Masking and Unmasking Ourselves

Norman J. Cohen

Description

Our clothes conceal our naked bodies but what do they reveal about our souls?

"Clothes assume a primary importance as a vehicle that suggests character, provides insights into a person's identity and even governs it…. But the problem is that if Oscar Wilde is correct that 'if you give a man a mask, he will tell you the truth,’ then what exactly conveys the truth? Is it the person him or herself or is it the mask, the clothing that he or she wears, that reveals deeper images of self?"
—from the Introduction

In this highly engaging look at clothing and identity in the Bible, renowned teacher and scholar Norman Cohen presents ten Bible stories that involve clothing in an essential way, as a means of learning about the text, its characters and their interactions. But he also shows us how these stories help us confront our own life dramas, our own stories, ourselves. In doing so, he once again presents the Bible as a mirror, reflecting back to us our own personalities, ambivalences, struggles and potential for growth. By helping us uncover the garments of the Bible, Cohen shows us how to shed our own layers of insulation to reveal our authentic selves.

Preface
Introduction
1 Divine Garments of Creation Concealing Our Nakedness, Revealing Our Inner Core (GENESIS 3)
2 Noah's Garments after the Flood Ensuring Protection or Covering Shame? (GENESIS 9)
3 The Garments of Disguise—Am I Jacob or Esau? Revealing and Concealing Identity (GENESIS 27)
4 Stripping Joseph of His Special Coat A Symbol of Power and Status, a Source of Pain and Isolation (GENESIS 37)
5 Tamar Confronts Judah Masks Can Reveal More Than They Conceal about Us (GENESIS 38)
6 Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife Uncovering True Identity (GENESIS 39)
7 Aaron’s Death and the Symbolism of the Priestly Garments Vehicles of Holiness and Transformation (NUMBERS 20)
8 David Dons Saul’s Armor Wearing Our Garments, Embracing Our Own Identity (1 AND 2 SAMUEL) 9 Elijah and Elisha—Transferring the Prophet’s Mantle Passing on Authority, Wearing It in Individual Ways (1 AND 2 KINGS)
10 Esther, Mordechai, and Haman Change of Garments; Change of Identity (THE BOOK OF ESTHER) Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Suggested Further Readings

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Bible study
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 14 août 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580236164
• Langue: English

Extrait

To my students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, who over the years have enabled me to share my passion for Torah study while giving me their gifts of insight, interest, commitment, and hope for the future.

Contents
Preface
Introduction
1 Divine Garments of Creation
Concealing Our Nakedness, Revealing Our Inner Core
(GENESIS 3)
2 Noah s Garments after the Flood
Ensuring Protection or Covering Shame?
(GENESIS 9)
3 The Garments of Disguise-Am I Jacob or Esau?
Revealing and Concealing Identity
(GENESIS 27)
4 Stripping Joseph of His Special Coat
A Symbol of Power and Status, a Source of Pain and Isolation
(GENESIS 37)
5 Tamar Confronts Judah
Masks Can Reveal More Than They Conceal about Us
(GENESIS 38)
6 Joseph and Potiphar s Wife
Uncovering True Identity
(GENESIS 39)
7 Aaron s Death and the Symbolism of the Priestly Garments
Vehicles of Holiness and Transformation
(NUMBERS 20)
8 David Dons Saul s Armor
Wearing Our Garments, Embracing Our Own Identity
(1 AND 2 SAMUEL)
9 Elijah and Elisha-Transferring the Prophet s Mantle
Passing on Authority, Wearing It in Individual Ways
(1 AND 2 KINGS)
10 Esther, Mordechai, and Haman
Change of Garments; Change of Identity
(THE BOOK OF ESTHER)
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Suggested Further Readings
About the Author
Also Available by Norman J. Cohen
Copyright
Also Jewish Lights
Also SkyLight Paths

Preface
A n emperor who cares for nothing but his wardrobe hires two weavers who promise him the finest suit of clothes made from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or just hopelessly stupid. The emperor cannot see the cloth himself but pretends that he can for fear of appearing unsuitable for his role; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime, and the emperor then marches in procession before his subjects. A child in the crowd calls out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all, and the cry is taken up by others. The emperor cringes, suspecting the assertion is true, but holds himself up proudly and continues the procession. 1
Hans Christian Andersen s famous Danish children s tale was published in 1837. His manuscript was at the printers when he decided to change the original climax of the tale from the emperor s subjects admiring the invisible clothes to that of the child s cry. Most scholars feel that the change was motivated by Andersen s desire to expose the hypocrisy and snobbery of the Danish bourgeoisie. 2
The symbolic power of clothing, both in terms of what it hides as well as what it reveals, has everything to do with identity and how we perceive it. In Andersen s tale, the invisible suit of clothing tells us as readers much about the character of the emperor as well as that of his subjects. As a literary symbol, it also reveals the writer s concerns and values and those of the society in which the writer lives. The emperor s clothing emphasizes that our task as readers is not only to decipher what a particular garment symbolizes but also to pare away layers of clothing in order to gain a sense of what lies underneath. It is always more than what appears on the surface.
So it was with the medieval Jewish mystics, the kabbalists. Moses de Leon, the author of the key thirteenth-century mystical text the Zohar , describes the Torah as a bride covered with layers of garments that conceal her innermost beauty. In this mystical imaging, biblical narratives are merely the outermost garments that are visible to all readers. Listen to the words of the Zohar :
Whoever thinks that the [outer] garment is the real Torah … will have no share in the world that is coming. That is why David said: Open my eyes, so I can perceive the wonders of Your teaching (Psalm 119:18), what is under the garment of Torah! 3
Come and see: There is a garment visible to all. When … fools see someone in a good-looking garment, they look no further. But the essence of the garment is the body; the essence of the body is the soul!
So it is with Torah…. This body is clothed in garments: stories of this world.
Fools of the world look only at that garment, the story of Torah; they know nothing more. They do not look at what is under that garment. Those who know more do not look at the garment, but rather at the body under the garment….
As wine must sit in a jar, so Torah must sit in this garment. So look only at what is under the garment. All those words, all those stories are [mere] garments. 4
Although the Torah needs layers of outer garments if it is to be preserved in this world, divine truths are hidden within. The surface meaning of the text is seen as merely the first of several garmentlike layers concealing deeper meaning. As Michael Fishbane, the noted scholar of biblical and rabbinic literature, and currently professor of Jewish studies at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, has so beautifully written about these kabbalistic notions, The true hermeneut [interpreter] … will be drawn to this garmented bride [the Torah] and will strip away the garments of Torah until he and the beloved are one. 5
The kabbalists understood the Torah to be an inexhaustible well that contains many layers of potential meaning. These different levels of meaning are divided into four categories, designated by the word PaRDeS , an acronym for peshat (literal), remez (allegorical), derash (midrashic), and sod (mystical). 6 These are succeeding levels of depth that the reader can plumb.
Similarly, the Rabbis of old recognized that there are seventy faces to the Torah, only the first of which was the peshat . 7 The Bible, therefore, possesses multiple layers of meaning that are latent in every syntactical and lexical item, in every aspect of the narrative line. Interpretation need only uncover what is concealed in the text. 8
To find the meanings inherent in the biblical text, the Rabbinic process of interpretation, midrash, initially involves focusing on what is presented in the Bible: every word, phrase, symbol, indeed every letter. However, only elements that are crucial are provided to the reader; all else is often obscure. Time and place are frequently undefined; the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of the characters remain submerged. 9 The reader then must move beyond the peshat , the surface meaning, and pay attention to these gaps in the text, the places where the Bible is silent. Midrash is the art of entering these interstices, exploring every possible meaning. 10 Rather than being obstacles for the reader to overcome, the general lack of details in the Bible and the lack of clarity in the use of language therefore present readers in every generation-us-with opportunities to find new meanings.
Let us then begin the process of trying to find meaning for our lives by finding our way into ever-deepening levels of the Torah text, uncovering layers of her garments as we strive to become one with the Bride.


Introduction
O ne could say that I am an avid fan of the New York Yankees. I know intellectually that baseball is only a game, but occasionally I seem to live and die with every pitch thrown. So you can just imagine the scene on the evening of November 4, 2001, as I sat watching the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh and final game of the World Series. My Yankees were about to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks and win their fourth consecutive world championship. Of course they would win, since I was wearing every article of Yankees clothing that I possessed: Yankees cap, pinstripe shirt, socks, even underwear emblazoned with the intersecting NY logo. My Yankees attire had proved so many times to possess magical powers that a victory was guaranteed. And to boot, the incomparable pitcher, Mariano Rivera, who had struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning and had not lost a lead in twenty-three straight playoff games, was set to close the game and give us a 2-1 victory.
But my sports world collapsed when a shallow, looping single drove in the Diamondbacks s winning run. That one hit by Jose Gonzalez, affectionately known as Gonzo, ended both the Yankee mystique and my surety that I as a fan had the power to affect the outcome of a game by controlling both natural and supernatural forces through the power of Yankees paraphernalia.
Such a belief in the magical powers of clothing and ornaments was not invented by the first baseball fan. Primitive human beings, beset by a plethora of fears in a frightening world of discovery, sought to protect themselves by attributing animistic power to inanimate objects. 1
Through their body paint, garments, and ornamental objects, they sought to control the forces that dominated their lives. Painting yellow ocher on their bodies enabled them to tap the power of the sun; bones and animal skins gave them the strength and stealth of animals that preyed upon them. 2
This belief in the supernatural power of clothing and ornaments has been widespread throughout human history and persists even today. Magic rings and cloaks of invincibility have not disappeared; they simply no longer appear in their original forms and are not used in the service of magic on a conscious level. For example, ordinary objects with no inherent magical qualities are worn by many people inside out in order to reverse fortunes. What are rally hats, which are seen in baseball parks when fans try to cause their team to come from behind and win, if not a subconscious amulet? 3 The definition of dress as it involves symbolic power includes not only garments but also hairstyles, makeup, body decorations, and jewelry. 4 These stylistic items also differentiate the qualiti