New Skin for the Old Testament

Written by Aran Patinkin

Generally speaking it is very difficult to challenge our belief systems, regardless if their ancient or
new. Our belief systems are mental cobwebs that give birth to our frame of mind and all our ideas.
Seldom are we aware that our actions today may have deeper roots in systems of belief – in ancient
mind structures that were establishes ages before we were born.

In recent years, when our culture reaches a mental dead end, our natural tendency is to seek new
questions and answers in the post, post, post… realm. Perhaps we are literally dead wrong! Science
is gradually maturing today to realize that it cannot produce more accurate analysis than other belief
systems. Regardless of our amazing new tools of measurement, we are still mostly guessing in the
dark. Perhaps we should dramatically change our approach.

I’m taking the wholly task (it isn’t holy), to re-frame our perception of the Bible, that in my mind,
expresses the most fundamental system of belief. The Bible constitutes most of our choices and
actions today; regardless if we affiliate ourselves with some organized religion. I would like today
to try to present the Bible in a fresh new look. Since three major traditions rely on the Bible, it is
hard to imagine how it may have a revolutionary meaning, at times opposite to organized religion
traditions.

Why is it important?
Science, that so much of our physical and emotional security rely upon, is in colossal crises. The
technological-scientific mind is our most dominant belief system today. Most of Quantum Physics
resembles today a religion and a system of belief rather than hard core conventional science – it
cannot be proven empirically. Furthermore many of the scientific papers in all streams of science
cannot be replicated, as required by scientific standards and norms. It is called openly the
'reproducibility crisis'. I presume that it is also valuable to mention the prevalence of purgatory in
many scientific institutes. In moments of crises it is always wise to visit our fundamental belief
systems – the foundations of our mental world. Especially if one is searching for the ‘The Theory of
Everything’, it is advisable to try and go back to the most fundamental archetypes of consciousness
in the Jungian sense. I found them in the Hebrew Bible, but they just as well, appear in all ancient
scripture.

The strength of the Bible is that it unites many of the myths of the near east and by that attributes
them new meaning. I'm not religious in any way. In other words, I don't affiliate myself with any
organized religion. I don't believe the Bible belongs to the Jews, Christians or Muslims and it isn't
holy at all. It is an universal document that presents through storytelling the most fundamental
archetypes and aspects of consciousness and by that constitutes most of our systems of belief,
regardless if we feel religious or not.

The Chosen People are not the Jews nor the Christians nor the Muslims, nor are they the nicest or
cleverest children in God's kindergarten. The Chosen People are those who are mentally mature
enough to be aware that they are making choices, and that by those choices they are creating a
reality for which they are willing to assume full responsibility.

Our pagan conditioning forces us to perceive things linearly—one isolated phenomenon leading to
another, what we have come to accept as cause and effect. The mentality of all of us humans, is still
largely pagan; regardless if we feel monotheistic or not. Our basic paganistic frame of mind
determines absolutely everything. The root of idolatry lies in the belief that man is a victim of
circumstances and therefore something or someone outside of him is always responsible for him
and can save him in times of trouble. On the other hand, the basis of the Hebrew faith is rooted in
internalizing and assimilating the fact that man creates his own reality and therefor must take full
responsibility for it and become a master of his world. Responsibility in this sense does not carry
any criticism or blame; on the contrary, it is full of compassion and bliss. This kind of sense of
responsibility is not heavy, it is light and joyful.

Our pagan conditioning forces us to perceive things linearly - one phenomena leads to another,
cause and effect in their most limited expressions. Consider, for example, Astarte, the ancient
Canaanite goddess who is responsible for fertility. She has a complex and involved relationship
with most of the gods in the rich Canaanite pantheon. But there is nothing in her conduct that
suggests that all is related to all, and that everything coincides with everything else in the universe.
In other words, the pagan mind does not see the connectivity of the ‘big picture’, and therefore will
never take responsibility for his reality. The Biblical visionary prophecy of one God is to widen
man’s scope and to perceive the world, reality and human consciousness as one.

We all carry the Bible as part of who we are; it is ingrained in the collective Western psyche that
dominates the world today. Even as China, India, and other Eastern countries gain power, they do so
by assimilating Western culture and integrating it into their own. The biblical story is the pillar of
fire that has led Western civilization for over two thousand years, and extends its reach globally.
Today it's carried by multiple languages steeped in biblical tradition on the matrix of the worldwide
Web. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emerge from biblical themes and characters. Although most
of the population of the Western world sees itself as secular and dismisses the Bible as irrelevant
folklore, the entire foundation of Western morality derives from the biblical text. In fact, the Torah
is so comprehensive that it embodies the whole human experience. Events such as the Flood, the
giving of the Ten Commandments, the Crucifixion of Christ, and the Holocaust are all embedded in
the human psyche. These have become our archetypes. They are not just remembered as events that
happened in a certain place and time, but they are with us presently; we carry them in our mental
DNA. They are an integral part of who we are.

Most of the stories of the Torah have parallels in other cultures. Themes such as the creation story,
the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and the baby saved in a basket of reeds are rooted in ancient oriental
literature. Elements of the Hebraic prophecy can be identified in the Kingdom of Maary. The Bible
didn't even invent monotheism; there was a belief in one God in ancient Egypt hundreds of years
before the giving of the Torah on mount Sinai. The Torah gathers the scope of human experience
and gives it meaning, order, and direction. It sustained its relevance throughout time because of the
general moral heritage that is derived from its stories: Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise
because of a sin, Cain became a pariah because of murder, and the world was destroyed in a flood
because of evil. The greatness of the Bible is in implementing the importance of human relations:
social justice, repentance, morality, and conscience.

The Torah is unique due to the fact that it survived the sieve of generations. It sustained its
relevance throughout time because of the general moral content that is derived from its stories. The
Sabbath rest is designed to allow workers and slaves adequate rest. The earth also requires rest.
Debts are canceled and even slaves are released every seven years. In the fiftieth, jubilee year
(7x7+1) there is a general call for the canceling of all debts and the end of exploitation; while
creating a new economy from scratch based on the foundations of equality. All this points out the
unique attitude and vision of the Bible. In the mythology of the ancient Near East there is almost no
trace of this unique approach.

One of the greatest steps for mankind was the moral advancement offered through the Law of
Moses. It is true that there were prior ancient law codes in the lands adjacent to Israel, the best
known of these being the Code of Hammurabi that governed ancient Mesopotamia. Nevertheless,
what makes the Hebraic code so astoundingly different is that it introduces a new frequency of
feelings and compassion with respect to relationship. By doing so the Torah moves the individual to
respond to the 'other' in recognition that the other is also himself. The Mosaic Law takes into
account the stranger, the widow and orphan, the poor and friendless, the slave and free; even the
dumb animal comes under its guidance and protective arm.

I might be able, after elaborated effort, to convince you that there has been moral influence by the
Bible of Western society. I’m trying here to claim that the Bible effects our understanding of
physics and of our world. The mere fact that we have been searching for centuries for the ‘The
Theory of Everything’ is biblical. Without the introduction of one omnipotent God that unites all
causes, we wouldn’t even consider the possibility of ‘The Theory of Everything’. But that is not all;
the Hebrew word for 'world', ‫' עולם‬olam', is drawn from the linguistic root which is similar to the
word ‫' נעלם‬n’elam' meaning to 'disappear'. This perhaps suggests that the very nature of the world is
a network of illusions that paradoxically are very alive with vibrational intent. The Bible, written
thousands of years ago, when read in its original Hebrew language, expresses knowledge that is
now being confirmed by new scientific discoveries in our current age, namely quantum physics.
The Bible truly conveys to us that we are all interconnected by a network of meanings that create a
world, that create this Reality. Whether we are aware of it or not we are all maintaining this system.

For generations we've been tempted to search for the hidden secrets of knowledge, and believe that
there is an absolute truth to be found: a 'holy grail' resolving all of our questions and dilemmas.
Despite the wise words of thousands of past and present thinkers, the most basic questions continue
to confound us. The biblical frequency is a term I use here quite loosely that signifies a wide range
of ideas and feelings. It is what grounds us as we seek inner-freedom, and it's a vibration that works
to make us aware of our connectedness to one another. We could say that it's the 'flow' or magnetic
force that brought us together for the purpose of creating something and it seems that what it wants
to create through us is a reflection of itself. Dare we call this thing God? It's drawing us together as
male and female because in the union with the 'other', the fundamental polarity of creation is
manifested. So we could say that what we call the biblical frequency is seeking itself in the
reflection of a union of opposites where God manifests in the act of coupling.

The story of creation is the beginning of a transformation in the mental state of humanity. Creation
according to the Hebrew calendar occurred 5,770 years ago, around 3700 BC. Historians attribute
the beginning of culture (civilization) to roughly 3500 BC. Interesting to note that even Mayan
civilization marks the beginning of time, their calendar, to around this time, 5200 years ago. By
extension this suggests that the creation of the world, which is our mentality or current state of
being, originated with the birth of the Biblical account. Thus begins the first spark of our culture
and civilization. The conception of Adam as the first human, created it seems as an adult, gives birth
to a child—consciousness, and we biological humans are just a mere manifestation of the totality of
that first spark of consciousness and as we grow and develop mentally we discover we're its leading
edge.

In the beginning the first human was created - man and woman. The linguistic source of the name
‘Adam’ derives from a similar Hebrew word “Adamah” which means 'earth'. Adam was created
alongside the woman and her name is ‘Chava’ (Eve), which derives from the same Hebrew root as
the word ‘chavayah’ (experience – or what is). We can therefore understand that there are two
primary archetypes through which the earth experience is manifested. The last letter in the Hebrew
word ‘Adamah’ (Earth) is an ‫’‘ ה‬h’ (Hebrew omits most vowels). The letter ‘h’ in written Hebrew
conveys creation, femininity and fertility. ‘Adamah’ (Earth) contains the ‘am’ letters which means
‘Mother’ in Hebrew. So the earth is a symbol of the archetypal mother - 'Mother Earth'. The ‘d’ and
the ‘m’ in the word ‘Adam’ also appear in the Hebrew words ‘domeh’ (akin) and ‘deamion’
(imagination): ‘Adam’ is created in the image (imagination) of God. When there is no kinship to
God (which is simply another word for consciousness), man does not manifest his true destiny. The
letters ‫( מד‬md) that mean to measure appear in the word ‫( אדם‬adam). Many physics claim today that
everything is information basically about measurements and comparisons. Yes, it is true` but I
would say, like the ancient sages (Moses, Jesus Buddha etc), that everything is relations or love. In
order to relate we constantly measure, compare and talk.

The Hebrew word for work is ‫‘ עבודה‬Avodah’ which is of the same linguistic root as ‫‘ עבד‬Eved’
which means slave. Man is called to work the earth as a slave of God (which again is nothing big
nor mysterious. It is simply another word for consciousness). When man becomes self-conscious or
self-aware, he realizes this, but paradoxically he acquires---through that revelation---free will. The
letters ‫' דם‬dam' in the word ‫‘ אדם‬Adam’ (human) means blood in Hebrew. This suggests that without
blood there is no life in the human. If we remove the letters ‘dam’ (blood/life) from the word
Adamah we are left with ‘aha’ returning us back to Earth---creativity and femininity-–from earth we
are made and to earth we return. These are just a few simple examples to illustrate the wealth and
untapped wisdom deeply embedded within the Hebrew language (or any other language) as it seeks
to offer meaning to the experience of Life.

I’m not not simply ‘playing’ with words, or trying to convey new biblical commentary. I am
reaching beyond—attempting to awaken this ancient frequency, a whole new approach to belief, to
life, and to ourselves – a change in paradigm (rings close to paradise). We will seek to reach a
Hebrew level of understanding which is not private nor bound by the world of personal opinions.
On the level of opinions we can argue, quarrel, and even go to war. This universal quest is much
deeper than our petty personal views. This kind of inquiry requires us to let go of our normal
perception which sees reality as a collection of unrelated phenomena. It calls us to perceive reality
and life as a comprehensive mosaic of related factors that are derived, as if by a mathematical
equation, from one precious mental frequency.

Today this all sounds very remote and irrelevant. Passover is the holiday that commemorates, in the
Jewish tradition, mental freedom. In Passover one passes-over to a new and fresh state of mind -
paradigm. Unfortunately this quality has all but been forgotten. It was always extremely difficult to
challenge rigid convention and realize that the original intention of the Bible was quite the reverse
of what it seems to be today; from being the root of all creation and creativity, the Bible turned to be
a fossilized enhancing of conventions.

It seems to be too big of a mental leap jumping from technological-scientific state of mind
backwards (or forward) to storytelling and legend land. Despite the changes that are accruing in
universities and around the world, oddly enough; science still seems to us more accurate than
legend. But everything is eventually legend and one day it would be common sense. One day
perhaps more people will tune in to this earth-rooted frequency and what seems so bizarre today
will become common knowledge. That is how it’s always been. If you would mention in 1490 that
the earth is round, you might even find yourself behind bars or burned at the stake.