The Curse of Hham

Do you believe that the children of Hham are cursed?  Do you believe that the Jews are cursed?  I believe that the children of Hham are not cursed just as the the Jewish people are not cursed, but blessed!!  They both received a blessing and they both made the same, albeit fixable, mistake.

When a blessing comes down, it can either fall "heads up" for lack of a better word or "tails up" in which case it is a curse.  It all depends on one's behavior. 

So what was this blessing that came down and went wrong?  Can it be corrected?

BACKGROUND

In the story of Hham.  His father was the tzaddik of the generation -- the righteous one of the generation.  He got the call to build an ark and to enter it with many of the animals because of an incoming flood.  So he did.

All this is done out of mercy.  Hashem had mercy on the world; it had gone so badly, with people hurting one another, stealing from one another, and mating in an unnatural way to the point that it became the law of the land.

So he built the ark and as a window, he used a precious stone to bring light into the ark according to some commentaries.

Precious stones are also embedded in crowns.  According to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the crown -"keter" - is the highest tip of one level.  Looking through the precious stone one can see into the next level -- the lowest part of the next level.  Hham may have stared into that precious stone and received a revelation -- i.e. he studied and pondered until he "knew" something.

Knowing has lots of different connotation.  It can mean understanding a piece of information or it can me mating; such as Adam Knew Eve/Chava.  But really they both mean the same thing.  Knowing someone or something well; all the contours, all the ins and outs, understanding.

So Hham had intercourse in the ark.  He knew something.  He got a revelation of something and understood something.  As a result of this understanding he was stricken in the skin.

Along with Hham, the dog and the raven also "had intercourse" in the ark.  As a result, the dog is made to be tied.  In other words, the dog also understood or figured something out and they are brought into the human world -- tied to the human -- a step higher than the animal world.

The raven was made to expectorate.  Ravens are one of the smartest creatures on the earth.  In fact, it is said they are even better at speech than the parrot.  Speech is a human quality -- one step ahead of the animal world.

These animals moved to a higher level away from the animal world and into the human world.

Hham was already in the human world.  So there was only one place for him to move.  The spiritual world.  The skin being stricken caused the move to the spiritual world.  In fact the melanin is controlled by the pineal gland -- that which is activated when we pray or meditate.

THE CURSE

After the ark everyone came out and began life anew.  However, Noah shamed himself by drinking from the vineyard, stripping himself naked, and doing who knows what.  Already, problems can begin.  Because even if Noah was mating with his wife, he shouldn't do this while drunk.  And if he wasn't with his wife, the last thing the world needs is spilled seed on the holy, freshly washed land.

Hham did not like that.  He and his fourth son, Canaan went and did something to Noah.

But where Hham did wrong is that afterwards, he went to Shem and Yaffet and reported what he saw.  They then took a sheet and covered Noah up.

When Noah woke up and found out what happened, he cursed Hham.  He said Hham would be a slave to all his brothers.

If Hham had to go to his brothers and hear what they say rather than stand on his own knowledge, his own center, and his own two feet and make decisions, he basically is putting himself under whatever people's reactions are to his ways.  That is the curse.

THE JEWS

It's not a rare mistake.  There was another group who made have done the same thing.

In the story of the Jewish people, the Jews left Egypt (along with some Egyptians) and went to the mountain of Sinai.  There the prepared themselves for the "wedding canopy" with Hashem.  In this time, they all received the Torah -- a set of instructions carved in stone.  Although the Torah was received in stone, when it gets written, it can only be on leather, i.e. skin -- usually the hide of a cow.  Cows are also known to have high melanin content.

They were so amazed from it all, they responded "we will DO and we will hear!"

Commentaries have said that right then and there antisemitism came into the world.

It could be that when they said "we will DO" that was the blessing.  They were willing to do God's will.  They would receive it and do it.

But then, just like Hham ran and told his brothers, the Jews spoke and said "and we will hear!"  Hear what?  They had to have heard already before they can do.  So what is this second hearing?  Some commentaries say that the second hearing is for the parts of Torah to come.  But it could be that this "we will hear" is listening to what the world says about their actions.  And listening to what the world says is making them very hard press to live their lives as they should, with conviction, determination, etc.

THE ANSWER

The answer is that both the children of Hham and the Jewish people need to stop listening to what the world says -- especially to what the West says.  Why the west?  Because Esav/Esau is the one who it's said was a man of war.  Who goes around with trickery and is under the angel Satan.  If they see that there is a person, or group of people who are waiting to hear what is said -- waiting for validation, that is an opening for a tricky person to take advantage of the situation.  That is a controllable person -- put before the wrong person, they are in trouble.

STEP BY STEP

Both groups need to clear out their candelabrum so they can be better.  The candelabrum I speak of is the black lights -- the two eyes, the two nostrils, the two ear holes and the mouth.  Take great care what is let in.  And use the best oil for the light.  Taking in negative news, self-negating programs, seeing gross imagery, bloody imageries, illicit relationships (for the nose is related to the reproductive parts), eating the wrong food or even speaking negatively about one's own are all things that will ruin our candelabrum.  The candelabrum must be pure in order to shine far and wide.  What is it that we are using the candelabrum to sense?  The truth.   With the light of the Truth, we will know where to walk and where to go.

The Jews have the extra light of Torah that must be kept pure and that is doing good deeds (mitzvoth) and acts of kindness.

For Black folks, there is the extra light of the candelabrum which is the black skin -- that is also a light and must be kept pure -- doing good deeds and acts of kindness.

THE FUTURE

In the long run, doing the right thing is beneficial for the entire universe and so well worth the efforts.  This includes the environment, the animals, the plants, and the people.  It behooves us to find the strength, like Joshua/Yehoshua ben Nun to be strong and courageous.

But before we even go there, good strong character traits are needed otherwise will can fall right back to listening to what others say and being unsure and seeking validation.  Traits and values such as diligence, patience, generousity, faith, wisdom, and mercy.  These traits and values must be instilled as quickly and consistently as possible -- we must raise and teach our own children to make sure that these values are in place --on LOCK.  And the learning must be continuous.  Hopefully, this way an "other" will not be able to come and shake them.

Plus, pride should have no part in this.  If one becomes proud, the mouth opens up.  Then we may find it necessariy -- even commendable -- to try and teach others.  But if others aren't ready to hear it or may feel inferior because they don't understand it, what good did we do?  We would have only created envious creatures.  The knowledge is for us.  We are the ones who need it.

Be strong and courageous.

"Nigga" vs "Nig'ei"

First of all, what is a nigga?  According to the youth's definition,

According to Tupac,

“Niggers was the ones on the rope,  hanging off the thing. Niggas is the ones with gold ropes,hanging out at clubs.”

According to goodread website

According to White people, this term was derived from the word "nigger" which to them was used as a contemptuous term for Black people.

According to the NOI its dead black people.  "Dead" meaning incapable, not owning anything.

Crunch it all up, Basically, its hated black folks who don't care what people think of them and who own nothing but depreciating items.

But that is not the definition of all Black people even though we are all thrown into that verbal abyss.  What to do about that?  Black folks are up against, the "nig'ei"  what is that?   The Book of Leviticus, Chapter 13 speaks of those who spread slander and rumors.  Lies or ugly truths to destroy a person's character, etc.  These people are called "cursed." (nig'ei = curse of).

What do these two have in common? One, the nig'ei, lies and slanders and just won't stop.  the other, the nigga, is lied and slandered against non-stop..

Truth can fix both.  But how?  Where is Truth's strength?  And why has it been silent all this time?

Truth is in the hands of the sages.

Only the sages - the wise ones can dictate what is true and that is why the nig'ei wants to wrestle everyone's imagination.  And that is why lies and slander is so bad that people must move away from them as fast as they can and by any means necessary.

Every time a holy person, devoted to G-d, keeping the mitzvoth with good middoth, speaks out, he shines a light and radiates, It's like another section of the universe has been opened up and expanded.  When these tzaddikim decides a halachah is xyz, then the halachah is xyz.  We have gotten to the point that the very thought of anything positive about Black seem absurd!

Do we want a light to be shined towards Africa's positive?  The potential Garden of Eden that it can become?  Maybe used to be?  Study Torah and speak good words about Africa, the people, the animals, the plants, speak good into the world.

We can't stop the "nig'ei" from slandering...hence, we can't stop the creation of a shadow, but we can work towards building a beautiful existence nonetheless.

In Israel we are supposed to "settle the land and cultivate faith."

Have faith in Israel.  Have faith in her potential.  Have faith in Africa as well.  Father Israel, Mama Africa.

Spirituality

My problem with spirituality is that its very .... spiritual lol. It's very true and right.  But there's no touch down to the physical world.  I've often wondered do Black folks have holy things?  Things set apart, set aside because they are sacred? I don't think so.  Do we have holy people?  People that have done great things that we can invoke their merits and live by their wisdom?  (yes, but it seems like we slander them a lot).

I like that we are spiritual, but I do kinda hope for anchors in the physical world. 

If I had to pick things to be holy it would be: 


(1) Africa.  Yes, the whole continent.  
 It would be so holy that non-Africans/non Black folks shouldn't have any ownership of it.  Assuming its the cradle of civilization, the last thing we want is to change the roots.  It may have important things for our lives that we don't know yet.  And at the rate people are desecrating -- destroying the land, the water, and the air -- I would be very afraid to relinquish control over that sacred land.

(2)  Our bodies
 (I've often wondered why Abraham would ask Eliezer to put his hand under his thighs to make vows. Kinda like holding a bible or something sacred.  And he was holding Abraham himself... or was it melanin? ) 

(3) Our children 
As Dr. Amos Wilson, may his memory be for a blessing, taught, when you teach children, you're not really teaching children, but a nation.  You are basically teaching them to resolve the problems of x nation -- hopefully our nation.  So, we want to be careful who we allow to teach the future.

The Other Side

I wasn't always Jewish, you know.  Once upon a time I was a typical Haitian-American girl trying to figure life out in the United States of America.  I ate the typical food, griot, rice, beans, had the traditional Independence Day meals come January 1st annually.  I was pretty sheltered growing up getting to go out when we all went to church.  We spoke French at home, although my parents had the secret Creole language that they spoke when they didn't want the kids to hear.  Of course, we picked it up and figured it out.

But in all honesty, I have to say, I wasn't always Haitian either!  Aside from the music my parents played -- and I never knew which station it was, the majority of the music I listened to were from Black American musicians.   Till this day, I miss my "WGCI -- triple dot that I" radio station, I miss the mixes that they played in the night, the music videos I used to watch. L Debarge, and so on and so forth.  I admired their heroes such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X; and their efforts such as Black Wall Street, and the prosperous Tulsa community. I also admired the concepts that they had.  My parents had taught me that I had to dress up twice as nice as I see white people dressing for an occasion -- in order to be viewed as "normal." I had to learn things well and not mediocre because my "well" is already considered not so "well."  Juxtaposed that teaching to the free way I saw many Black American youths.  They were bold and unyielding.  They did what they wanted, I was floored.  They went places wearing t-shirts and jeans!  To me that was the ultimate sign of freedom. 

To be sure, there were many other influences in my life.  I lived in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood and most of my friends were Puerto Ricans.  From there I loved the music as well, I even enjoyed Mexican music of our dear neighbor.  I enjoyed hearing that typical Mexican beat in the background of my day.  It was a loud neighborhood with lots of kids.  The sound of those kids were like vocal flowers in a neighborhood garden.

Since I bloomed and eventually became Jewish, when I look back at things I certainly don't see them the same way I saw them before.  Everything has taken a different angle, a different color, and more depth!

Take for instance the Haitian revolution.  My dad sat me down and taught me the history of the Haitian revolution.  He explained to me how Africans were taken from their countries and forced to be slaves when the Native Arawak could no longer sustained the French's quest for slave labor.  Little did they know or care that many of the African taken as slaves were generals of their own army back home and knew strategies for war, etc.  At any rate, one person arose from the group and his name was Boukman.  In order to rouse the others, he made an awesome ceremony where they killed a pig and everyone committed to fighting the French had to partake and drink of this blood.

After learning this history, I was proud and slightly disturbed.  The world made fun of the Haitian voodoo.  They made it seem like everyone had a voodoo doll in their closet right next to a box of pins.  But at the same time, this very thing was so pivotal to our success.  So even though I was proud, I had to keep it kinda secret and speak about it in very hushed voice, "we won the French!"  -- Not too loud!

Now with Jewish eyes, I see the revolution very differently.  I see everything very differently.  There is a concept that "the master's tool will never dismantle the master's house."  But it seems that that is exactly what was needed then.  Often times Esav is depicted as similar to a pig.  It's an unkosher animal, but it looks kosher from the outside.  Very deceptive.  What the Haitians seem to have done in the "bwa kayman" ceremony is to drink the blood of the pig, i.e. to take the strength, the life force of the pig/Esav/possibly the French (Esav's descendants?)  and used that strength against them to gain their independence.

I also took a new look at Native American Indians and the Chinese.  They both had a practice of calling upon their ancestors.   That reminded me a lot of when the Jewish people invoked the merits of our forefathers -- not quite the same, but very similar.

It made me realize, I never called upon any of my Haitian ancestors when I was a child.  I didn't even call upon voodoo demigods.  This realization made me pause.  Was I ever really a Haitian?  Or, should I have been called a "trans-Haitian"?  I was Haitian by birth.  But I knew nothing of my roots, my soil in my heart of hearts, in my guts.  I was not connected on a deeper level to my ancestors, my people, etc.  It was like looking out of a window at it all or watching a movie about it.  I was an observer who knew about the history, but I couldn't -- or didn't know how to reach and connect with it and live through it.

This also gave me a fresh look at the situation for Black Americans as well.  They were also a people cut off from their ancestors, culture, everything.  If you didn't know any better, you would think that their history began at the point of slavery.  But it didn't.  Obviously, it couldn't.  But they, too, must be in a "trans" state: cut off from whomever they should be calling up, or relying on the merits of, or living by the wisdom of whomever they should.

Like dandelions, peoples are plucked out of the ground and callously blown away from their roots.

As a Jew, my spiritual ancestors -- the people I seek wisdom from, live according to, and reflect on the merits of -- are Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.  The Chachamim -- the sages -- are like my big brothers guiding me with their teachings in the form of books, with their legacies they left behind, their boldness in the face of so much danger.  Many of them were killed simply for teaching Torah to their people, my people.  I feel so connected and appreciate their lives so much.

Wistfully, I am sorry that I didn't have those emotions when I learned about the Haitian revolution and her people.  I received it more as factual information to process mentally.  I suspect that the fact that my family was Christian had a lot to do with it.  Christianity took away all the forefathers and replaced it with one person -- a person that I could never really connect with because he didn't seem to have all the same flaws as I do.

But going back to the Chinese and the Native American Indians; did calling upon their ancestors bring them any kind of success?  Well, the Chinese were able to preserve their land, their culture, their language, everything.  They pretty much stayed intact.  The Native American Indians were not so lucky.  But they still have a piece of their land -- they are still on their land even though it's occupied, they are fighting to keep their culture, and they are still alive and connected to their ancestors with the hope of one day reclaiming their land --the grass was not cut from its roots.

In lieu of these things, I think it was helpful.  I think there is a very subtle strength in appreciating the ancestors.  Like taking care of one's own soil.

Coming full circle, I wondered about being Black and Jewish -- reflecting on the fact that I rely on the merits of my Jewish forefathers and study and live by the wisdom of the Jewish chachamim, does it warrant that I put the added "black" in black and Jewish?  What's left that the "black" would cover?

I eat kosher - Jewish;

I follow Jewish law -- Jewish;

I speak the Hebrew language -- Jewish.

So what's "black" about me?

My sister had a problem with her arm.  It was constantly itchy.  No matter what she tried, nothing helped.  Finally we discovered shea butter -- an African product that is made from the parts of the shea tree (the shea tree is also known as the "tree of life" in Africa).  That was an eye opener.  My skin has a healthy supply of melanin in it.    Physically, I am Black.  Spiritually, I am Jewish.

I sincerely doubt that the Jews' ancestors were white.  In fact, the Jewish people were not even in Europe until much later -- after the Babylonian Talmud was codified.  I don't think they were Black either.  But at a certain point, a divide happened.  Now we have Black Jews and White Jews. (Plus all the people to pretend like they don't see color).  I am of the belief that it wasn't easy for the Jews who were hauled away into Europe.  My suspicion is that there was much plundering and abuse that they suffered through.  In the horrible tragedy that was the holocaust, women were raped.  I don't doubt that also way back in the time when Jews were brought to Europe that the same didn't happen then as well.  Rape is a war strategy.

And what is so strategic about it?  Besides the fact that rape demoralizes a people, it also creates children who may have divided loyalties.  Who may recognize the forefathers of one parent, but also realizes they must learn about the ancestors of the other parent, too, if not because of spirit, then because of bodily needs.  As if the spirit is going one direction and the body another.  Kind of reminds me of the African continent -- so replenished with gold, diamonds, rain forest, all manners of resources and yet many people act as if it’s a cursed place; a dark place.  Or, Europe who, despite their dismal economy during WWI and WWII period, were filled with innovations and philosophies and high ideas, but none of those high ideas seem to have global humanitarian understandings attached to it.

History dealt its blow and now we are left with Black people who claim to be Jewish with no solid proof besides their oral Torah and we have White people who think they should hold the keys to the gates of who is Jewish and who isn't. ( And then you have the Black Jew in  the middle those who retained their color and/or got darker but is seen as less than by those who want to be more like their European counterpart.) Both have loyalties to their spiritual ancestors.  Both have a loyalty to their physical ancestors.  How to come together?

Can we drop the physical and become purely spiritual beings?  It is taught that each mitzvah corresponds to a different part of the body.  Charity may be the right hand, prohibition to idol worship the back of the neck, etc.  Can doing sufficient mitzvoth play a role in bringing us closer to the spiritual body that will be in sinc to the Jewish spirit?

If I strengthen myself and get down to making mitzvoth my main occupation, will I find a different world of people waiting for me? It is my goal to be a Jew through and through and hopefully, I'll find you on the other side.