The Author’s Mind: A Shavuot Thought

The Shavuot Holiday celebrates the receipt of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Shavuot also offers a moment to reflect upon scripture’s authorship. While Biblical Scholars focus on the textual sources, an analysis of the author’s mindset brings appreciation of the book’s utility.

Writing

Great writing connects to the audience. How can a text over 2000 years old connect to modern readers? How does it remain a best-seller?

Honesty matters. The Torah’s truthful reporting on the Human Condition connects to the reader. While non-scientific, the stories capture the essence of human nature. Tales of defying authority and unspeakable acts resonate. Ancient behavior exists in present day life. In essence, seemingly simple stories remain to capture the human condition.

Writing Perspective

Perspective makes great writing. Ironically, an excellent example of the literary vehicle comes from a movie. To Kill a Mockingbird places a child as the narrator of a tale of an injustice occuring in the segregated and poverty stricken south. Her youthful innocence makes the content digestible. The tale would have been the same had it been told from her father’s perspective.

The Torah’s authorship’s perspectives gives the reader an appreciation of the author’s background. The writer’s identity, experience, and thought processes are revealed through the course of the Torah.

The Creator

Artistry and creativity weigh heavy on the writing. Planning, order and creative satisfaction are a theme. The artist perspective gives us the creation stories and the Tabernacle construction.

The writer has a desire to make things “good” if not “very good.” The writer understands that creativity requires a time of rest and reflection.

Creativity’s downside shows up as well. Failure has its costs. Sometimes an art project can be a disaster. The canvas can be painted over and a new painting can be done. The perfect world which included humans was not to be. Thus, the creative mind abandoned the project to start anew. A canvas with starting with a rainbow as a “do-over” sound lovely.

The Observer

The writer speaks of an innocence. It is as if city life is a shock. The author is taken aback by human behavior. It is shocking and disturbing. Did the author observe a marked change from a pastoral living to one of city life?

The Parent

The author is the ultimate parent. The Torah exhibits parenting patience, advice giving, sibling loss, sibling conflict, and experiencing disappointment.

The most touching parental moment comes with Adam and Eve. With them shamefully naked after their act of defiance, it is the Lord provides parental kindness. “And the Lord God make skin garments for the human and his women and dressed them.” Genesis 3:21.

The Political Scientist

The author was a foundational political theorist. The writer’s background was based both as a political realism and political theory. The writer benefited from the emergence of civilization and all of its complexities. With that, there was deep understanding of statehood, laws and treaties. Past civilizations’ positives were to be incorporated. A positive vision was to be expressed.

The Manager

The Torah is a management textbook. The writer understood well the necessity to extend out their reach by the utilization of others. The writer knew how to negotiate and form partnerships.

Be it angels, messengers or prophets, the writer appreciated that business partners and associates were necessary. Running the world was an impossible task to do single-handed. The author, in part, wrote the handbook of instruction to address this matter.

The Therapist

The Torah’s writer was one empathetic. No matter one’s stature, mental health was a concern. There was the worry with Abraham’ s state of mind with the plans for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

There was also worry of a lesser individuals, i.e. Hagar, Abraham’s Egyptian concubine. Extending kindness and mercy unto those without power is a theme throughout the text. Hagar and her son Ishmael were to be taken care of.

Fertility matters were deeply within the writer’s focus. The author’s profound relationship with women on these matters is telling.

Conclusion

The Torah’s dynamic perspectives illustrate the complex nature of the author’s mindset. The writer’s perspective is from the rise of civilization and beyond. It is from a world in which agriculture and commerce existed. A world in which both feast and famine were regularly occurring. It was a world in need of both a plan and a vision. Thus, a book of instruction was delivered on Mt. Sinai.

Be well!!

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