05 April 2012

Pesach

I'll be doing a few things differently for Passover this year, including a major re-edit of my homemade Hagaddah to include a lot more quotations from Torah. Here's a little note I'm putting on the first page about the use of language in those quotes:

Ha’Shem, “the name”, is what we will say instead of יהוה‎, the unspoken name of the god of the Torah, borrowing from the usage of the Chassidim

Israel, ישראל, “wrestler with El”, may or may not be the name Jacob took after he injured his hip, or of the Promised Land of the Torah, or of the nation on the map

Mitzrayim, מצרים, “the narrow place”, may or may not be the Place of Bondage of the Torah, or the place we call Egypt today

Children of Israel, may or may not refer the children sired by Jacob, the people of the Exodus story, or the Jews of today

Jerusalem, ירושלים, “rain of peace”, may or may be the City of the Messianic Age, the site of the Temple in the Torah, or the city on the map

2 comments:

China said...

You have inspired me... I will be naming my next BDSM club מצרים.

"Mitzrayim, מצרים, “the narrow place”, may or may not be the Place of Bondage of the Torah..."

Jonathan Korman said...

Here I've always wanted to open a dance club named תהו ובהו, “formless and void” and you've done me one better.