A brief explanation
So, blogging is apparently the thing to do, and since I spend so much time reading other peoples', I figured I might as well offer something up to the collective whole of blogginess.
As it stands, I've kinda been in limbo as far as original thoughts go, but I'm kinda hoping that having a place to vomit up my deepest contemplations might, at the very least make me aware of my internal monologue enough so that I can distinguish it from the white noise of the TV sitcoms from my childhood that are so permanently emblazoned on the back of my brain.
As far as the explanation that I promised...Hineni is Hebrew which is loosely translated as "here I am." I myself am not Jewish, but I hold Jews in high regard. Hineni is an important phrase which finds its philosophic roots in the old testament.
There once was a guy named Abraham, and God told him that he would father a son who would then father the rest of the entire Hebrew people, therefore making Abraham, and his son Isaac, two very important people. But, God can sometimes be a fickle god, and one day called Abraham up and said,
"hey, Abe, I think I changed my mind about you being the great grand-daddy of the chosen people. So, here's what I want you to do. Take Isaac to the top of mount Sinai and make a human sacrifice of him. I'd do it myself, but I've really got my hands full with...well, everything, because I'm god and all."
Abraham, since he was talking with God, really only had one response and it was, you guessed it, "hineni." That's all he could say. I mean, really what else could he say, he was talking to God. He can't really say no, or try to convince God that this was a really bad idea. Instead all he said was "hineni," and it wasn't so much in a, "here I am God, whatever you say I'll do, even if it makes absolutely no freaking sense at all," kinda way.
Abraham was really having a moment there, he was standing before God, which any religious philosopher will tell you is hard to do because the glory of God is too much for a human to even comprehend, but also because in that moment he had to realize, there he is. Abraham, the individual, the person unlike any other, who is now standing outsidethe realm of man and God because he has the daunting task ahead of him of killing his son. He has to forget about everything he knows about the ethical realm of humankind, and put aside all the thoughts he had about him maybe understanding God's plan.
Here he is, alone in a world full of other people that are alone, but he's the only one that knows it.
That's what Hineni means, not just having that moment of realization or feeling alone, but understanding that you are a singular entity which is completely different from everything else in the world. It also has a lot to do with faith and transcendence and a suspension of the ethical realm and all that fun jazz, but this is getting a little long in the tooth, and hopefully you get the main idea.
Oh, and eventually Abraham gets Isaac up the mountain and is just about to cut him up, when an angel stops his blade and tells him to sacrifice the lamb they brought with them, instead of his son. Pretty neat, right?
Hineni.
As it stands, I've kinda been in limbo as far as original thoughts go, but I'm kinda hoping that having a place to vomit up my deepest contemplations might, at the very least make me aware of my internal monologue enough so that I can distinguish it from the white noise of the TV sitcoms from my childhood that are so permanently emblazoned on the back of my brain.
As far as the explanation that I promised...Hineni is Hebrew which is loosely translated as "here I am." I myself am not Jewish, but I hold Jews in high regard. Hineni is an important phrase which finds its philosophic roots in the old testament.
There once was a guy named Abraham, and God told him that he would father a son who would then father the rest of the entire Hebrew people, therefore making Abraham, and his son Isaac, two very important people. But, God can sometimes be a fickle god, and one day called Abraham up and said,
"hey, Abe, I think I changed my mind about you being the great grand-daddy of the chosen people. So, here's what I want you to do. Take Isaac to the top of mount Sinai and make a human sacrifice of him. I'd do it myself, but I've really got my hands full with...well, everything, because I'm god and all."
Abraham, since he was talking with God, really only had one response and it was, you guessed it, "hineni." That's all he could say. I mean, really what else could he say, he was talking to God. He can't really say no, or try to convince God that this was a really bad idea. Instead all he said was "hineni," and it wasn't so much in a, "here I am God, whatever you say I'll do, even if it makes absolutely no freaking sense at all," kinda way.
Abraham was really having a moment there, he was standing before God, which any religious philosopher will tell you is hard to do because the glory of God is too much for a human to even comprehend, but also because in that moment he had to realize, there he is. Abraham, the individual, the person unlike any other, who is now standing outsidethe realm of man and God because he has the daunting task ahead of him of killing his son. He has to forget about everything he knows about the ethical realm of humankind, and put aside all the thoughts he had about him maybe understanding God's plan.
Here he is, alone in a world full of other people that are alone, but he's the only one that knows it.
That's what Hineni means, not just having that moment of realization or feeling alone, but understanding that you are a singular entity which is completely different from everything else in the world. It also has a lot to do with faith and transcendence and a suspension of the ethical realm and all that fun jazz, but this is getting a little long in the tooth, and hopefully you get the main idea.
Oh, and eventually Abraham gets Isaac up the mountain and is just about to cut him up, when an angel stops his blade and tells him to sacrifice the lamb they brought with them, instead of his son. Pretty neat, right?
Hineni.
posted by R. Peeps at 9:53 PM
2 Comments:
lovely, dear. i think having a blog will be an excellent hineni-type exercise for you. it's hard to hide behind anything when you have a blog - and if you do manage it, usually you sound ridiculous. your storytelling is fresh and unique...did i ever tell you about my idea of rewriting the bible for the 21st century? i think you'd be an excellent partner in that crime. next time though, maybe talk about you and your obsession with hineni, and how difficult it is for you to feel this concept in your life. because, at least, that's what i want to know, and i already know the story of abraham. :)
love,
suz
Ohh... yay! I'm glad you joined us. Because as they say, "When you quit your job and move across the country to a promised better job that never pans out, and you find yourself smoking one Camel Light a day on the sidewalk fifteen feet from your girlfriend's mom's house, and you actually miss Webster, you should blog. Because what the fuck else are you going to do?"
Welcome.
love,
Ols
Post a Comment
<< Home