BIBLE MUSEUM PROJECT - Preliminary Thoughts by Moshe Dror

BIBLE MUSEUM PROJECT

Rabbi Dr. Moshe Dror

(NOT FOR PUBLIC CIRCULATION)

Early preliminary thoughts

Probes#1

April 15, 2010

To: Yitzhaq Hayutman, (Steve Ornstein, and Menachem Alexenberg)

From: Moshe Dror

1.     There are many institutions in Jerusalem that deal in some way with the Bible, SO this is looking about how to develop something that is both unique and global.

2.     Whatever this turns out to be, it is in some way an extension, or a Midrash of the Temple in its many forms over the centuries and in numerous faith systems.

3.     The Universe, the Temple and our post digital world are all based on one common and shared element – LIGHT. From the Vayehi Or of Genesis , to the Photons created at the Big Bang, to the fires on the alters in the Tempe and the construction of the windows and the Hoshen of the High Priest, to the use of Photonics of our digital and post digital age -- all use the various aspects of LIGHT as the basic metaphor.

4.     This can be an extension of the LUX CONTINUA of Abbot Suger of Gothic Cathedral fame. We are extending this light through the Web2.0 and web 3.0 on a global scale.

5.     The Qabbalah makes a distinction between various aspects of LIGHT

6.     There is:

 OR YASHAR – direct light or what we are now using – emitted light from the TV and computer screens and the cell phone and who knows what new gadgets in the future…

OR HOZER - reflected light in how we “see” objects in space.

7.     Or yashar- or yotse are “seen” in the neurophysiology of perception in the Right hemisphere of the brain.

8.     Or Hozer is seen through the left hemisphere of the brain.

9.     We now know that there is a significant difference between them and that the future generations will be using more and more the Right Brain as the way to deal with the digital and post digital world… ( Daniel Pink)

Perhaps even the TRANSDIGITAL WORLD.

10.             This would allow us to use the famous and significant parable of the cave of Plato to deal with the many aspects of shadow and the vast areas of the concepts of ‘enlightenment” and the significance of “endarkenment” as well.

11.             In order to deal with the Bible we must go beyond the idea of “TEXT” alone. The word text is derived from then Latin – meaning “weave” –from which we get the words in English—textile, texture, context….

12.             We are NOT dealing with the idea the Emperor has no clothes. We ARE dealing with the concept that the Emperor has a whole new wardrobe that never existed before. We can expand and explore entire new avenues of experience in this IVRI - boundary crossing design.

13.             (From Menachem Alexenberg) In The new book on Judaism by David Gelernter, the Yale professor of Computer science... he deals with the theme that Judaism uses Theme-images that permeate Jewish thought. This idea is used also by Adin Steinsaltz who says that Judaism uses Imagery concepts.)

SEPARATION - in time and space as a process to counter entropy—Jewish religious law=Halacha.

VEIL - as the sacred screen that hides God from man and man from God, while drawing them together - being in touch with the transcendent.

PERFECT ASYMMETRY - between man and woman in which two differently formed parts are put together to make a perfect whole - the role of family.

INWARD PILGRIMAGE - in the relentless spiraling inward of God’s still small voice within each person - a just and merciful God with evil in the world.

These four images are our guides through the city of Jerusalem. Can we design a wizdome of the Bible using these and of course other themes such as the tree of life and the sefirot. It would seem to me that we can use the theme of TIFERET here.

We can use the theme of ART and AMANUT and the differences between Religious art and spiritual art of Feldman.

14.         We should look at the article by Tony Judge "Transforming Static Websites into Mobile WIZDOMES”-

http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs00/wizdomes.php.

There is a huge amount of ideas that we might use such as; polyhedral, knowledge vs. wisdom, website and wizdome, web 2.0, web 3.0 among many other ideas.

15.             As far as I know ALL the religious and spiritual faith systems in the world use this one common element to describe the divine – LIGHT. This is our key and it is the most used vehicle and medium in use today and the foreseeable future... This is not only the case for Judaism, Christianity, Islam and also Buddhism, Tao, Hindu etc.  This is our entrance into every faith system on a global scale... Interestingly, the theme of OROT is also the concept of an Exhibition that Menachem and Moshe did at the Yeshiva University a few years ago. Of course, OROT is THE theme of the work of Rav Kook.

16.             We can also connect this with the theme of Menachem of the “mal'akh machshev” the computer Angel theme

17.             This is also easily related to the messianic Third Temple of Ezekiel and the theme that Yitzhaq deals with the “TAIM” — Cells. We can design and build them for people to actually use.

18.             We must always be aware of cost factors. Whereas Bible related artifacts will always increase in cost and make for more fundraising, this digital and light based media will go down in cost and allow us to have a user base on a global scale.

(Enough for now to end this preliminary draft with 18 = Chaim)

See Moshe Dror's series of short articles that roughly correspond to the above points in greater detail: http://www.global-report.com/thehope/a149-articles-by-rabbi-dr-moshe-dror-at-the-Israelseen-website