Michael Davidow's Blog: The Henry Bell Project - Posts Tagged "passover"
The Third Way
Why the hell did he feel so desolate. Now, of all times. Like dust in a sunbeam, once noticed, never gone; part and parcel of the light itself. Walton’s heart hardened yet more.
“It’s Easter,” Joe Cocker reminded his audience, during his Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, “if you’re living by the days.” “Don’t get hung up on Easter,” Leon Russell replied.
Don’t get hung up on Passover, either, even though it arrives early this year (by the end of March). But a key scene in SPLIT THIRTY borrows a phrase from the Passover liturgy, so I thought I’d mention it, in timely fashion: that “hardening of Walton’s heart,” while he waits for the Kahn spot to finish for its audience.
It was Pharaoh’s heart, that hardened in the telling of Exodus-- when Moses demanded freedom for his people. And per the text, that hardening was ordered by God himself. I think that fact bothered the early commentators. They did not want Pharaoh to be punished for something that was not his fault-- the hardening of his heart, as ordained by God. They therefore decided that it was Pharaoh himself who had hardened his own heart to begin with, but once he started doing so, God had fashioned his heart such that each of its actions then assured the next action. So had Pharaoh been a good man, for example, he would have grown more and more good, each time he exercised his goodness. I’m not sure about that, but it’s an interesting concept.
Tradition speaks of four ways to read Torah: in literal fashion, in allegorical fashion, in historical or exegetical fashion, and finally in mystical fashion; at which point one returns to the starting line again: reading the words literally.
SPLIT THIRTY can be read at different levels, too. You certainly don’t need to know anything about Passover to understand Walton’s heart hardening. The words speak for themselves. If you know the reference, however, you also see this section as part of this book’s biblical framework. And if you know the debate behind this quote, you can even garner some sympathy for Walton. He is a sad young man. He is trying to not be sad; but he doesn’t know how. And each step he takes compounds his problem.
Whether any fourth level of meaning exists in this section, is hardly for me to say. If I have any critics-- if I even have any readers-- I will let them make that decision. I would rather take Leon Russell’s advice, and quit while I’m ahead.
“It’s Easter,” Joe Cocker reminded his audience, during his Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, “if you’re living by the days.” “Don’t get hung up on Easter,” Leon Russell replied.
Don’t get hung up on Passover, either, even though it arrives early this year (by the end of March). But a key scene in SPLIT THIRTY borrows a phrase from the Passover liturgy, so I thought I’d mention it, in timely fashion: that “hardening of Walton’s heart,” while he waits for the Kahn spot to finish for its audience.
It was Pharaoh’s heart, that hardened in the telling of Exodus-- when Moses demanded freedom for his people. And per the text, that hardening was ordered by God himself. I think that fact bothered the early commentators. They did not want Pharaoh to be punished for something that was not his fault-- the hardening of his heart, as ordained by God. They therefore decided that it was Pharaoh himself who had hardened his own heart to begin with, but once he started doing so, God had fashioned his heart such that each of its actions then assured the next action. So had Pharaoh been a good man, for example, he would have grown more and more good, each time he exercised his goodness. I’m not sure about that, but it’s an interesting concept.
Tradition speaks of four ways to read Torah: in literal fashion, in allegorical fashion, in historical or exegetical fashion, and finally in mystical fashion; at which point one returns to the starting line again: reading the words literally.
SPLIT THIRTY can be read at different levels, too. You certainly don’t need to know anything about Passover to understand Walton’s heart hardening. The words speak for themselves. If you know the reference, however, you also see this section as part of this book’s biblical framework. And if you know the debate behind this quote, you can even garner some sympathy for Walton. He is a sad young man. He is trying to not be sad; but he doesn’t know how. And each step he takes compounds his problem.
Whether any fourth level of meaning exists in this section, is hardly for me to say. If I have any critics-- if I even have any readers-- I will let them make that decision. I would rather take Leon Russell’s advice, and quit while I’m ahead.
