Go ahead and write down three of your most strongly held views in politics, culture or economics. Now be honest - how many of them did you arrive at after thorough investigation and independent analysis? The amazing truth is that we base many of our views on positions held by our friends, family or the news and entertainment media.
In 1953, psychologist Solomon Asch invited volunteers to participate in a ‘scientific experiment.’ They were conducted into a room with other people purporting to have responded to the same advertisement. Really, they were Solomon Asch’s secret collaborators.
Asch showed drawings of various lines, and asked everyone to estimate their length. When the collaborators responded accurately, so did the genuine subject. When all the collaborators responded with a prearranged wrong answer, the volunteer usually ended up agreeing with their wildly improbable figure.
The experiment was repeated in a wide variety of scenarios but the incontrovertible conclusion emerged. Most people are significantly swayed in their beliefs by what others around them think, no matter how preposterous the thinking.
This can harm our lives if we buy into untrue but popular mindsets regarding our finances, our families, and our faith.
Ancient Jewish wisdom addresses this issue through a peculiar pattern in the Torah. Wouldn’t you expect the Hebrew word for camel to appear fairly randomly throughout Genesis? After all, it was the main mode of transport and nearly everyone in Genesis travelled.
Yet it turns out that over 70% of the instances of camel appearances in the entire Five Books of Moses occur in the context of the life of Isaac. Here is the first time the Hebrew word for camel, GaMaL, intersects with the life of Isaac:
And the lad grew and became a camel, and Abraham made a big feast
on the day that Isaac became a camel.
(Genesis 21:8)
Okay, calm down. I know that your English translation reads, “And the lad grew and was weaned; and Abraham made a big feast on the day that Isaac was weaned,” but I am giving you the accurate translation of the Hebrew. (I show this in detail in the study guide of
Clash of Destiny)
Deeper meaning is often embedded in the Torah by certain words consistently conveying certain themes. What is the thematic meaning of the camel? The camel is an independent creature that can cross vast distances of dry desert. Its independence comes from consuming voluminous quantities of water.
The thematic meaning of water throughout the Torah, in addition to its literal meaning, is the entire body of Divine wisdom. This is why many languages employ the figure of speech,“thirst for knowledge".
Abraham was intent that his son, the first born Jew, should possess the advantage of spiritual and intellectual independence. Isaac needed to forge his own relationship with God, not simply believe what his father told him. Once he was filled with water (or wisdom) he would be able to traverse distances through alien territory (ideas) just like a camel. When this was achieved, Abraham made a feast.
The story about finding Isaac’s bride, Rebecca, ((Genesis 24: 10-67) is filled with camels. Abraham’s servant, Eliezer revealed new ideas of God and Truth to Rebecca. When she decided that she must leave her family and embark on her own spiritually independent path, she naturally got up on a camel. Upon meeting Isaac, she can now share her life partner’s camel so to speak. Accordingly, the camel references culminate with her getting down off her own camel in Genesis 24:64.
This classic collection of Thought Tool essays spurs conversation and stimulates thinking, setting the stage for a year of independent reflection. It makes a unique and entertaining gift for a hostess, teacher, friend or relative. Take advantage of this incredible half-price sale to stock up.
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