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Sunday, May 01, 2005

Satire about the infant in the womb and that indention above your lip!

From 

Reimagining the Bible: the storytelling of the rabbis

 By Howard Schwartz

Itzik Manger was first and foremost a poet; he wove aggadic themes into ballad-like poems that later became the words to many popular Yiddish songs. When the destined time for a child to be conceived arrives, God says to the Lailah, the Angel of Conception: "Know that this night a woman shall conceive. Bring forth a sperm." This the angel does, and the Lord then decrees if the child will be strong or weak, male or female, wicked or righteous, rich or poor, beautiful or homely, tall or short. God then makes a sign to the angel in charge of the spirits to bring a certain spirit hidden in the Garden of Eden, whose name is given. This angel brings forth this spirit before God, and at that moment God says: "Enter into this sperm." The spirit, however, always pleads with the Holy One, blessed be He, not to be forced to enter the impure world of being, for it is holy and pure. But God explains that He created the spirit only for this purpose and compels it to enter the sperm against its will. The angel then causes it to enter the womb of its mother. During pregnancy, two angels watch over the embryo. A light shines upon the head of the child, by which it sees from one end of the world to the other. During the day the angel shows the child the rewards of the Garden of Eden, where the righteous sit in glory with crowns upon their heads, while at night the punishments of Gehenna are revealed to him, where wicked angels beat sinners with fiery staves. At the end of the nine months, when it is time for the child to be born, the same angel comes back and tells the child to come forth into the world. And the child always begs to remain in the place where he has become accustomed to dwell. The angel then tells the child that he was formed against his will and that he will go forth into the world against his will. The angel then lightly strikes the child above the lip with its finger, causing the child to forget whatever it has seen. Then the angel extinguishes the light shining at his head and brings the child forth into the world. And as it is brought forth, it cries.

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