Depiction of the Battle of Eben-Ezer from the Dura-Europos synagogue (pre-244 AD)
The Israeli town of Kafr Qasim is a hill-top city with an Arab population of about 25,000 residents and is located approximately 12 miles east of Tel Aviv on the Israeli side of the border with the West Bank. In modern times it is tragically remembered as the site of the Kafr Qasim massacre, when Israel Border Police killed 49 civilians on 29th October 1956.
A present day mythic truth from an ancient story
Approximately 2,500 years ago the settlement was close to the site of two battles between the ancient Israelis and their neighbours and enemies the Philistines, a war-like people said to have originally migrated from Crete.
According to the book of Samuel in the Nevi'im (the book of Prophets in Judiasm and the Old Testament in the Christian bible) the Israelis lost heavily in both battles. It is recorded as 4,000 deaths in the first battle and 30,000 deaths in the second battle. Not only did they lose soldiers they also lost territory and the Philistines occupied many of the Israeli border towns.
After about 20 years, pressure built to the point where the Israelis wanted to initiate military action to retake those territories and break free from the oppression of Philistine occupation. They approached their spiritual leader the prophet Samuel and asked for his advice and support.
The cultural and religious background to this was that the Israelis had a deeply ingrained ethnocentrism believing themselves to be their god JWHW's (Yaweh or Jehovah in modern translation) "chosen people" tasked with spreading the message of monotheism.
But in preceding years they had moved away from JWHW and were worshipping other foreign gods and idols. However, Judaism forbids idolatry, in all its forms, both then and now. Thus their two major defeats by the Philistines came to be recognised as a withdrawal of JHWH's support because of this.
Samuel called a meeting of the Israeli leaders and told them:
“If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths (goddesses) and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
Reconnecting to the true source of power
The Israeli leaders debated this amongst themselves and decided that they would drop their worship of foreign gods and worship only the Israeli god YHWH.
In the ensuing battle the Israelis prevailed and the Philistines were decisively defeated. Following this the Israelis reclaimed their occupied towns and secured their border and lived in peace for many years thereafter.
Raising the stone of help
After the battle, Samuel the prophet went to the settlement where the Israelis spent the night before the battle and erected a stone monument and called it "Ebenezer" which means in Hebrew "Stone Of Help".
He did this as a permanent reminder to the Israelis to stay faithful to YHWH the one true source of their strength and victory. In modern framing:
"Out Of The Mountain Of Despair, A Stone Of Hope"
(Martin Luther King)
Apr 09, 21 12:00 AM Apr 07, 21 04:51 AM Apr 06, 21 12:00 AM Apr 02, 21 05:46 AM Mar 26, 21 04:47 AM Mar 25, 21 10:38 AM Mar 19, 21 07:16 PM Mar 13, 21 04:49 AM Mar 10, 21 12:00 AM # awareness of your thoughts;
# understanding your thoughts;
# accepting your thoughts; and,
# living with your thoughts. Ultimately, what matters is n… Mar 08, 21 07:16 AMLATEST ARTICLES
Do Something Syndrome
When to step in and when to leave things alone? Iatrogenics is a term, drawn from the medical world but now used generically, that refers to any effect resulting from an intervention that causes more…
Rather Than Trying To Win, Focus On Avoiding Losses
"Amateurs win the game when their opponent loses points, experts win the game by gaining points." (Shane Parrish) Most of us are amateurs but we refuse to believe it. This is a problem because we’re o…
Not Confusing Activity With Accomplishment
“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” [Warren Buffett] "You need to be able to distinguish between tasks t…
Avoiding Stupidity Is Easier Than Seeking Brilliance
"It is remarkable how much long term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent." [Charlie Munger] By simply thinking about…
How To Build Self Esteem - If You Don't Take Care Of You, Who Will?
Your self esteem is based on how you value and respect yourself and not on the opinions of others.
Self esteem = Who you think you are.
Mastery in self esteem = Who you know you are.
Mental Models - Help You Think Effectively
A mental model is a high level representation, or overview, of how something works.
“...developing the habit of mastering the multiple models which underlie reality is the best thing you can do.” Our…
Cognitive Distortions - The Psychology of Human Misjudgment
Cognitive distortions are irrational thought patterns that cause you to to perceive reality inaccurately. Our focus in this article is the area of decision making in life in everyday situations and al…
Petulant Posing and Posturing - The Weaknesses Of Existentialism
Live authentically - rise above your circumstances, make your choices, accept total responsibility... Existentialism makes some interesting observations that contribute to your understanding of life…
You Are Not Your Thoughts - It's Not The Content But Your Relationship With Your Thoughts That Matters
There are four stages in dealing with your thoughts:
The Power Of Framing - Change Your Language To Change How You Feel
Framing is about how we define context, make associations, establish reference points and emotional touch points all designed and positioned to convey the sense and meaning that we want to convey. How…