Op&neer&heen&weertrammelant: de rambam i/d rimboe?

Back to our roots for a change of time & place: toen ik voor 't eerst rondliep om & in de Oude Stad begin mei '67 & 'n paar maanden later, wist ik meer over "geschiedenis" van 3000/2000 jaar geleden dan over
de moderne situatie via bijbelverhaaltjes uit 't OT&NOT. 't Is net als met tijd- & ruimtereizen: vanaf groter
afstand zie je vaak meer & anders dan van dichtbij. Alles is zo met elkaar verweven dat ik niet meer kan
zonder beide benaderingen: steeds van dichter bij en ook van verder af via diverse standpunten & visies!

The period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were written was very turbulent. After centuries of existence as a province of the Persian empire, then of the Hellenistic kingdoms of Egypt {under the Ptolemies} and Syria
{under the Seleucids}, Judaea gained a century of independence before again succumbing to an external
power, Rome. The Roman yoke was unpopular with many Judaeans and a war in 66-73 CE led to the des-truction of the Temple @ Yerushalayim. A second war {132-135} led to the banishment of Jews from Yeru-shalayim and the reconstruction of the city on Roman lines. Thereafater Judaaism knew no priesthood, no sanctuary & no sacrificial cult, while Christianity turned all these into symbols as it gradually gained the re-ligious allegiance of the Roman empire. Religious life was in turmoil during this period. The Temple & the
priesthood had long dominated the religious {and political} activity of Judaeans, & the high priesthood re-mained the most powerful office. But the challenge of the new Hellenistic culture, permeating the whole of
the classical & Near Eastern world, & the increasing power of a non-priestly aristocracy, led to struggles over
the high priesthood which triggered a civil was & then a war of independence. The success of that war under
the Hasmonaeans did not heal the religious devisions; it may have made them worse. Perhaps there had
never [!] been a single "Judaism"; but now a number of different parties or groups defined their own versi-ons of Judaism in which the Temple, the priesthood, the Mosaic law & the destiny of Israel are the domi-nant themes. Whether the writers of these scrolls can be identified with already-known Jewish groups is still
undecided. Also unclear are the origins & history of these groups, of which the scrolls give only faint clues.

What they do underline, nevertheless, is the variety & vitality of religious life & thought on the eve of both
Christianity & rabbinic Judaism. Voor mijn gevoel lopen er allerlei dikke & dunne 'lijntjes' tussen verbonds-geschiedenissen met 'tien geboden', de eerste versterkte steden, koloniale expedities over & weer, wetten
& regels, ge- & verboden, ge- & misbruik van geweld, religieuze, culturele & politieke associaties van toen,
en onze huidige verwikkelingen wereldwijd duizenden jaren 'daarna'. Onze nieuwe regering staat in feite nu
ook weer voor eenzelfde mengsel van noodzakelijke beslissingen t.a.v. onze binnen- & buitenlanders, met
economische belangen, machtsverdelingen tussen in- & outsiders, geldstromen, subsidies, investeringen &
't krachtenspel van mannetjesputters, vrouwtjesdieren & vingers in 'n soort van "relifilopap"
van vervoer & industrie: hoe verdelen we voor- &
tegenstanders zodanig dat er
'n ietwat acceptabeler
coalitie uit de
NL~volksbus
kan komen
...