Under The Olive Tree

Man was not made for the Sabbath

“Man was not made for the Sabbath – but the sabbath for man.” – The Carpenter

Mankind, down through the ages – and most recently in nearly every manifestation of government – has clamored for law. From the Sunni & the Shiite – to the socialist, the communist – and the capitalist – everyone wants a set of rules to live by. Guidelines for themselves – and restrictions for their neighbors and friends.

Cameras, DNA, RFID, universal numbers – Dachau and Treblinka revisited – all for the common good.

But how does it all fare for the common man – or those who, in their penury are “below average”?

Not well,

From the commuter who misses the bus – who makes eye contact with the driver who refuses to slow down, open the door – and deliver him safely home to his loved ones – for punctuality and regulation; – to the man and his family evicted by the loan sharks who operate within the law – we are all victims of our own perniciousness.

“Of whom will you stand in judgement – and who will you accuse in your menial and insignificant office?” – Ossian

“For if there had been a law which could have given life – verily righteousness would have been by the law.” - Saul the Murderer

The weakness of the law is not in the volume of jurisprudence, but in the concupiscence of the regulator and the judge. – The Fool

There is no office too obscure,

Nor position so small.

There is no personality

So despised or abhorred

That – given leave to judge

Will fail to exercise their dominance

Their severance, their pain.

And then from frailty and failure

We must all begin again.

The heart of the law is mercy – but unless we learn what it means – all efforts – every debate, every legislation – every courtroom proceeding – the judgments and the conclusions are all in vain.

Then “where?” you ask to find our way? The misty morning beckons us to gather at the river’s bank – to contemplate the ebb and flow, the moon, the stars, the rainbow’s glow and all creation comforts us that we will know. – that we will know.