By the Bray of Fundie
According to The Jewish Mystical tradition there is a four tiered pecking order in creation. Humans are the highest identified as Medaber= speech endowed. The etymology of the Hebrew word for prophet, navee, speaks to their rhetorical powers, e.g. :, א וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, רְאֵה נְתַתִּיךָ אֱלֹהִים לְפַרְעֹה; וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ, יִהְיֶה נְבִיאֶךָ="1 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'See, I have set thee in God's stead to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (i.e. spokesman)" and ז וְעַתָּה, הָשֵׁב אֵשֶׁת-הָאִישׁ כִּי-נָבִיא הוּא, וְיִתְפַּלֵּל בַּעַדְךָ, וֶחְיֵה= "Now therefore restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live;" not their clairvoyance.
President Elect Obama made his name @ the DNC four years ago because he spoke with the passion and poetry of an old testament prophet and struck many of their ancient themes of social justice.
The speech that he delivered last night was not only a clinic in well-modulated , pregnant-pause laden, and enriched by a flair-for-the-dramatic oratory but, once again, the rhetoric itself soared. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then the President elect paid a compliment to some of the greatest speakers and speechwriters that America has ever produced. By my count he referenced or echoed their words no fewer than seven times:
1. Obama last night:
He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
Lincoln @ Gettysburg
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion
2. Obama last night:
and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.
Lincoln @ Gettysburg
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
3. Obama last night:
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -"I've Been to the Mountaintop"
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
4. Obama last night
It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
John F. Kennedy-Inaugural Address
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
5. Obama last night:
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
Lincoln's first inaugural address
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
6. Obama last night:
To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
JFK Inaugural:
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world....
7. Obama last night:
This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
and
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term
JFK inaugural:All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
If you are already among those Jewish Philosopher wants busted then, by all means,
Buy Dov's book. (please)
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