽאמְר֔וּ לֹֽא־נִרְאָ֥ה אֵלֶ֖יךָ יְהֹוָֽה׃

But Moses spoke up and said, “What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me, but say that the Lord did not appear to you?”

וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אֵלָ֛יו יְהֹוָ֖ה (מזה) [מַה־זֶּ֣ה] בְיָדֶ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מַטֶּֽה׃

The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he replied, “A rod.”

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַשְׁלִיכֵ֣הוּ אַ֔רְצָה וַיַּשְׁלִכֵ֥הוּ אַ֖רְצָה וַיְהִ֣י לְנָחָ֑שׁ וַיָּ֥נס מֹשֶׁ֖ה מִפָּנָֽיו׃

[God] said, “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it on the ground and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה שְׁלַח֙ יָֽדְךָ֔ וֶאֱחֹ֖ז בִּזְנָב֑וֹ וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָדוֹ֙ וַיַּ֣חֲזֶק בּ֔וֹ וַיְהִ֥י לְמַטֶּ֖ה בְּכַפּֽוֹ׃

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grasp it by the tail”—he put out his hand and seized it, and it became a rod in his hand.

As with the scene with Adam, Eve, and the snake, this scene can easily directed as comedy.  When God asks, "what is in your hand", what is the first thing Moses does?  He looks at his staff.  He knows what is in his hand.  God knows what is in his hand.  What does the question mean?  Moses has to be thinking it is a trick question, and I can easily see the puzzlement on his face.

What kind of snake is it?  My guess is a King Cobra, hissing at Moses and daring him to pick it up.  And not only to pick it up, but to grab it by the tail, the wrong place to grab a poisonous snake.  Again, I can direct Moses as quivering and terrified as he reaches for the snake.  And if that was not scary enough, God gives him leprosy.

If I am correct and the encounter between God and Moses at the Burning Bush was meant to be funny, a key question is why?  Does humor grab the attention of the audience (assuming the stories were passed on orally before being written down)?  Or am I reading something into the text that really isn't there?  I do not have an answer to that.






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