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Walking On Water For Skeptics Boys On The Verge of Manhood and Real Men-Libre
Walking On Water For Skeptics Boys On The Verge of Manhood and Real Men-Libre
FO R SK E PT I C S, B O Y S O N T H E V E R G E O F M A N H O O D , A N D R E A L M E N
the ship came and worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou art the Son of
God. 1
Jesus has faith. He doesnt possess a shred of fear or doubt and walks
easily on the water. Peter wants to walk on the water, but he is afraid. Peter
has some faith, but Peter also has some doubt. Notice that Jesus must save
Peter from sinking beneath the waves because Peters faith is not absolute.
Sometime in 1994 I was driving up First Avenue in Manhattan and
had to stop for a red light at Sixteenth Street. I glanced to the left to see
police barricades at the main entrance of Beth Israel Hospital. A small group
of orthodox Jewish men, with their long side curls, black hats and black
coats stood within the barricades with their backs to the world rocking back
and forth staring down into their prayer books. I knew from the newspapers
that the highly regarded Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson was in
the hospital near death.
What might have been a few or many more weeks later, my eyes were
attracted by a full color brochure in a thrift shop on Third Avenue. I dug it
out from under some old paperbacks. The brochure had the now deceased
rebbes picture on the front cover. When I got it home I flipped through the
pages. The brochure declared the late rebbe King Moshiach. He had
fulfilled the Biblical prophecies regarding the messiah and he was a master
of the Law with a literary output in the hundreds of books. My attention
was drawn to a section titled Final Test which was entirely about faith in
God and the final redemption of the Jewish people. What drew my attention
particularly were two stories that had to do with some iteration of the
miracle of walking on water. I had never heard of these stories which
seemed to belong in the Bible but, when I looked for even a suggestion of
them in the passages where they would logically fit, they werent there.
The first story in the brochure contained additional information about
the patriarch Abraham, information I could not find in Genesis.
Abraham is on his way to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac at
Gods command but Satan becomes a wide rushing river that blocks
Abrahams way. Upon reaching the river Abraham walks right into the water
and that might have been the end of the story except for one remarkable fact.
As soon as the water reaches Abrahams head, the river vanishes. It is
a miracle.
The second story is set in Exodus. Ben Nachshon Aminidov is
standing beneath Moses on the shore of the Red Sea when God commands
Moses to raise his staff and part the water. Nachshon, like Abraham before
him, walks right into the water until it is over his head.
At that moment, Moses raises his staff and the water parts. It is
another miracle.
Nachshon son of Amminadab (the Biblical variant of the name) who
walks into the water until it is over his head is mentioned in the book of
Numbers 2 as the nasi (prince) of the tribe of Judah. He is an ancestor of
David in a genealogy of Perez in the book of Ruth. 3 The story about
Nachshon walking into the water until it is over his head is a midrash, 4 an
ancient rabbinical commentary on the book of Exodus. That is why I could
not find it in the Bible. The Exodus commentary portrays Nachshon as the
only one of the Israelites who has the faith to walk into the water, even
before Moses raises his staff. The story is well known among Jews to whom
a nachshon is a courageous individual. As an ancestor of David, Nachshon
also figures in the table of descent of Jesus Christ at the beginning of the
book of Matthew. 5
When I compared these midrashim on Genesis and Exodus with
the phenomenon of walking on water from the New Testament the stories
appeared to hold absolute faith in an embodied oral tradition as a mans
ultimate religious covenant with God.
Here is the comparison.
Abraham is a patriarch, a pastoral nomad, with the dual roles of king
and priest. He tithes to Melchizedek whose very name is king and priest. He
has faith. His faith causes the water to disappear. Since he is both king and
priest, he has no written law. The law is written on his heart.
Nachshon is the prince of the tribe of Judah. Jesus, like Nachshon, is
also of the tribe of Judah, a tribe to which Moses made no reference in
speaking of priests. 6 If Nachshons tribe does not know priests, then
Nachshon, like the patriarch Abraham, also has the dual roles of king and
priest. The midrash deliberately leads us to wonder. Did the waters part
because of Nachshons faith or Moses staff? Given his bold behavior,
Nachshons essence is his faith. According to the book of Hebrews,
Nachshons tribe does not know a priestly caste. Therefore, the law must
be written on his heart. Moses, unlike Nachshon, often hesitates because
2
Numbers 1:7
Ruth 4:18-22
4
The Midrash on Genesis is from the Medrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22.2 The Midrash on
Exodus is from the Mechilta, BShalach 14:22
5
Matthew 1:4
6
Hebrews 7:14
3
he lacks faith. God does not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land;
perhaps because Moses is a priest who offers a written law that is not
written on his heart.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus walks on water. In the gospel of
Matthew, Jesus walks on water and Peter sinks. Then Jesus says to Peter,
Why did you hesitate? How little faith you have.
The law is not written on Peters heart.
Now, consider again the men who do have the law written on their
hearts. Abraham and Nachshon sink into the water until it is over their heads
and the water miraculously parts.
Jesus walks on the water. He doesnt sink at all. His faith is assumed
to be absolute. He is of the tribe of Judah, a tribe to which Moses made
no reference in speaking of priests. He is of the order of Melchizedek and
like Melchizedek whose name means king and priest, Jesus fulfills both
roles. He does not need a written law. The law is written on his heart.
Lets take a closer look at these core characteristics of Abraham,
Moses, Nachshon and Jesus. Theyre important enough to mention again
because these characteristics are the building blocks of the systematic
theology of the Torahs principal redactor.
Abraham is a patriarch with dual roles. He has faith.
Without priests, he has no written law.
The law is written on his heart.
Moses is a priest. He doubts, like Peter. His faith is not absolute.
He has a written law.
The law is not written on his heart.
Nachshon, prince of the tribe of Judah which does not know priests
Has faith. Without priests, he has no written law.
The law is written on his heart.
Jesus, of the order of Melchizedek, has faith.
He is a priest and a king with no written law.
The law is written on his heart.
The stated purpose of the brochure which introduced me to the
midrashim on Genesis and Exodus was to present evidence that the late
rebbe was the messiah King Moshiach and now after having compared
these stories we can see what a messiah is and how Gods kingdom is
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