Donald Traxler's Poetry

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Our Bodies Come and Go

Our bodies come and go,
male or female, dark or light,
short or tall, weak or strong.
What is important is not the type of body,
but what you do with it.

When a poet is without words,
the situation is very serious.

Quand un poète est sans paroles,
la situation est très grave.

Cuando un poeta está sin palabras,
La situación es muy grave.

Quando um poeta está sem palavras,
a situação é muito grave.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

The Energy Body

The energy body is first,
and it has consciousness.

Le corps énergétique est le premier,
et il a conscience.

El cuerpo energético es primero,
y tiene conciencia.

O corpo energético é o primeiro,
e tem consciência.

Monday, July 27, 2020

The Roots of Monotheism - II: A History Now Lost

That there was Egyptian influence on the religion of the ancient Hebrews is something of which there can be no doubt. The Hebrew word for "incense," קְטֹרֶת, is an Egyptian word. Male circumcision was an Egyptian custom, which the Jews learned from them.

What we sometimes call the Star of David is actually, in Hebrew, the Shield of David. The "Shield of David" could only be G-d. The design, though, appears to be a star. Surely it is not just a random star; could it be OUR star? I admit that I don't know the answer to this.

Many have pointed out similarities between The Great Hymn to the Aton, discovered in the tomb of an Egyptian royal courtier named Ay, and Psalm 104. Below is a listing of some of these similarities:

Perhaps it is most significant of all that the keystone of Judaism is the Shema Yisrael prayer, found in Deuteronomy 6:4:

"Hear, O Israel, the LORD our G-d, the LORD is One."

The dating is just right for this to be a reflection of the fervent Egyptian monotheism of the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton.

All of this, of course, proves nothing, but it is certainly suggestive of a history that is now unfortunately lost.

Concerning the sacredness of the Name: an unnamed Divinity can be a universal Deity, beyond all gender and other attributes conceived by our finite minds. Such a Deity can aid the cause of unity, without harming the cause of Divinity.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

The Roots of Monotheism - I: Clues Hiding in Plain Sight

I am not the first to address this topic, nor will I be the last. Somehow, those facts that are known, are not known widely. My precursors have had different approaches to the subject matter, and have emphasized different things. My own intention is to address it above all with respect, both respect for G-d and for my fellow humans of many different religious beliefs.

Since it is a large subject, it's hard to know where to start. I'll start with the Torah, and with Moses. In Shemot/Exodus 4:10, we learn that Moses was "slow of speech," not eloquent," and that his tongue was slow. Why? Because Hebrew was not his first language. He had grown up in the Pharaoh's household, speaking Egyptian. In fact, the name that Pharaoh's daughter gave him after she rescued him from a basket smeared with pitch to allow it to float safely on the river was an Egyptian name: Moses. This name means "he is born," and it is one of the elements in many Egyptian royal names, such as "Tutmosis" (Thoth is born), and Ramoses (Ra is born). When G-d spoke to Moses from a burning bush, it is reasonable to assume that G-d spoke to Moses in Egyptian, and that Moses wrote down the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets--in Egyptian. Alphabetic Phoenician/Old Hebrew writing either did not yet exist or had not yet come into common use as early as 1290 BCE, the assumed approximate date of the Exodus.

Because the name of G-d is sacred (literally "set apart"), Jews do not even try to pronounce it. When one sees the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) in a text, one says instead "adonai." If you look up the word "adon" in a Hebrew dictionary, you will find that it means "lord" (with a small "l"). So "adonai" means "my lord."

Now, it has been claimed by many (especially E. A. Wallis Budge, Champollion-Figeac, and Brugsch) that Egyptian religion was always monotheistic and the many divine names were just forms of a chief deity. But, depending on which priesthood you consulted,that chief deity was Amun, Ptah, or some other. What we know for sure is that Egypt had a truly monotheistic Pharaoh about two generations before the assumed date of the Exodus (ca. 1290 BCE). His original name was Akhenamun (which I believe means "Image of Amun"), but after he decided that the Aton, or disk of the sun, should be worshiped exclusively, he changed his name to Akhenaton (Image of the Aton).

[Note on the spelling of Egyptian words: Egyptian, like Hebrew and Arabic, did not write most of the vowels. Neither is it really possible to reconstruct the mystery vowels from Coptic, the latest form of the Egyptian language, which was written in a modified Greek alphabet, because Coptic had four or five different dialects, with different vowels. But Wallis-Budge wanted the words to be somewhat pronounceable, so he represented unknown vowels with a neutral "e," and most English scholars followed his lead. Thus, we see forms such as Akhenaten, Aten, and neter. We know from inscriptions in other writing systems that the last of these forms, which means "a god," a member of the company of the gods," was actually pronounced "nuter." But Budge continued to write "neter" anyway. Recognizing that this was misleading, the German scholars did not try to identify what was unknown, and used apostrophes and other symbols for the mystery vowels. In Spanish today, we see "Akhenatón," which is probably accurate.]

Going back to "adonai," it is easy to imagine that "My Atón" became an honorary form of address among the monotheists of Akhenaton's reign, especially for the Pharaoh.. The expression can therefore be dated to about forty years before the assumed date of the Exodus.

(to be continued)

Saturday, July 25, 2020

He Inhabits this Space as Best He Can

He inhabits this space as best he can,
bearing in mind the far past
and also the nearer future.

While many are social abstractions
for the benefit of those who rule,
he strives to fit the human pattern.

Il habite cet espace du mieux qu'il peut,
compte tenu du passé lointain
et aussi le futur proche.

Alors que beaucoup sont des abstractions sociales
au profit de ceux qui gouvernent,
il s'efforce de refléter le modèle humain.

Él habita este espacio lo mejor que puede,
teniendo en cuenta el pasado lejano
y también el futuro más cercano.

Si bien muchos son abstracciones sociales
en beneficio de quienes gobiernan,
se esfuerza por reflejar el patrón humano.

Ele habita esse espaço da melhor maneira possível,
tendo em mente o passado distante
e também o futuro mais próximo.

Enquanto muitos são abstrações sociais
para o benefício daqueles que governam,
ele se esforça para refletir o padrão humano.

Friday, July 24, 2020

There Is No Part

There is no part of his body that is not holy,
there is no part of his body that has not
a divine purpose, and no part that does not
contain Divinity.
There is no part of his body that must be hidden.

Il n'y a aucune partie de son corps qui ne soit sainte,
il n'y a aucune partie de son corps qui n'a pas
un dessein divin, et aucune partie qui ne
contienne la Divinité.
Il n'y a aucune partie de son corps qui doit être cachée.

No hay parte de su cuerpo que no sea santa,
no hay parte de su cuerpo que no tenga
un propósito divino, y ninguna parte que no
contenga la Divinidad
No hay ninguna parte de su cuerpo que debe ser escondido.

Não há parte do corpo dele que não seja santa,
não há parte do seu corpo que não tenha
um propósito divino, e nenhuma parte que não
contém Divindade.
Não há nenhuma parte de seu corpo que deve ser escondido.