In contrast to the tricksters,
the hidden~transcript players, Rabbis Eli'ezer & El'azar the son of Perata,
this Rabbi, like Polycarp, plays the role of the "baaaad Nigga!"
This is a paradigmatic martyr story:
Martyrdom is witness to the greater jurisdiction of G d's power and justice,
which supersedes that of the mere temporal authority.
"For thus the lord my G d has commanded me!"
This admirable sentiment ~ analogous to the "Christianus sum" of the martyrs ~
is the precise antithesis to that of Rabbi Eli'ezer's duplicitous
"I have trust in the J/judge!"
What
is the function
of this oppositional story here?
At first glance, we could conclude that it is cited in order to refute and displace the trickster model
that the text seeminly valorized
up to this point.
In the light
of the antithetical echo story of Rabbi Hanina,
we might begin to wonder if Rabbi Eli'ezer's statement is, in fact, not a lie,
not only with respect to the hegemon, but with respect to the Hegemon as well,
for by seeking to escape the judgment that the Roman wishes to impose on him,
is he not also seeking to escape the judgment
that G d wishes to impose on him?
In other words, to put it sharply,
could we not say that Rabbi Eli'ezer confesses by this action
that he trusts neither judge? At first glance, then, and given the predilections of our own culture
toward "manly" virtus & honestas, predilections that are themselves a product of a Romanized Christianity, we might very well understand that Rabbi Hanina's story is being presented
as a hermeneutical key to reading the stories of both Rabbi Eli'ezer
and the farce of Rabbi El'azar the son of Perata,
and the latter two come off badly.
The religious and legal foundations of [...] culture
reinscribe this dichotomy {law and spirit} again and again ~ in Augustinian and subsequent expressions of Christianity, particularly in Protestantism, and thoughtout the [...] tradition of law.
Indeed, the story becomes crisis: The spirit is connected not just to G d but to virtue {"manliness"}
and straighttalking honestia [sic], while the law is connected to trhe Jew, the flesh and the cunning but dishonest female!.
M.a.w.,
we zitten
hier midden in
het dilemma van wat
het allemaal wel [of niet]
kan betekenen om 'mensch' te zijn [en te worden]!
Wat is het preferabele gedrag dat ons vanuit ons verleden is aangeleerd
en hoe zal dat zich verhouden tot de werkelijkheid van ons bestaan
in het aangezicht van bedreigingen,
verdachtmakingen,
executies?
Moet je
op de 'ouderwetse' mannelijke manier
je 'flink houden': altijd voor 'de waarheid' uit- & opkomen?
Mag [kun/moet] je om leven te sparen je [vrouwelijker] slimheid aanwenden
om geweld [hoe dan ook]
te voorkomen?
Kortom:
waar liggen
onze grenzen tussen
simpele eenvoudige begrijpelijke waarheid
& [gecompliceerder] 'leugens' & dubbele bodems?
Vluchten of weerstand bieden?
Waarom dan wel
en/of niet een middenweg vinden die 'voorkomt'?
Dat we onszelf kunnen vinden in 'bergveldredes' is EEN ding: plaatsvervangend lijden is 'iets anders'.
Dat ieder mens 'het recht' heeft om wat dan ook te geloven [en te beleven] is de ene kan v/d zaak:
maar hoe breng je dat in praktijk zonder dwang, brainwash, geweld & escapisme?
Hoe kunnen we zijn 'wat we zijn geworden' zonder [nog meer]
problemen te veroorzaken & wat kunnen we doen
om de juiste middenweg v/d gulden regel
in praktijk te brengen zonder huichelarij,
hemelfietserij, wishful thinking &
't tegendeel te veroorzaken
van wat we eigenlijk
willen bereiken
...