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Truth Over Tyranny: Biblical wisdom for defeating the Technocrats.
These are my insights for defeating the Transhumanist Technocracy movement, based on the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, on the weekly Bible portion.
Moses was perhaps the first and greatest Freedom Fighter. He was recruited by God to help liberate the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, and form a free society under God’s law. A good portion of the Five Books of Moses describes the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of his leadership. He was truly an ordinary man who chose to do extraordinary things, and he died a real hero.
His passing is mentioned in the last parsha of the Torah, Vezot Habracha. In his commentary on the parsha called “Moses’ Death, Moses’ Life,” Rabbi Jonathan Sacks gleans lessons from the life and death of Moses that can be of tremendous value to the Freedom Fighters of today. For after all: they too are simply ordinary people choosing to do extraordinary things.
Here are some of the lessons from Rabbi Sacks, and insights into how they can be applied to those men and women who are fighting to defeat the tyranny of the Technocrats:
“For each of us, even for the greatest, there is a Jordan we will not cross, a promised land we will not enter, a destination we will not reach. That is what Rabbi Tarfon meant when he said: It is not for you to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it. (Mishnah Avot 2:16) What we began, others will continue. What matters is that we undertook the journey. We did not stand still.”
Today’s war to preserve freedom will probably last many generations. The fighters of today can do all we can, but we can’t do it all. Generations of fighters must follow us.
“‘No man knows his burial place.’ (Deut. 34:6) What a contrast between Moses and the heroes of other civilisations whose burial places become monuments, shrines, places of pilgrimage. It was precisely to avoid this that the Torah insists explicitly that no one knows where Moses is buried. We believe that the greatest mistake is to worship human beings as if they were gods. We admire human beings; we do not worship them. That difference is anything but small.”
The global elites worship themselves. They even want to capture the evolution of the human species, and remold it into their image. Those of us opposing this transhumanist ideology know that only God is Creator and King, and that only He is worthy of our worship.
“God alone is perfect. That is what Moses wanted people never to forget. Even the greatest human is not perfect. Even Moses sinned. We still do not know what his sin was – there are many opinions – but that is why God told him he would not enter the Promised Land. No human is infallible. Perfection belongs to God alone. Only when we honour this essential difference between heaven and earth can God be God and humans, human.”
We will make mistakes. We will suffer defeats, largely due to the mistakes we make. What’s most important is that we learn from these mistakes, and move forward.
“There is more than one way of living a good life. Even Moses, the greatest of men, could not lead alone. He needed the peace-making skills of Aaron, the courage of Miriam, and the support of the seventy elders. We should never ask: Why am I not as great as X? We each have something, a skill, a passion, a sensitivity, that makes, or could make, us great. The greatest mistake is trying to be someone else instead of being yourself. Do what you are best at, then surround yourself with people who are strong where you are weak.”
Battles to protect our freedom are being fought on many fronts, including courtrooms, boardrooms, and living rooms (yes, sadly, even within families.) Many skills are need to achieve victories. People of all skills and talents have a place to serve.
“Never lose the idealism of youth. The Torah says of Moses that at the age of a hundred and twenty, ‘his eyes had not grown dim, nor his vitality fled.’ (Deut. 34:7)
“I used to think these were two complementary phrases until I realised that the first is the explanation of the second. Moses’ eyes were undimmed because he never lost the passion for justice that he had as a young man. It is there, as vigorous in Deuteronomy as it was in Exodus.
“We are as young as our ideals. Give way to cynicism and you rapidly age. At the Burning Bush, Moses said to God: ‘I am not a man of words… I am slow of speech and tongue.’ By the time we reach Deuteronomy, the book named Devarim – ‘Words’ – Moses has become the most eloquent of prophets. Some are puzzled by this. They should not be. ‘Who gives man speech? Said the Lord to him… I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.’ (Ex. 4:11-12) God chose one who was not a man of words, so that when he spoke, people realised that it was not he who was speaking but God who was speaking through him. What he spoke were not his words but God’s words.
“That is also why God chose a couple who could not have children – Abraham and Sarah – to become parents of the first Jewish child. That is why He chose a people not conspicuous for their piety to become God’s witnesses to the world. The highest form of greatness is so to open ourselves to God that His blessings flow through us to the world. That is how the priests blessed the people. It was not their blessing. They were the channel of God’s blessing. The highest achievement to which we can aspire is so to open ourselves to others and to God in love that something greater than ourselves flows through us.”
Even people who do not share a formal belief in God, feel “called upon” to serve the cause of Freedom. Heeding that call empowers them to persevere in spite of the multitude of setbacks and obstacles they face. They understand that this is a fight of Right vs Wrong, and they are finding out that Right Makes Might.
“Moses defended the people. Did he like them? Did he admire them? Was he liked by them? The Torah leaves us in no doubt as to the answers to those questions. Yet he defended them with all the passion and power at his disposal. Even when they had sinned. Even when they were ungrateful to God. Even when they made a Golden Calf. He risked his life to do so. He said to God: ‘Forgive their sin – but if not, blot me out of the book You have written’ (Ex. 32:32). According to the Talmud, God taught Moses this lesson at the very outset of his career. When Moses said about the people, ‘They will not believe me’ (Ex. 4:1) God said, ‘They are the believers, children of believers, and in the end it will be you who does not believe.’
“The leaders worthy of admiration are those who defend the people – even the non-Orthodox, even the secular, even those whose orthodoxy is a different shade from theirs. The people worthy of respect are those who give respect. Those who hate will be hated, those who look down on others will be looked down on, and those who condemn will be condemned. That is a basic principle of Judaism: middah kenegged middah. The people who are great are those who help others to become great. Moses taught the Jewish people how to become great.”
This, to me, is key: the Freedom Fighters of today must inspire others to be the Freedom Fighters of tomorrow. Their stories of how they transcend their own fears and insecurities, encourage others to do the same.
“The greatest tribute the Torah gives Moses is to call him eved Hashem, the servant of God. That is why the Rambam writes that we can all be as great as Moses. Because we can all serve. We are as great as the causes we serve, and when we serve with true humility, a Force greater than ourselves flows through us, bringing the Divine Presence into the world.”
Stepping up to fight for freedom, is a way we can make our own lives meaningful in a larger way. Many people consider this to be a “spiritual battle,” and pray for God’s help in victory. Dedicating ourselves to the cause of protecting the rights He has given us, is a way we can bring Him into the fight.