Discoursing with an ancient sacred text

This blog is a philosophical exploration of the Song of Songs. My project explores a Cixousian (écriture féminine) encounter with biblical literature along subjective existential lines. In particular I am exploring life, meaningfulness, encounter and freedom as these contradict death, absurdity, separation and oppression. This discourse with the Song of Songs & other biblical texts seeks the critical moment that sparks transformation in the present.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Yasser Arafat and the date palm

Today we wound up in the West Bank again.  Am I looking for Shulamith and have found the Palestinians??  We were in Jericho riding up to the Church of the Temptation of Christ with primary school boys and their teacher from Nablus.  They can never go to Jerusalem.  Its made me feel very sad.  And here we were in the middle of Ramallah at Yasser  Arafat's tomb near his offices where he was under seige.  Its been a strange day indeed.  Tired and troubled.  We saw the paintings on the wall in Ramallah.  Saw Edvard Munch's scream deconstructed for a new reading.

Saw date palms today. You know how tall they are.  Enormous.  Looked wistfully at Ein Gedi, Qumran, Masada.  Its been crazy.  We swam in the dead sea.  Ate oranges in Jericho, cried in Ramallah.  Saw Bedouins.

Brilliant.  Astounding.  Tragic.

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