Kuzari Argument Part 4

Updated thru 10/28/2015

Another Plausible Natural Explanation for the Eventual Acceptance by Some Jews of the Exodus-Sinai Story 

This is a continuation of  my discussion of the Kuzari argument begun at Kuzari principle or argument part 1.

This post is going to assume you have read  Kuzari Part 3 , and  is inspired by Theodore Reik’s book  Mystery on the Mountain 1959. (Sources are at  end of post or within it). Reik was a Jewish Psychiatrist who was a student of Sigmund Freud who Reik called his master, his teacher. Freud also wrote a book called Moses and Monotheism which is also worth reading. Both of these eminent psychiatrists provide psychological, historical and academic based  explanations of the origins of Judaism and both are worth reading, even though they are a bit dated. (Side Note: Freud's theories have been unjustly criticized as William Propp explains in The Anchor Bible Exodus.) 

Background Information

1) In ancient times Gods were associated with fire.  Consider  Prometheus. And not just Prometheus there are numerous associations of Yahweh with fire thru out the Tenach. Here are a several examples. Leviticus 10 and Numbers 11 attributes a fire from Yahweh that kills.

Levit 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 And there came forth fire from before the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Exodus 3:1  Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said: 'I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.' 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said: 'Moses, Moses.' And he said: 'Here am I.

Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

Exodus 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down unto the earth; 

Numbers 11:1 And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp. 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto the LORD, and the fire abated.

{Propp Page 36 “Fire is the medium in which Yahweh appears on the terrestrial plane: in the burning bush (3:2), in the cloud pillar (13:21-22, 14:24), atop Mount Sinai (19:18, 24:17) and upon the tabernacle (40:38).”   “It is possible epitomize the entire story Exodus as the movement of the fiery manifestation of the divine presence (greenberg 1969:16-17)” } [Propp’s verse numbering may vary from other sources]

2) Many scholars give credence to Kenite/Midianite Hypothesis for the Origins of Yahwism. (That hypothesis is not essential to the development of my post though). Those scholars have established a relationship between Yahweh, the Kenites-Midianites and Moshe. The Kenites-Midianites were  smiths and this suggests they would {ETA 10/28/2015  or potentially had reason to }associate a deity with smoke and fire. There are gods associated with smithing for example the Greek Hephaestus or the Celtic Gofannon and others as well.

Page 37 in Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan by William Albright 1968 - metal working was a specialty of the Midianite group among whom Moses settled.

3) My prior Kuzari posts have repudiated the “uniqueness” argument as a proof that the Sinai revelation is true. Moreover,  Reik suggests the Exodus narrative and Sinai revelation has general similarity to A) Puberty rites and festivals of ancient peoples  B) Initiation rites of secret societies and mystery religions. [I will note circumcision plays an important role in Passover and among some cultures was associated with puberty rites.]

Interested readers may read his book for the many similarities. 

Here are just a couple.  

Reik Page 157 At Sinai covenant there are "very primitive ceremonies and symbolisms... the rites of the sacrificial meal and of the sprinkling of blood on the altar and the people thus uniting
God and his worshippers... The origin of the blood covenant is to be found in the initiation into the secret societies of brotherhoods between members of different tribes. This means that the covenant presents a form developed from the primitive groups united by certain laws and customs and introduced into the cult of gods. We learned that the secret societies are intertribal and comprise members of different dans and people and that a god is regarded as the third participant to the covenant."

Reik Page 91 "The idea of a covenant
between a god or in totemistic tribes, an animal guardian and
individuals is not alien to primitive tribes. In the puberty rites of the
American Indians the young men who obtain such an animal guardian,
or manito, often draw blood from different parts of their bodies
to seal their compact with the totem. The Indians of Honduras
offered their blood to their nagual, ‘whereupon such friendship was
contracted between them that, when one of them died, the other did
not survive.'  We have here a primitive kind of blood union with
the deity. Blood plays a special role in sealing the compact with Yahweh."


4) Reik Page 126 “I remind the reader of the explanation
of B. D. Eerdmans who pointed out the activity of the Kenites, those desert smiths who "stage-managed" the theophany on the Sacred Mountain. They provided the sound and fury of Yahweh's appearance by striking the iron while it was hot.”

5) Reik Page 69 “Pedersen concludes that the [Sinai] story
has an artificial character also, from the ease ‘with which the narrator lets Moses pass up and down the mountain again and again, sometimes quite superfluously, about a matter that has already been arranged.’ There are at least two points that cannot be explained as effects of Yahweh's power upon nature. They have to be considered as produced by human beings: the blasts of trumpets and the torches.”

Reik Page 70 "Our conclusion is dear: the descent of the Lord on Mount Sinai appears in the description of Exodus as a series of human actions."

A Plausible Scenario 

Recall,  after the Exodus Moses and the people were in a severe physical and psychological stressed desperate state.  They were also predisposed to believe in supernatural beings.

They needed a guarantee, a contract that a God would abide with them, save them and provide a home land. I am not assuming the ancient Israelites had accepted Yahweh as their god yet. It is possible the intent behind the ‘revelation’ was to convert the Israelites and the mixed multitude to Yahwism.

Moses, (perhaps with the Levites and or the Elders) together with the Kenites- Midianites (smiths) were going to invoke Yahweh/make him manifest/ bring him down to the Mountain by: having the Israelites prepare for the event (by purifying themselves), making pillars of smoke, making  fires, blowing the Shofar, banging gongs, and hammering molten metal plates on the mountain;  all on a very large scale. By these actions it was believed Yahweh would become manifest, and in the ruckus of smoke, fire, divine sounds  and in desperation it could be believed Yahweh (associated with fire) had ‘revealed’ himself. 

On the one hand I am not advocating pious fraud by Moses and his cohorts. Rather, they sincerely believed in Yahweh and the possibility of invoking Yahweh in a revelation to the people. They even may have believed they accomplished it. They even could have convinced many of the ancient Israelites it was accomplished. On the other hand it could have involved pious fraud- for the sake of giving hope and uniting a rebellious infighting group of people. Leaders have been known to mislead in the public interest.  

Having the Israelites prepare for the event by purifying themselves would allow Yahweh to come down amongst them and psychologically primes them to anticipate and accept a revelation.

One is reminded of the sort of mass hypnosis that Adolf Hitler used to sway many Germans at the impressive Nazi rallies and spectacles. Interestingly many Nazi marches, spectacles and crimes utilized fire ! The Reichstag Fire, Nazi book burnings, and the Holocaust to name a few. Many Germans already had latent antisemitism, many were desperate (lost WWI, hyperinflation, economic depression)  and were predisposed to Hitler’s rantings.

And Exodus supplies us many clues that human agents are involved in staging the ‘revelation’. The event was pre-planned with a three day notice. The people could not approach the mountain on the threat of death by stoning. This would shield the ‘stage hands’, but also protect the people from the pyrotechnics and other special effects. Torches are seen thru the smoke. There was a chorus of voices. Banging gongs, Hammering molten  metal plates. Blowing Shofers (special horns). Smoke ascending as if from furnace(s). For important information and support of these comments see the commentary on Exodus 19-21 below. 

In short, this post has provided another  plausible scenario fairly close to Torah text that results in a small group of people coming to accept the belief in a ‘revelation’ with some divine laws. {ETA 10/28/2015  Actually, many thousands could been involved in witnessing the demonstration and coming to accept a revelation.}There is nothing in the ‘revelation’ that seems un-natural or miraculous. Reik’s (and other academic scholars ) hypothesis of a human  staged event is very plausible especially compared to supernatural explanations. How the story could have spread is explained in Kuzari part 3. 

Important Additional Information and Supporting Comments on Exodus 19-21

Exodus 19: 10 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments, 11 and be ready against the third day; for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. 

Psychologically primes the people for the upcoming event. Also, the people must be ritually clean because Yahweh will not come down to a contaminated people. A staged event would have a planned date. 

12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying: Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death; 13 no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the ram's horn soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.' 

Primes the people but also creates a shield so that the ‘stage hands’ will not be seen. Simultaneously protects spectators from pyrotechnics and special effects.

14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said unto the people: 'Be ready against the third day; come not near a woman.' 

Psychologically primes the people.  In addition, Yahweh will not come down to a ritually unclean people, so Moshe does his best to have the people  purified.

16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were quoloth [see comments below] and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a horn [see comments below] exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. 

17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18 Now mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 

{Propp:  Page 164  translates quoloth as sounds, but then suggests thunder. He also writes  “The noun qol may denote human voice, the sound of an instrument or any noise at all.” Horns sound - “Perhaps there were many.” }

Cassuto page 231 - regarding quoloth - literally Voices. But he translates it to thunders.

{Reik Page 70 “The sounds that are heard are called "quoloth," a word meaning sounds caused by men, animals, wind, and so on. The translation ‘thunders’  is arbitrary since no thunderstorm is described. “}

19 And when the voice of the horn waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. 
  
Shofer (horn) or certain other noise making instruments are  associated with the gods.  A voice or a chorus (from the Kenites-Midianites and or the Levites and or the Elders)  may have answered Moses. Veiled by mountain outcroppings and a smokey fiery blaze: perhaps a chorus in a trance shouted; gongs were banged and molten metal plates hammered; Shofers blown. All or some are interpreted as Yahweh’s voice. In a seance it is claimed the person’s spirit is speaking. Some Christian sects speak in tongues. 

Reik Page 83 “The great philosopher Maimonides (1125-1204) argues that the Lord spoke to Moses, not to the people who heard only a mighty sound, "a great voice" and not distinct words. The Israelites perceived only the first two commandments in the same manner as Moses.”

Reik Page 84 “Another commentator, the Jewish theologian, Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865) is not satisfied with Maimonides' explanation: if people heard only sounds, they did not hear the first commandments either. “

{Reik Page 76 “..the  curved horn of the ram called
shofar plays a role in Judaism quite similar to that of the bull-roarer
in the ceremonies of the Australian natives. It is a sacred instrument, which women and children were originally forbidden to hear. Thisvery primitive wind instrument sounded terrifying on Sinai before law was given to the Children of Israel.”  

“It does not need much sagacity to conclude that the voice the people heard out of the fire is the very sound of the ram's horn. It will not
contradict, but rather confirm this conclusion when other biblical
passages state: ‘And the Lord God shall blow the trumpet’(Zech.
9:14). The sound of the shofar is the sound of the God Yahweh
of the Hebrews just as the sound of the bull-roarer is the voice' of
Daramulum or Balum of the Australian aborigines.”

“We shall not follow here the track leading back to the comparison
of the totemistic god of the Australian primitives with the prehistoric
belief of the Hebrews in a horned deity, a bull or a ram. It is,
however, God's voice that sounds through the shofar, the ram's horn.
‘Yahweh roars,’ says the prophet Amos.
The Kenites blew the trumpets on Mount Sinai as later the rabbis
.were to blow the shofar on festival days, thus unconsciously imitating
Yahweh who is calling all Children of Israel. “

“The god of the Kenites with whom the Hebrew tribes fused was Yahweh, the fire-god of
Sinai. But the Kenites traced their origin back to Cain and to Cain's
descendant who was Jubal, the first musician (Gen. 4:21 ). His name
has the same root as jobel which signifies ram's horn or trumpet.” }

Reik Page 70 “The trumpets, the
torches, the fire, lead to the suggestion of the human origin of those sounds by hammering on metal plates [recall - Kenites as smiths] or gongs.”

20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 

Indeed get burned - from the smoke and fire of the staged event.

22 And let the priests also, that come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.' 23 And Moses said unto the LORD: 'The people cannot come up to mount Sinai; for thou didst charge us, saying: Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.' 24 And the LORD said unto him: 'Go, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest He break forth upon them.' 25 So Moses went down unto the people, and told them.

‘...lest He break forth...” as fire emanating from Yahweh  as in Levit 10, Numbers 11?

Exodus Chapter 20

1 And God spoke all these words, saying:  2 I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. 3 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;...13 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors's house;  thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 

14 And all the people perceived the quoloth [see comments  above], and the lappidim [plural of lappid -see comments below], and the voice of the horn [see comments above], and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. 

Chabad translates lappidim as Torches.

{Propp  Page 184 Lappidim - torches. Deities may bear torches, or are themselves flambeaux (Akkadian parallels). Rabin supports the derivation from Hittite Lappiya - shining object, torch and also Greek Lampas - torch. Propp explains “The description of Sinai -Horeb as swathed in furnace smoke (19:18) and lit by torches (20:18) recalls Genesis 15:17, where the conventing divine presence is represented by a smoking oven and a fiery torch.” Alternatively Lappidim here connotes lightning. } 

{Cassuto page 253 translates Lappidim as flames, but goes on to say lightnings. }

Reik - Page 69 “Through the heavy smoke the people saw the glimmering of torches.”  Reik explains ‘lappid’ which, in all passages where it occurs, means ‘torch’.  “The translation ‘lightnings’ is not correct. The flickering of torches points to the presence of men. So does the thick cloud on the mountain described as smoke caused by a great fire. It was, of course, not a cloud descending from the sky, but a cloud of smoke ascending into the sky like the smoke cloud of a furnace.” Reik cites from Leiden's books: ‘This suggests one or more ordinary fires.’

15 And they said unto Moses: 'Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.' 16 And Moses said unto the people: 'Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.' 17 And the people stood afar off; but Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.  18 And the LORD said unto Moses: Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 19 Ye shall not make with Me--gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you. ...22 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.}

Reik references as further support of the staged event hypothesis and Yahweh’s association with fire:

Exodus 34:29 . And it came to pass When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand When he descended from the mountain and Moses did not know That the skin of His face had become radiant while He had spoken with him '   
30th . That Aaron and all the Children of Israel saw Moses and behold! the skin of his face had become radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.And it came to pass When Moses descended: When he brought the Latter [second] tablets on Yom Kippur.

{Reik page 80 “The shine on Moses face is to be understood
rather as the hardening of the skin that is exposed to fire for a long
time. Moses was together with the fire-god and his skin wears the
reflection of that prolonged stay with the Lord. Eerdmans' interpretations
seem to me to be a great extent
plausible. His emphasis on the nature of Yahweh as of an original
fire-god of the Kenites is, however, less important than his reference
to one source of the tradition in which Moses appears as a "demigod."
Other passages of the Scripture present a similar portrayal of the
"man of God." Eerdmans could have added to the biblical passages
supporting his hypothesis a psychoanalytic interpretation that leads
the concept of "shining" or hardening of Moses' face to its logical
conclusion. The changed face is the replica of Yahweh's face. In
 other words, it is a mask of the tribal god. It frightened the Children
of Israel, who were in awe of the Lord and who had asked Moses
that God should rather speak to him than to them directly because
they were frightened by the sight of Yahweh. Already Gressmann
interpreted the veil of Moses as a mask which is the countenance of
God. The veil is, so to speak, the second phase of the disguise,
following the first form of the shining countenance. According to
the concept of antiquity, in taking over Yahweh's attributes Moses
becomes the dazzling, frightening God Himself.}


And there is further support for Reik in 

{A God of Volcanoes: Did Yahwism Take Root in Volcanic Ashes? Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 2014 38: 387  by Jacob E. Dunn

“William Propp argues that the usual translation of [kuf-reish-nun] (Exod. 34.30) should not be ‘horns (of light)’ or ‘radiance’, but rather ‘to blister’ or to become ‘calloused’, resulting in the following translation: ‘the skin of his face was burnt to the hardness of horn’. Thus, according to Propp, ‘[this] story honors Moses as the human most intimate with Yahweh, but it also species the price he paid’." <[William H. Propp, ‘The Skin of Moses’ Face––Disfigured or Transfigured?’, CBQ 49 (1987), pp. 375-86 >”

"If indeed Sinai is understood as an active volcano, Moses’ 
facial disfigurement no longer remains a mystery. In other words, the scorching heat from the volcanic vent near the summit likely caused his facial skin to melt, or to blister.” 

[I will clarify  - Yahweh was associated with fire whether from a volcano or otherwise hence Moses face would blister from being with Yahweh .]

Continued Kuzari Part 5

Sources and Additional Sources Cited

Cassuto - A Commentary on the Book of Exodus by U. Cassuto (Translated by Israel Abraham ) 1967 

Chabad - from Chabad’s website “15. And all the people saw the voices and the torches, the sound of the shofar, and the smoking mountain, and the people saw and trembled; so they stood from afar.” retrieved on 7/13/2014 from  http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9881

Propp - unless otherwise stated refers to The Anchor Bible Exodus 2006 by William Propp

Reik - Mystery on the Mountain by Theodore Reik 1959. 

Kuzari Part 3

Updated Thru 8/23/2015

A Plausible Natural Explanation for the Eventual Acceptance by Some Jews of the Exodus-Sinai Story

This is a continuation of  my discussion of the Kuzari argument begun at Kuzari principle or argument part 1.

{ Kuzari proponents claim the Sinai revelation was unique therefore it is true. Besides other fallacies here are two that should be stressed 1) They draw a target around the Sinai conditions to exclude every other myth. But you can do the same for almost every other myth. (The Texas Sharpshooter fallacy). 2) A hypothesis is not accepted as true because we have failed to provide a counter example}

Through out all periods charismatic leaders or ruling parties (politicians, kings, and the clergy) can influence the public and even sometimes deliberately mislead the public. This is true today, but was easier in ancient times where the ruling party controlled the press (including holy books) and information was not as widespread or easily checked.  People would welcome stories about their history or stories explaining predicaments. They may not have been as skeptical especially if the official story was "encouraged" or sounded good.

A small ruling party  may believe a story or even utilize a  known false myth. And the ruling party has the ability to eventually gain wide acceptance of the myth.

The introduction above is self evident and hardly controversial.

I am going to apply similar reasoning to provide a plausible natural explanation for the evolution of the Exodus-Sinai stories and their eventual acceptance by many Jewish people. 

Contrary to what Kuzari proponents argue, there are an ample number of religion givers, law givers, leaders and or reformers in Israel's history including: Abraham, Moses, Aaron, King Hezekiah, King Josiah and Hilkiah (the scroll finder), Ezra the Scribe-Law giver, and Nehemiah (Governer). Ezra had the power backing of the powerful Persian empire to enforce a dogma.

Before proceeding lets establish a few relevant ancient near east Torah parallels (support is provided here and in Kuzari Part 2,  which should also be read).

1) "The various religions of ancient Israel, [ and some] of its neighbors: (1) knew of divine covenant partners; (2) used blood to

consolidate kinship groups; (3) engaged in bloodletting

curse rituals; and (4) knew of divine meals." From Covenant and Blood Rituals: Understanding Exodus 24:3–8 in Its

Ancient Near Eastern Context by Theodore J. Lewis, Department of Near Eastern Studies, The Johns Hopkins University

2) Split Sea Parallels 

2a) Roman Soldiers during the capture of  New Carthage saw their comrades wading through a lagoon believed the sea-god was opening a way for them thru the water. (Page 460 Folk Lore in the Old Testament Volume 2  by James Frazier 1919).

2b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/479_BC  “In 479 BC, when Persian soldiers besieged the Greek city of Potidaea, the tide retreated much farther than usual, leaving a convenient invasion route. But this wasn't a stroke of luck. Before they had crossed halfway, the water returned in a wave higher than anyone had ever seen, drowning the attackers. The Potiidaeans believed they had been saved by the wrath of Poseidon. But what really saved them was likely the same phenomenon that has destroyed countless others: a tsunami.” ( I am relying on wiki for this and need to check sources).

3) The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament by Richard Clifford 1972 

[Exodus 24: 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said: 'Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you in agreement with all these words.' 9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness. 11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand; and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.]

Page 112 In Exodus Moses and the elders eat and drink - a feast on the mountain like those given by Baal and El. In Exodus beneath the feet of God is Lapis Lazuli. And we find Baals palace in Zaphon also has Lapis Lazuli. [Clifford uses Lapis Luzuli instead of sapphire in his translation.]

Page 125 A Hittite version of a Canaanite myth represents El as living in a tent; similarly "Israel's early tradition represents Yahweh manifesting himself in a miskan and ohel"

4) Gods and God theophanies were associated with mountains, storms and fire. For example in the Ras Shamra texts El the supreme god of the Canaanite and Ugaritic pantheon inhabited the mountain of the North. 

5) Other cultures had claims of  a divine sanctioned code. 

6) From the Bible and the Ancient Near East by Gordon and Rendsburg 4th edition page 144 Several Egyptian texts refer to Yhw in the land of the nomads in the same general region as Sinai, Edom... Yhw=Yahwe was a diety associated with the desert region separating Egypt and Canaan. There are Tenach verses that also support that notion. 

7) { Volcanoes may also be associated with Gods. For example "The Maasai people live near an active volcano 
called Oldoinyo Lengai (meaning ‘mountain of God’; cf. Exod. 3.1), and they worship a deity called Engai or Enkai. When the volcano erupts, the Maasai think their god is angry. In order to expiate Engai’s anger, the Maasai people dance and placate him with prayers" From A God of Volcanoes: Did Yahwism Take Root in Volcanic Ashes? Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 2014 38: 387  by Jacob E. Dunn}

{W. F. Albright suggests the Sinai  theophany could have been influenced by folk "memories of volcano
eruptions (preserved in myth or metaphor), combined with more
recent recollections of terrific thunderstorms in the mountains of
Northwestern Arabia or Syria."   From the Stone Age to Christianity, p. 262.}


{Numerous cultures associated volcanic mountains, volcanoes with supernatural beings/gods. For example here are just two. The volcanic Hawaiian goddess Pele has a mountain named after her. The Roman god Vulcan - a volcanic and fire god.}

{ETA 8/23/2015  We should not be surprised that ancient people would attribute thunder to be the voice of god. For example the Pygmies of Africa sometimes attribute thunder to be the voice of god. Page 202 Revisiting My Pygmy Hosts by Paul Schebesta 1936 translated by Gerald Griffin}

Now lets proceed with our task. For the Exodus - Sinai stories we solely have a story in the Bible and no witnesses to question. We are quite certain there were not 600000 plus people at a  revelation. (Overwhelming consensus of archaeologists and historians - there was no mass Exodus Kuzari principle or argument part 1. There may have been some Canaanite/Semetic and other peoples that over time were enslaved in Egypt.  Some of those people had kindred tribes, kin and tribal members that resided in Canaan and the surrounding regions.

Thus there may have been a small tribe and or small group of people that escaped Egypt even during plagues with the help of  the charismatic leaders Moses and Aaron. Moses may even have led them thru a desert trek with some narrow escapes.  Moses and the people were in a severe physical and psychological stressed desperate state.  A volcano and or a violent storm could convince these ancient distressed people it’s a revelation of  god. Moses could then claim a divine sanctioned code.  God has chosen them as his people and will protect them. Moses need not have been lying. He may have been in deep meditation which could have been associated with divine communication. Moreover, Moses was trying to literally save a rag tag group of unruly rebellious desperate people. It is not far fetched that out of desperation Moses came to believe or created a story that was given to the people. Given their condition it is not far fetched they would accept the hope being promised to them.  I am providing a plausible scenario fairly close to Torah text that results in a small group of people coming to accept the belief in a revelation with a divine text. Nothing miraculous or unreasonable so far.

Recall this small group of people had kin in Canaan.  They may then have settled peacefully or thru skirmish/minor wars into parts of Canaan. (Overwhelming consensus of archaeologists and historians - there was no mass conquest of Canaan see Kuzari Part 2 ). The Exodus-Sinai  story may then have spread to other tribes - thru tribal skirmishes/minor wars  and or peacefully like the spread of urban myths.  Or the small tribe may have rose to power and dominated the ruling / priestly class of Canaan or perhaps just influenced it greatly. That class had the means to spread acceptance of the stories. Or perhaps the small tribe just increased in population over time. No doubt intermarriage was taking place that also help spread the stories. Threats of or actual  invasion by larger civilizations could have led people to believe in such stories (see Ghost Dance Kuzari Part 2). Myths could  unite the various tribes and denominations in ancient Canaan. Perhaps some combination above  gave rise to a wider acceptance of the stories. 

There were many ancient Israelites who worshiped other gods which lends support to the notion there may have been resistance to the myth acceptance (this is well documented in the Tenach). Over time the recalcitrants were eliminated or disappeared - and the Torah encourages just that.

There is nothing unreasonable in my outline. It is fairly consistent with the Tenach;  ancient near east culture; human societies. It provides a plausible scenario for the eventual acceptance of the Exodus- Sinai stories by some Jews. Given the choice between any reasonable natural explanation and a supernatural explanation, the former is to be preferred. 

And there are other plausible scenarios as well, perhaps to be discussed in future posts. 

{The scenario would also work if there were thousands of witnesses to the Volcano event. Ancient people, even thousands of them could ascribe a Volocanic event to a God.  Group think and 'encouragement' by the Leaders would reduce objectors.}

Some May Raise an Objection Why Hasn’t Another Revelation Story Happened  ? 

Even if the Exodus-Sinai story is unique and nothing like it has ever been recorded (in our very incomplete record of ancient myths), it does not mean the Exodus- Sinai story  is true or even likely true. But as has been previously documented and will be mentioned  later in this post there are actually some parallels to essential parts of the Torah story.  Also see Kuzari part 1 White Buffalo Calf Women and  Kuzari Part  2  Castor and Pollux for two examples of claimed supernatural revelations.

Moreover, every claimed revelation or miracle is unique in some fashion - that does not make them true or even likely true. It just means they are unique.

Nor is this a laboratory experiment with controlled similar conditions where we expect repetition of outcomes. It involved a small group of ancient superstitious escaped slaves; desperate in a desert; led by a charasmatic leader; having kin in a relatively small country; threatened by invasions, actual invasions, exiles.... How often do such situations occur that we can make meaningful calculations ? Nevertheless, some features of the Exodus-Sinai story can be found in other cultures. 

Myth acceptance happens but the myth details vary. Each culture is unique and develops its own mythology which may or may not include a revelation but has other false or miraculous features. Moreover, there was only a brief period in history when these kinds of myths could have developed and we are not aware of many of them. Many of myths were passed on orally and there are few ancient texts that are preserved. In short, our sample size may be too small to draw strong conclusions. Nevertheless, the Exodus - Sinai stories and the Torah share elements with other known myths and so are not as unusual as Kuzari proponents claim. 

Even more recently there have been phenomena that have been attributed to divine revelations, therefore we should be that much more suspect of the Torah claims when we can not question the witnesses. 

Our Lady of Zeitoun, Our Lady of Assiut, Our Lady of Warraq, Our Lady Fatima: include mass Marian apparitions, sick and blind claimed cured in one, and a prophecy that came true in another. Arguably these are superior claims to Sinai because they occurred in modern times and we also know the head counts. Also, some witnesses who were not Christian converted to Christianity as a result of at least one of the revelations.

Even in modern times people accept miracles even when scientific evidence is presented that no miracle has occurred ! See for example  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_milk_miracle. 

Humans can be misled, mistaken and gullible. An argument based on how humans may have reacted in ancient times when people were superstitious and lacked science does not provide a strong base for an argument.

{ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/23/statue-moves-in-its-own_n_3486794.html

A 2013 fact : A normally 4000 year old stationary statue that was an offering to the God Osiris  has been spinning without anybody moving it.

Imagine something like this happening a few thousand years ago. They would say we have never heard of something like this before. It is unusual, it is unnatural, so it must be supernatural. Let us worship Osiris. 

First, maybe in their limited experience it has never happened before, but if they possessed information over many  countries, many periods, many various sized statues on many types of pedestals maybe  it would not be so unusual. In short too limited sample size.  Second, they were ignorant and were unable to investigate  the matter scientifically. For example is there something special about the statues material such as high iron ore concentrations ? Was the Earth’s magnetic filed particularly strong at the location of the statute ? Were there very minor tremors causing the statue to spin on it’s smooth pedestal ? I am not offering magnetism or tremors as the explanation of the moving statue, but showing lack of knowledge can lead to incorrect conclusions. Third, they should not be plugging supernatural explanations for lack of knowledge - this is known as the fallacious argument from incredulity: ‘We  can't imagine how an occurrence could occur or be explained by natural causes. Hence the occurrence must be supernatural.'

The Kuzari argument suffer from similar flaws.}

Lets assume we have a sufficient sample size of myths and we accept the claim the Exodus Sinai story is in a class by itself. We can then calculate the actual probability of the Exodus Sinai story as  unity divided by some large number - this would be a very low figure.  The Kuzari then proceeds to argue since the Exodus-Sinai story has such a low calculated probability it is "unnatural" (meaning it is supernatural).  I will still argue we should not accept the Exodus-Sinai story as true !

This is because that calculated probability must be compared to the probability of supernatural intervention which for the sake of argument lets assume is unknown. Since it is unknown it may be higher or lower than the calculated probability of the Exodus Sinai story.  Therefore we are stuck and can not make a decision. Moreover, I would argue the probability of supernatural intervention is extremely low and lower than the calculated probability of the Exodus Sinai revelation because there is no scientific evidence for any supernatural beings or supernatural interventions. It's calculation is zero from an empiricaly verifiable standpoint. (Also no "philosophical" proof withstands scrutiny).  

In addition, "unique" events or low probability events do occur in history and it does not imply supernatural. We can split hairs over what unique means.

 Continued Kuzari Argument Part 4

Kuzari argument part 2

UPDATED THRU 12/15/2015

This is a continuation of Kuzari Part 1  (and the comments at that post). Sources are stated through out this post and at end.

There are some reasoning and other flaws with the Kuzari argument.  Some of these may or may not apply depending on the arguments presentation. There is some repetition, interaction and overlap within this post and the prior post.

{Kuzari proponents claim the Sinai revelation was unique therefore it is true. Besides other fallacies here are two that should be stressed 1) They draw a target around the Sinai conditions to exclude every other myth. But you can do the same for almost every other myth. (The Texas Sharpshooter fallacy). 2) An hypothesis is not accepted as true because we have failed to provide a counter example}

1) Ad Ignorantiam fallacy - meaning an appeal to ignorance. The Kuzari argues we can not fathom how the Sinai story could have evolved, therefore it must be true. This argument is similar to the god of the gaps argument - just because we can not explain  XYZ to an individual's satisfaction does not mean XYZ is true. This fallacy is enough to reject the Kuzari.

2) Ad Populum fallacy  - meaning an appeal to popularity. Just because a certain number of people or a certain number of generations of a tribe believe a certain story is true does not mean the story is true. Otherwise  Christainity, Islam and other religions would qualify.

3) Special pleading fallacy - see Kuzari Part 1

4) Invalid authority fallacy - according to the Kuzari there was a tribe of people that witnessed a revelation from god. However, were those ancient Israelite slaves qualified to make such a statement ? Were they skeptical enough ?

Mind you, all we have in front of us is a story in the Bible and no witnesses to question.  

{ Yet, even if we did have a set of witnesses that agree that an event occurred we should not blindly accept their testimony. The more unnatural the claim the more evidence is required. Could the witnesses have been mistaken for one reason or another ? For the Sinai claim there is no corroborating evidence and there is evidence it could not have happened the way the Kuzari claims. }

5) Page 169 of Frank Moore's book Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic 1973
Referring to the Sinai revelation "That is Israel used traditional Canaanite language in early descriptions of Yahweh's theophany, and it is this traditional poetic language, objectified and historicized in excessively literal prose that we find in the epic accounts of the revelation of Sinai."

Page 177 "Baal's Characteristic mode of self-revelation is in the storm theophany". On the other hand El makes his will known in word or decree of the council of gods.

AR p 182
" But solar imagery is relatively rare in the Bible. YHWH is far more often depicted as a storm-god, in accordance with Canaanite imagery".

{ From Myths and Legends of the Ancient Near East - Fred Bratton 1993 edition Page 112 "The Ugaritic idea of a mountain as the home of a god is found frequently in the Old Testament"}

{ From Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible - Kenton Sparks 2005

Page 423 “It has long been recognized that the form and content of the code of Hammurabi are particularly close to the book of the covenant in Exodus 20:22-23:33. This applies not only to the content and order of the laws (see Wright) but also to matters of iconography, since Hammurabi , like Moses, is depicted receiving his laws directly from the deity atop fire-and smoke enshrouded mountain(Van Seters). The best explanation for this similarity is that the Biblical author knew the code  of Hammurabi and intentionally shaped his work to mimic the older more venerated text”}

Why would the ancient Israelite god reveal himself at Mount Sinai using Canaanite deity traits  and at a  mountain like in the Ugaritic myths of gods abode and like the Hammurabi theophany  ?

6) Page 232 How to Read the Bible by James Kugel 2007

"It is not hard to imagine, scholars say, that a similarly pious theme - God's miraculous intervention to save the Israelites from Egyptian slavery - came to be transferred from experience of a few to the foundation myth of an entire nation"

[The pious theme Kugel is referring to are certain foundation type myths of the USA.]

Contrary to Kuzari proponents, there are experts on this matter who have no difficulty accepting some sort of myth evolution for the Sinai stories.

7) "Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared Marduk, the patron god of Babylon (The Human Record, Andrea & Overfield 2005), to bring about the rule in the land." (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi). [King Hammurabi is claiming divine sanction].

AR - page 65 "It was axiomatic in the ancient world that gods could intervene in human affairs and implement their plans in history. Mesopotamian rulers often attributed their rise to power to the plan of their patron deity. Homer’s gods acted purposefully, even if they were often at odds with each other."

AR page 135 - "Although the official state cults of Rome and the Greek cities were not generally founded on divinely inspired or divinely written texts, in some noncivic cults—such as those of Orpheus and the Egyptian Hermes—the word of the god, as inscribed in sacred texts, did hold a central place."

AR page 227  - “In some respects at least, the religious situation of pagan Rome strikes a modern observer as familiar enough. Holy places had to be consecrated and cared for. Texts for prayers and vows had to be carefully preserved and pronounced. Processions were made through the streets, and divine images were
paraded from their temples on special occasions. Prophetic texts were preserved and consulted for advice. The divine beings were conceived of as concerned about human welfare and powerful enough to intervene on behalf of their loyal worshipers.”

The ancient Israelites could ascribe a violent storm and or a Volcano as Yahweh's revelation. Over time ‘god’s voice’ could provide a kernel to build a divine sanctioned code. As cited, claims of  divine sanctioned codes or divine intervention was not unique to the ancient Israelites.

8) Archaeological consensus - No mass Exodus, no Mass wandering in desert for 40 years, No mass invasion of Canaan. This well documented in the academic literature. Thus the Sinai stories should be rejected.

For example:

AR -page 182  
"The consensus of archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century is that the early Israelites evolved within the land and culture of Canaan. There is no archeological evidence that they came from either Mesopotamia or Egypt. If the story of the exodus has a historical basis, it can account for only a small segment of the Israelite population. The god El, worshiped by Abraham and later identified with YHWH, was the high god of the Canaanite pantheon."

The Bible Unearthed I. Finkelstein, N. Silberman 2001
Page 118 “There was no mass Exodus from Egypt. There was no violent conquest of Canaan.”

{ Page 68 of the Oxford Bible Commentary 2001 - "At most there could have been a small group which escaped from Egypt and passed on its traditions to related groups in Canaan ." And on page 76 "The 600,000 in Exodus 12:37 is obviously historically impossible, but is the standard biblical figure, repeated in th ecensus in Numbers 1 and 26." "...it was habitual for ancient scribes to exaggerate numbers"} 

{From the book Ancient Israel in the Sinai by Hoffmeier 2005 

Beginning page 153 - there is a discussion why the Torah's figures are impossible. He goes on to write 600,000 men is impossible. He writes studies on the issue leave little doubt and that maybe thousands or a few tens of thousands, but not hundreds of thousands let alone millions."}


9) Judaism did not begin at Sinai according to the Torah, for example, the Abraham stories predate Sinai. Per the Torah - circumcision, sacrificing, anointing and the prohibition of the thigh sinew are examples of customs that predate Sinai. A new religion did not just emerge ex-nihilo at Sinai. There was a previous alleged relationship between the patriarchs and Yahweh. 

{ see verse 5
GENESIS 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said: 'Go not down unto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father;
 4 and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and by thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves;

5 because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.' }

10)  One recent example of how a false story becomes accepted as true is the Angel of Mons.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Mons 

In addition, this story should not have gained traction since people could have fact checked it. 

Interestingly, this suggests the possibility that the Torah stories could have originally been known to be fiction just like the angel of mons. Then later became to be accepted as historical truth.

{ It is plausible the Exodus-Sinai stories are invented foundation myths with little or no basis in reality. They became  accepted over time and there are ample number Israelite leaders who for political reasons may have encouraged acceptance of such foundation myths. Recall, in ancient times nations had their  State  Gods and  foundation myths.}

11a) Another alleged mass revelation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux Castor & Pallux 
"The construction of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, located in the Roman Forum at the heart of their city, was undertaken to fulfil a vow (votum) made by Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis in gratitude at the Roman victory in the Battle of Lake Regillus in 495 BC. The establishing of the temple may also be a form of evocatio, the transferral of a tutelary deity from a defeated town to Rome, where cult would be offered in exchange for favor.[36] According to legend, the twins fought at the head of the Roman army and subsequently brought news of the victory back to Rome.[18] The Locrians of Magna Graecia had attributed their success at a legendary battle on the banks of the Sagras to the intervention of the Twins. The Roman legend may in fact have had its origins in the Locrian account and possibly supplies further evidence of cultural transmission between Rome and Magna Graecia.[37] The Romans believed that the twins aided them on the battlefield.[9]"

11b) A  frequent  god revelation is found in Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.  Herodotus Book II, Chapter 91

 "The Egyptians shun using Greek customs, and (generally speaking) the customs of all other peoples as well. Yet, though the rest are wary of this, there is a great city called Khemmis, in the Theban district, near the New City. In this city is a square temple of Perseus son of Danae, in a grove of palm trees. Before this temple stand great stone columns; and at the entrance, two great stone statues. In the outer court there is a shrine with an image of Perseus standing in it. The people of this Khemmis say that Perseus is seen often up and down this land, and often within the temple, and that the sandal he wears, which is four feet long, keeps turning up, and that when it does turn up, all Egypt prospers." 

I give credit to http://www.talkreason.org/articles/list.cfm by Naftali Zeligman for this revelation.


11c) "...prophecies are fulfilled via miracles which are indeed witnessed by the Aztec people". - see https://peltarepublic.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/kuzari-a-response-to-dovid-gottlieb-david-greenberg-and-meir-goldberg/ and http://bpelta.blogspot.com/2010/12/kuzari-principle-proof-from-mass.html both by Mark Pelta

12) When  religion, geopolitics, nation-state Gods, nationalism, state politics, money, land, priests and superstition are thrown into a cauldron, just about anything may come out.  

13) Per Torah law - outspoken recalcitrants were killed or excommunicated - no wonder the Sinai myth self perpetuated. Also, for political reasons it is useful for all the tribe to ‘believe’ in the story since religion or myth can be used to unite a people. For example the mythical Nazi ideological propaganda (of master race) was used to unite. The Torah claim that god appears to a tribe in a desert and makes them his chosen may serve a similar propaganda function. 

And Rashi says as much on Genesis 1:1
For if the nations of the world should say to Israel, “You are robbers, for you conquered by force the lands of the seven nations [of Canaan],” they will reply, "The entire earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it (this we learn from the story of the Creation) and gave it to whomever He deemed proper When He wished, He gave it to them, and when He wished, He took it away from them and gave it to us.....

AR - P 74 “The appeal to the divine as the sanction of the moral order was a powerful tool of social control.”

{ETA 12/15/2105 Regarding the propaganda potential of the Exodus Story -  We read in A Theologico-Political Treatise, by Benedict de Spinoza, [1883] http://sacred-texts.com/phi/spinoza/treat/tpt10.htm regarding Miracles

"...among the early Jews who saw the Gentiles round them worshipping visible gods such as the sun, the moon, the earth, water, air, &c., and in order to inspire the conviction that such divinities were weak and inconstant, or changeable, told how they themselves were under the sway of an invisible God, and narrated their miracles, trying further to show that the God whom they worshipped arranged the whole of nature for their sole benefit: this idea was so pleasing to humanity that men go on to this day imagining miracles, so that they may believe themselves God's favourites, and the final cause for which God created and directs all things." }

14) The Torah story contains etiological myths - for example the thigh sinew became prohibited based on a story of Jacob fighting with a supernatural being.  The ancient Israelites may have accepted these stories to explain why certain rituals were performed. For example White Buffalo Calf Women (see Kuzari Part 1) story is used to explain certain certain Sioux rituals. These kinds of stories are most likely providing justification or explanations for an already extant practice.  

15)  Extreme and unusual natural events occur in the world. Perhaps the eventual acceptance of a false Sinai story was such an unusual event. Crop failure, enemy invasion, political strife, charismatic leaders or dictatorial authorities, propaganda, desperation  etc: created extreme conditions.  (These are not inventions for one familiar with ancient Israelite's turbulent  history.)

Those conditions combined with pervasive  strong previous superstitions beliefs could have fostered the eventual acceptance of the Sinai story. It is certainly one possibility and would be consistent with natural physical reality as opposed to all miracles in the Sinai story.  

 {  The Native American Ghost Dance evolved to the point people thought they would be immune to the white man's bullets. Tragically they were not and many died. In desperation people can come up with and believe falsehoods. The ancient Israelites were sandwiched between very powerful empires - what else could the Israeites hope for but Yahweh the Divine Warrior. It was very sad indeed. It could have gave rise to the entire State religion and a State God. Once the Jews were exiled - (meaning their God Yahweh had forsaken them) - the tribe invented an excuse - he had punished them for sins. This excuse for evil befalling a common ancient near east belief. And the rest is history.}

16) From this post here are some additional comments. 

Recall the golden calf Sinai incident, and the golden calves erected in Northern Israel by King Jeroboam. Exodus 32:4 and I Kings 12:28 say of them: This is / These are your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 

For Kuzari argument proponents:

A1) It is difficult to convincingly account for the Israelites  ‘witnessing’ god at Sinai and then almost  immediately making a golden calf and claiming  this is your god.

A2) It would also mean the Sinai Israelite's were not such good witnesses. Confusing G-d with Idols

B) How could the Northern Israelites accept the King’s affirmation ? Would not the Israelites say it is a false assertion and we have not heard such from our fathers ? 

C) Kuzari proponents argue for an unbroken oral tradition, yet so much of the Torah translation and Israelite tradition has been lost. The dietary laws a case in point.

17) { From this post Human Sacrifice in the Bible

Where was the unbroken chain of oral tradition when Jephthah sacrifices his daughter. Even if apologetics claims the daughter went monastic - such a tradition in not found in Judaism either.}

CONTINUED IN Kuzari Part 3

----------------------------

AR- Ancient Religions (Sarah Iles Johnston General Editor) 2007 

Kuzari Principle or Argument Part I

Updated thru  3/23/2018

Over time my intent is to discuss the Kuzari argument in more detail.  

The are several variants of the Kuzari, but basically they reduce to the following premises, assertions and claims. KA1, KA2,KA3,KA4

KA1) There is an oral history (and bible story) passed down from Jewish ancestors that God came down to Mount Sinai and made the Jews the chosen tribe, gave them the ten commandments (some say the entire torah).

{Per Ramban Only the first two of the Ten commandments were conveyed to Israel directly by G-d. See for example page 1017 on Deut. V in  Soncino Chumash 7th printing 1968 Edited by Rev. Cohen.}

{ Per Jewish Publication Society Jewish Study Bible Berlin and Brettler 2004, page 378 Deut 5:19 The Lord spoke those words-those and no more to your whole congregation at the mountain, with a mighty voice out of the fire and the dense clouds.

 "The authors of Deuteronomy here seem to be arguing that the Covenant Collection, which immediately follows the Decalogue in Exodus, was not included in the revelation at Sinai/Horeb. The phrase thus makes way for the presentation of the laws of Deuteronomy alone as the further words of God to Moses at
Sinai/Horeb."

[Deut 5:19 writes: "vlo yuhsuf" which mean no more, not to add. In other words,  the Torah informs only the 10 commandments are spoken to Israel. The implication is the rest of the Torah, commandments etc: must have been provided by human individual(s).]}

KA2) The story’s details include: 600,000 plus people at Sinai as witnesses, a new religion started at Sinai and other features that make the story unique among all religions and myths.

KA3) It is not possible for such story to gain traction among a large population unless true.

KA4) We expect myth and religion development to follow certain patterns. But the Sinai story does not fit any of those patterns. The Sinai story's uniqueness means it must be supernatural.

It must be mentioned every assertion listed above is open to serious doubt and even refute. In addition certain logical fallacies are inherent in the argument. This will be discussed in future blog posts.

{An good repudiation of the Kuzari argument can be found at http://atheodoxjew.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-revelation-at-sinai-was-real.html He emphasizes the distinction between the thought gestalt 2000 to 3500 years ago and more modern times.}

To begin with we know that myths (even when originally known as false) evolve and get embellished over generations as they are passed down parents to children and then become accepted as true. This is especially true for ancient ignorant, superstitious and non scientific minded people. The ancient Semites would be gullible since they had tribal gods and believed in supernatural beings. Furthermore, since there is no corroborating evidence for the Sinai story, advocating that the Sinai story is different than other myths is tantamount to the fallacy of special pleading. For these reasons alone we may reject the Kuzari argument.

The ancient Israelites were superstitious. Examples are found thru out the Tenach - For example Leviticus XVII: 7 And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the satyrs, after whom they go astray. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

Rambam has written in the Guide to Perplexed, prior to the Sinai revelation the ancient Israelites had been steeped in pagan ways. }

Regarding Leviticus 17:7 Ramban explains the Israelites sacrificed to demons having no power or strength at all. They had no utility.}

Exodus 32 The Israelites claim the molten calf is their god.}

The Israelites were non scientific - the scientific method had not been invented yet. In short, they would not make sufficiently good experts to evaluate  a 'revelation' or myths. 

( Unless the Kuzari can provide an example of mass supernatural revelation claim that we know is true or some other valid evidence that it is true seems to me to be a case of special pleading. We know that myth formation and acceptance (let alone some historical behaviors) often seem irrational to us today. Using "logic" today to speculate on how ancient unscientific  superstitious people could have or should have reacted to myth formation does not supply sufficient evidence.)

Kuzari proponents claim the Sinai revelation was unique therefore it is true. Besides other fallacies here are two that should be stressed 1) They draw a target around the Sinai conditions to exclude every other myth. But you can do the same for almost every other myth. (The Texas Sharpshooter fallacy). 2) An hypothesis is not accepted as true because we have failed to provide a counter example.

But my main goal in this post is to discuss a myth that seems like it would pass the Kuzari Principle.


The White Buffalo Calf Woman (WBCW) Story of the North American Sioux.

Page 234 Mythology An Illustrated Encyclopedia 1980 Richard Cavendish:

The Sioux (North American Indians) have the White Buffalo Calf pipe in a palladium in Dakota and members of the tribe make pilgrimage to it. You can read the revelation story in that book, The supernatural being is talking to the people and it sounds like a fair number from the story.

A version of the WBCW story is found at the bottom of this post.

Besides the sacred pipe in the palladium provided by WBCW, consider the following information from the book Native American ReligiousTraditions by Suzanne Crawford 2007.

P. 90 "Chapter 1 described one instance of a Lakota Sun Dance (wiwanyang wacipi), a tradition marked by personal sacrifice, prayer and reverence for the sun and the four directions. The other central ceremonies brought to the Lakota by White Buffalo Calf Woman include Inipi...Hanblceyapi...Hunkapi Iowanpi...Isnati Awicalowin...Wanagi Yuhapi...and Tapa Wankeyeyapi."

So WBCW a supernatural being directly brought a group of ceremonies to the Lakota !

P.43 "...WBCW gave the sacred pipe to the people and instructed them how they were to pray with it."

P. 43 describes the story of WBCW

(ETA - see comment section for more WBCW details, and my additions to this post below.)

Some of these ceremonies are challenging, difficult and could be painful rituals. In particular the Sun Dance could be painful. 

{ETA 10/17/2017 Some critics claim the Dakota Sioux did not believe the WBCW story. Later in this post the evidence indicates otherwise. For example, in the book the Worlds Religions second edition by William A. Young 2005 beginning on page 43: The most important sacred implement for the Oglala religion is the sacred pipe.  The pipe brought by WBCW is now on a Cheyenne reservation in South Dakota. “The pipe used in Lakota rituals today are understood to be extensions of the power of the original pipe [given by WBCW]. “ In the story WBCW turns into a white buffalo then a black buffalo. WBCW promises to return. In August 1994 a female white buffalo calf is born. Has the prophecy been fulfilled ? Many Lakota people, many Lakota elders and others believe so.  They are convinced WBCW has returned to provide humanity an opportunity to learn the ways of harmony WBCW first came to teach. }

Most people would not believe the WBCW actually existed, but using the Kuzari principle it seems you can argue the WBCW story actually happened.

The Sioux have an oral tradition regarding the pipe and other rituals dating back to WBCW, just like the Jewish claim that some laws or rituals are given by Moses (in some version of the Sinai story).


The Sioux celebrate new difficult and painful ceremonies because of WBCW

How could the WBCW story gain traction unless true ? 

{ETA 8/29/2015 
I was having some discussions at Kefirahoftheweek and one Individual supplied information from  unpublished material by Rabbi Kelemen  that maybe the Dakota did not believe in the WBCW  story. [WBCW is also known as Whope].  Kelemen is making the claim based on his reading of certain texts about Dakota stories.  I am still in the process of researching the WBCW story, but so far it seems pretty clear that the story became accepted by many Lakota and the basis of their religion.  Yet even if the story was not initially believed by anybody, and now only believed by a few Dakota, concepts such as WBCW giving the Dakota ceremonies and a sacred pipe took root among some of the Dakota. Given enough time and appropriate circumstances  it could well become an accepted widely believed Dakota story. The rise of skepticism, modern science... should  prevent such stories from gaining wide acceptance, yet even modern people may come to believe in supernatural stories - miracles. For more see my later Kuzari posts. 

From Lakota Belief and Ritual by James Walker, edited by Demallie and Jahner 1980. Walker was citing information he obtained directly from Lakota Chiefs, Shamans etc:

Page 109 Whope and the gift of the pipe told by the Shaman Mr. Finger. The Shaman explains Whope gave the pipe to the Lakota and was in their camp for four days.

Page 93 Per George Sword, Bad Wound, No Flesh and Thomas Tyon: A list of ‘good’ Gods as THEY ARE KNOWN TO THE PEOPLE is  provided. Whope is on the list.

On Page 295 “The Buffalo Calf Pipe, believed to be the first pipe brought to the Lakotas by Whope and kept by the Sans Arc Tribe.” 

From Oglala Religion by William Powers 1975, 1977

Page  49 - According to George Sword, the WBCW stayed with the people 4 days and gave them 7 great ceremonies.

Page 50 Black Elk informs us Whope gave the Sioux 7 great ceremonies.

Page 64 All sacred ceremonies of the Oglalas where given to them by WBCW. Page 89 clarifies not all, but the central ones.

Page 101 One of the 7 important religious ceremonies is The Girls Puberty Ritual also called the Buffalo Ceremony. It  marks the passage into womanhood and also establishes the girls relationship with WBCW.

Page 116 During the 1950's a Catholic Priest initiates the use of the sacred pipe as part of the Christian Mass. The idea to make Christianity more appealing to the Native Americans. However the scheme sort of backfires. The Oglala became impressed because THE PRIESTS finally saw the light and the efficacy of the Sacred Rituals first brought to the people by the sacred WBCW. [ This is fairly good evidence that many Oglala themselves came to believe that  WBCW had given them ceremonies. The Priest must have known this was their belief, which is why he initiates it’s use in Mass.]}

{ETA 9/4/2015 From the Oglala People A Political History 1841 - 1879 by Catherine Price 1996.

On Page 49 the book is discussing the significant reduction of Buffalo in the USA. "The Lakotas could certainly hunt antelope, deer, elk, and other small game instead of Buffalo , but whether they chose to do so is not the crucial issue from a Lakota perspective. More important is the belief that the Lakota's ancestors were born from the Pte Oyate (the Buffalo Cow Nation); that White Buffalo Calf Women brought the sacred pipe to the people; and that they, Tatanka (the male buffalo relatives), and Maka Ina (mother earth) are united in a sacred, harmonious relationship." [So the book is saying the people believed the sacred pipe came from WBCW. ]}

{ETA 9/10/2015 I have already cited many texts that explain the story of WBCW is foundational to traditional Lakota religion. Here are some more:

The Sioux by Royal Hassrick 1964
Page 217 The book explains the WBCW story is the origin of many moral premises of Sioux society, as well as the symbolic ceremonies expressing this morality.  The story of the Goddess Whope visiting the Earth is also told to us by Iron Shell.

American Indian Myths and Legends - Erdoes and Ortiz 1984
Page XV - “In the end, however these legends are not told merely for enjoyment, or for education, or for amusement: they are believed.”
Page 47 Crow Dog, a Sioux medicine man explains WBCW - “This holy women brought the sacred buffalo calf pipe to the Sioux. There could be no indians without it. Before she came, people did not know how to live. They knew nothing. The buffalo women put her sacred mind into their minds.”
The book prints the WBCW story as per Lame Deer 1967.

The Sioux by Guy Gibbon 2003
Page 132 “A major religious figure in traditional lakota religion is the White Buffalo Calf Women, who as the messenger of the great unkown, brought the people the gift of the pipe and the seven ceremonies that were the foundation of the Lakota way of life.”
Page 151 The story of WBCW and the gift of the sacred pipe  - a foundational lakota narrative. First told hundreds of years ago.

Teton Sioux Music (Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 61) - Francis Densmore 1918
Page 63 - Lone Man (Isna la Wica) tells the ancient sacred tradition of the Sioux and this includes the story of WBCW visiting.
Page 69 The Alowanpi Ceremony - “Among the Sioux this ceremony was closely associated with the White Buffalo Calf Maiden and her mysterious visit to the tribe.”}

{ETA 9/16/2015 I have researched more books and scholarly articles on the Sacred Pipe.

Journal of American Folklore 1906 - Vol XIX No. 75 22,  Legend of the Teton Sioux Medicine Pipe - by George A Dorsey. Percy Phillips a full blooded Sioux provides the account of WBCW and a seemingly important tribal ceremony. Percy explains - The Sans Arc have the pipe; a great many people see WBCW in the story. Also, different tribes make offerings to the pipe. Whenever they are in need or in hunger 10 best men go and plead to the pipe. Within 1-3 days their prayer is answered.  General Custer swore by the pipe he would not fight the Indians. The next summer he disregards his oath and is killed.He who swears by the pipe and breaks the oath will experience destruction. The people call the pipe the calf pipe because the women who brought it transformed into a buffalo.

From The Sacred Calf Pipe Bundle: It’s Effect on the Present Teton Dakota by J.L. Smith in the Plains Anthropologist 15, 1970 pages 87-93

WBCW gave the people the sacred calf pipe bundle and certain religious ceremonies. “From the old days to the present this bundle has been held in great reverence.” The WBCW events occur to the Red Water band of the Sans Arcs who’s Chief was Standing Buffalo. WBCW addresses the people. The people saw her turn into a white buffalo calf. “The legend is still very popular among the present Teton.” 
Based on consulting many winter counts, the author estimates 1785-1800 the time when WBCW came, and states regardless of the winter counts there exists the pipe bundle.  Informants tell there were no pipes before the coming of the sacred calf pipe and all pipe since approximate it. Citing Mekeel (articles in American Museum of Natural History and North Dakota Historical Quarterly) all of the keepers of the bundle are from the Red Water Sans Arcs. In the 1930's Red Eagle was the keeper. During her term there was a drought and the leaders of the community on the Cheyenne River petition her for the bundle. She sat out in the sun from dawn to dusk holding the pipe - refusing to move to the shade. Relatives say her death three months later in October 1936 was a result sitting in the sun. [The article does not tell us if rain came.]  In the old days the pipe bundle was kept in the lodge of the keeper and taken outside on good days displaying it for the benefit of the people.  There is now a catch all shed and “The pipe bundle is no longer taken outside, mainly because all are afraid to go near it.”  

The Sioux - By Royal Hassrick 1964

Page 223 explains: WBCW is said to have come over 10 generations ago. Interestingly at this time the Sioux were engaged in a losing struggle with the Chippewas. Supernatural intervention came not as weapon, but as a code and symbol of peace - the pipe. Such aid made it possible for the Sioux to accept defeat. She also brought a code of honor. 

From Legends of the Lakota by James LaPointe 1976, the Indian Historical Press.

James a Lakota was born in 1893.  Beginning on page 7 he explains: “Early in their ancient history, the Lakota received the most important symbol of their religion the sacred pipe. (The cross, as an example, may be compared to the sacred pipe in religious importance). So strongly have the people believed in it, that its use has remained constant even to modern times.”  White Buffalo Women gave the sacred pipe.

Page 23 In ancient times White Buffalo Women brought the Sacred Pipe to the Lakota. She also gave laws by which the Lakota were to live a moral life.  “This memorable drama is regarded as a factual event.” The book also tells the story of WBCW. 

{ETA 10/31/2015 From the book Native Religions and Culture of North America - Lawrence Sullivan (Editor) 2000 Page 18 "White Buffalo Calf Women becomes essential to the relationship between the creator and the people. She reveals a sacred pipe that they can smoke when they require help from the creator." She taught the 7 sacred ceremonies which becomes the foundation of Lakota religion.} 

[I think all the above references are strong  evidence the story of WBCW and her gift of the Sacred pipe had gained traction among many of the the Teton Chiefs, Leaders, Holy Men, and people. That the story was not understood to be fictional, but an actual event in the history of the Teton.] }

{ETA 9/16/2015 A commentator at Kefirahoftehweek    http://kefirahoftheweek.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-modern-kuzari-argument.html posted the following information (see next paragraph) from  a Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen’s unpublished article regarding the Kuzari argument. I have not seen Kelemens unpublished commentary, but will assume for this blog post that extract accurately represents Kelemen. People should not use it to disparage Kelemen since I can not vouch for it’s accuracy.   So I will use the name LEMON instead of Kelemen.

LEMON : To properly comprehend the Lakota worldview, it is crucial to step out of the Western mindset that assumes cultures place literal faith in their mythology. Ella Cara Deloria (1889-1971), herself a Lakota Indian who mastered English and became one of the first to publish written records of Lakota mythology, clarifies for those outside of the Sioux culture that "The purpose of such tales was to amuse and entertain, but not to be believed" (Elaine A. Jahner, p.26). Deloria wrote in 1938, only six years after the story was first told, that the Legend of the Sacred Pipe is "the work of a clever Lakota storyteller… The stuff of which they are built is Lakota, but the tale as such had never been in oral tradition" (ibid, p. 22). Jahner, professor of English and Native American Studies at Dartmouth, writes, "Deloria recognized the many kinds of oral creativity that characterized a vital traditional community... She also documented the adoption of European tales into the folklore of Lakota communities" (ibid., p. 23).

My Response:

LEMON has taken sentences from the book he cites out of context and thus insinuates the WBCW and her giving the Sacred Pipe was not part of traditional Lakota religion and that the story was treated as fiction by the Lakota.  I have seen no indication in any of the numerous articles and books about the Sacred Pipe that suggests the story was understood as fiction by the Lakota. Quite the opposite - see the numerous reference above. But I am still researching and trying to contact living experts on Lakota Religion.

First a little background. James Walker lived among the Dakota 1896-1914 and wrote volumes about the Dakota. Demallie and or Jahner wrote the intro to some of Walker’s books when his material was published in books about in the 1980's.

LEMON 1 - “To properly comprehend the Lakota worldview, it is crucial to step out of the Western mindset that assumes cultures place literal faith in their mythology.”

Response to LEMON 1 - I doubt that Western cultures place literal faith in all their mythology. Some myth were thought to be true and some not. The same is probably true for every culture, including the Ancient Israelites/Jews, Modern Jews of all denominations, Greeks etc: and according to Deloria we will see it is also true of the Lakota ! 

LEMON 2 - “Ella Cara Deloria (1889-1971), herself a Lakota Indian who mastered English and became one of the first to publish written records of Lakota mythology, clarifies for those outside of the Sioux culture that "The purpose of such tales was to amuse and entertain, but not to be believed" (Elaine A. Jahner, p.26). [This is page 26 in Lakota Myth by Walker including an Intro by Jahner] “

Response to LEMON 2  - LEMON  is quoting Jahner out of context. In  Deloria’s book  Dakota Texts Volume XIV she explains One group of Dakota stories where not believed. BUT there is a second group of stories that were believed.  

So some of the stories in DELORIA’s book were believed and some not. But it is even worse for LEMON -  Page 26 the very page he cites disproves him - because it writes some tales were believed to be historical.

 I skimmed thru Deloria’s book Dakota Texts and did not find the story of WBCW in the book. And the WBCW story is not in the book Lemon is citing. Rather it is found in a different book Lakota Belief and Ritual by James Walker, Editors Demallie and Jahner 1980. 

 LEMON  3 cites "The purpose of such tales was to amuse and entertain, but not to be believed" (Elaine A. Jahner, p.26). “

Response to LEMON 3 - This is Jahner quoting  Deloria’s response to some Dakota stories. It is not a reference of Deloria regarding the WBCW story as implied by LEMON. Also see my LEMON 2 above.

LEMON 4  “Deloria wrote in 1938, only six years after the story was first told, that the Legend of the Sacred Pipe is "the work of a clever Dakota storyteller… The stuff of which they are built is Dakota, but the tale as such had never been in oral tradition" (ibid, p. 22).”

Response to LEMON 4 - This makes no sense. According to LEMON’s reading the story was first told in the 1930's. Yet I have seen an actual book published in 1906 and 1918 with the WBCW story in it !

LEMON  is citing page 22 from the book Lakota Myth by James R. Walker including an intro by Jahner. Deloria is referring to the stories told by Sword to Walker. BUT, the story of WBCW was told to Walker by Finger as seen in a different book .

LEMON also  misquotes the text. The text actually says “tales” not tale. This makes LEMON statement  very misleading, as if Deloria is addressing the WBCW story; yet she was not at all doing that. Also I did not find in the text where it says the Legend of the Sacred Pipe is not in the oral tradition or it is the work of a clever Dakota storyteller.  It is a false quote.}

{ETA 1/23/2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv1_Yf6vAsc

Oglala Lakota Women and Buffalo - in this short video a modern  Oglala women treats the giving of the sacred pipe by WBCW as an actual historical event. Listen to the first couple minutes. This is not an Isolated video by one Oglala. There are many youtube videos where the Oglala treat WBCW as an actual historical event. } 

See Kuzari Part 2

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A version of the WBCW story as found at http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/White-Buffalo-Calf-Woman-Sioux.html

Briefly here is the account, but see the link for more details and for accuracy.

A long time ago there was a famine for lack of game. Daily two hunters depart looking for game, and one day up a hill they see a most beautiful female floating figure. One scout out of desire tried to touch her but was killed by lighting. This female was the WBCW. She told the scout she would appear in the village and to inform the Chief to make arrangements. After four days they saw WBCW coming. She told them to make a sacred alter and held out a pipe to the people and explained how to use it. The villagers dipped some sweet grass, into a skin bag of water and gave it to her, and to this day the people dip sweet grass or an eagle wing in water 
and sprinkle it on a person to be purified. She also taught various other rituals and skills.

“The people saw her walking off in the same direction from which she 
had come, outlined against the red ball of the setting sun. As she 
went, she stopped and rolled over four times. The first time, she 
turned into a black buffalo; the second into a brown one; the third 
into a red one; and finally, the fourth time she rolled over, she 
turned into a white female buffalo calf.” After which the buffalo herds return.