929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections:
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Zero, as in the symbol for “nothing” only found its way to Europe in the 12th century, and some claim it was the Jewish biblical scholar Ibn Ezra who imported it from Arabic speaking North Africa to the rest of Spain. Historians trace Zero’s origins to ancient Mesopotamia but only in the 7th century CE Indian scholars developed the zero as we know it now - a number with its own unique property that can add or remove value. Its evolution through Arabic culture even gave it its name - Zero is derived from the Arabic Siphar. But the Hebrew word for Zero - ‘Efes’ is even earlier, showing up in one of the most critical speeches made in the Bible, quoted in today’s chapter 13, in the midst of yet another public outcry against Moses and the entire promised land project. This one is major and the zero has a big role to play.
12 spies are sent to check out the promised land. 40 days later they return with samples of enormous fruit and stories about giants and citadels. Ten of the spies begin the report by describing the beauty and wealth of the land - and then add the following
“But - the people that are settled in the land are powerful,
the cities are fortified, exceedingly large,
and we also saw the descendants of the giants there!” Ba. 13:27
The word ‘But’ also translated as ‘Nevertheless’ or ‘however’ is the original Hebrew Efes - zero. Just one word that turns the report on its head and swings popular opinion. The two remaining spies, Joshua and Caleb, claim that it’s fake news and try to persuade the people that the conquest is still worth it. But that one ‘but’ deflates and demoralizes. The crisis of faith in the future and the leadership is the most profound yet. The people sob, the leaders are silenced. We’ve all been there. We may be there now. Efes flattens. Aviva Zorenberg comments: “Efes carries the sense of the “Delete!” key on a computer keyboard.”
Scholars identify cumulative layers in this story, echoing contraindicatory traditions of how, where, and if at all the tribes of Israel traveled through the wilderness to enter or conquer Canaan. Something of that ancient ambivalence remains in this battle over truth that in some ways still echoes today. How big is the ‘but’ when it comes to the visions we try to attain of our respective promised lands? This zero became a a tragedy that spills into the next chapter and the next 40 years of yearning.
Thinking of Stephen Sondheim’s play, “Into the Woods” and particularly the song, “There are Giants in the Sky!” AND all of the “buts” the characters raise when they are asked to go...into the woods.
A Very Big But
Thinking of Stephen Sondheim’s play, “Into the Woods” and particularly the song, “There are Giants in the Sky!” AND all of the “buts” the characters raise when they are asked to go...into the woods.