Bob Schwartz

Some call this short section of the Book of Judges (9:8-15) a fable, a parable or a fairy tale. (Note below that master translator Robert Alter goes all the way, uniquely translating the opening as “Once upon a time”.)

The trees talk to each other about which one should be king. According to the story, at that time in Israel, Abimelech had become judge (leader). Israel had fallen into apostasy, worshiping Baal-berith. But instead of being a deliverer, Abimelech was an oppressor.

What can the trees tell us about totally useless leaders?

Once upon a time the trees went to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ And the olive tree said, ‘Have I left off my rich oil, for which God and men honor me, that I should go sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Go, you, reign over us.’ And the fig tree said to them, ‘Have I left off my sweetness and my goodly yield that I should go sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘Go, you, reign over us.’ And the vine said to them, ‘Have I left off my new wine, that gladdens God and men, that I should go sway over the trees?’ And all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Go, you, reign over us.’ And the thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you are really about to anoint me king over you, come shelter in my shade. And if not, a fire shall come out from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

8. Once upon a time. The Hebrew formula hayoh hayah signals the beginning of a parable.

Judges 9:8-15, Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible

Jotham stands on Mount Gerizim, one of the two mountains overlooking Shechem (the other is Mount Ebal, which some identify with Mount Zalmon), and excoriates the Shechemite leadership with a fable and a curse. The fable, one of two examples of that genre in the Bible (see also 2 Kings 14:9; 2 Chron. 25:18), is strongly antimonarchical. It illustrates both the folly of kingship (only the worst and least qualified aspire to it) and its dangers (it destroys those who place their reliance on it). The bramble offers scant shade but is a prime cause of fire. A monarchy founded on murder can come to no good and inevitably will destroy those who support it.

Harper’s Bible Commentary

It seems, therefore, that the parable was an independent anti-monarchic work, used here to criticize Abimelech and to inform the reader that when all the trees are interested in having a king, they must beware of the thornbush and look carefully for a suitable tree. The parable is based upon a pattern of three and four, where the fourth element is different and climactic: three refusals by the useful trees—olive, fig, and grapevine—opposed to the agreement of the fourth, the thornbush. This structure emphasizes that the refusal of the useful trees cleared the way for an aggressive figure, and that Abimelech is totally useless.

Jewish Study Bible

“He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard for his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country, who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections.”
—Samuel Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence

The way through the world
Is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.
Wallace Stevens, Reply to Papini

As for people who set out to cultivate spiritual practice with aversion to the objects and desires of the senses, even if their minds and thoughts are empty and still and their contemplative visualization is perfectly clear, still when they leave quietude and get into active situations, they are like fish out of water, like monkeys out of the trees.
Man-an, An Elementary Talk on Zen

Even the most engaged of those on a spiritual journey may have thought: What if I could spend time alone, in a hermitage, a place away and apart, where secluded I could better pursue that path? Others have, so why not me?

I read an exquisite brief piece attributed to Zen master Man-an (1591-1654), An Elementary Talk on Zen, found in Minding Mind.

For those who think that the quiet and inactive life is the most conducive to realization, Man-an comments:

Concentration of right mindfulness should be cultivated most especially in the midst of activity. You need not necessarily prefer stillness….

There is a tendency to think that Zen practice will be quicker under conditions of stillness and quiet and that activity is distracting, but the power attained by cultivation in stillness is uncertain when you deal with active situations; it has a cowardly and weakly
function….

If you want to quickly attain mastery of all truths and be independent in all events, there is nothing better than concentration in activity. That is why it is said that students of mysticism working on the Way should sit in the midst of the material world….

As for people who set out to cultivate spiritual practice with aversion to the objects and desires of the senses, even if their minds and thoughts are empty and still and their contemplative visualization is perfectly clear, still when they leave quietude and get into active situations, they are like fish out of water, like monkeys out of the trees.

Glazed donuts are my favorite food. By conventional standards not healthy. Refined flour, oil, sugar. Yet incomparably and indescribably delicious.

Lately I’ve decided to add an occasional half-dozen to the pantry. Only one a night, until they run out.

The photo shows one whole donut remaining in the box, along with one-half and one-sixth. There was a request by somebody for one-sixth—a donut bite. So I cut one in half, cut that half into thirds (1/2 x 1/3 = 1/6). Why, you are asking, is there only one-sixth left, when only one-sixth was requested? There is an explanation, but let it remain a mystery for now.

That is the sweet story this picture tells.

© 2023 by Bob Schwartz

This is the crown of creation. It looks like a flowering brain. Does this saguaro know something? CI, Cactus Intelligence? It is old enough, a hundred years, to have learned something. Let’s ask.

© 2023 by Bob Schwartz

First see
Then be

Once you have tried the ten thousand ways to see things as they are, once you have seen if you do see, then what?

You are not different then. Things are not different then. You can try to think, speak and act differently then. You can try to make things different and to make different things then. You may. So what? You are now as you are, things are as they are.

See?

© 2023 by Bob Schwartz

The window faces trees where the morning birds sing. Sitting in meditation, I wonder whether to leave the window open or closed. Will the birds distract? Will they sit with me and I with them? Will they be a sweet soundtrack to incorporate or ignore? Or do I shut them out for silence.

They. Don’t. Care.

© 2023 by Bob Schwartz

Today is the birthday of Che Guevara. He was a doctor, an intellectual, an idealist and a political revolutionary. History continues to reevaluate him and his life. He was not a saint and his choices of allies and roles have prompted questions. He is a martyr to a cause, certainly killed by U.S.-backed counter-revolutionaries in Bolivia.

He did not mean to become a misunderstood icon, but become one he did. Biographies are plentiful, and you can find them everywhere.

Today is also the birthday of Donald Trump. He is not an intellectual or an idealist, though he may be viewed as some sort of political revolutionary. History is already evaluating him, with a picture that gets darker and less kind every day.

Speaking of pictures, the photo of Che above is not the usual iconic one found on millions of posters, t-shirts, etc. It is one that reflects the soul and vulnerability that we acknowledge in those we admire or at least respect. The photo of Trump speaks for itself.

If you would like to celebrate Che’s birthday, watch The Motorcycle Diaries (2004).

© 2023 by Bob Schwartz

“We are like children restlessly sitting at the controls of a locomotive.”
Jacob Needleman

The explosion of AI is only the latest phenomenon demonstrating how far behind we as people and as a people are. It is not about having too much or knowing too much. It is not being advanced enough to handle what we increasingly have and know (or think we know).

Philosopher Jacob Needleman (1934-2022) wrote:

Both in our civilization and in our personal lives, the growth of knowledge far outstrips the growth of being, endlessly complicating our existence and taking away from us far more than it gives us. In relation to the advances and applications of scientific knowledge, we are like children restlessly sitting at the controls of a locomotive. Without a corresponding growth of inner, moral power, our intellectual power seems now to be carrying us toward disaster—in the form of the catastrophic destruction of the natural world, in the decay of ethical values, in the secrets of biological life falling under the sway of blind commerce or blind superstition, and above all, in the impending worldwide nuclear terror. May we not therefore say, as Plato said 2,500 years ago, that such “knowledge” as we have does not really deserve the label knowledge? Can we listen to him as he tells us that knowledge without virtue can neither bring us good nor show us truth? This is to say that such knowing as we have is not transformational; it does not elevate our level of being and it does not nourish the development of moral power.

It is only the fully developed human being, which means only the fully developed human mind in which the intuition of objective value is an essential component, that can see the world as it really is, and that, through its action upon our instincts and impulses, can lead us toward the capability to act in the service of the Good.

Jacob Needleman
Foreword to The Gospel of Thomas: The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus (2005) by Jean-Yves Leloup