pohaikawahine
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I think that both may be necessary - all cultures and all religions seem to have both - if "pshat" weren't necessary I suppose everything would be told or written in "derash" - I believe that all religions are linked through the deeper, sacred meanings of their books, stories, legends, oral histories ... etc. When I talk to my grandson about dragons, his parents get upset because they believe that he talks of a world of fantasy and believes that dragons are real. We do speak of the inner meaning of dragons and the world of energy flows and that these are stories that tell us of a deeper knowledge - but he is not necessarily ready for the inner knowledge, he still has need of world and human experience. If I were to speak to him of the inner meaning "derash", he would probably be not as interested as much as he is when I speak of dragons in stories "pshat". I find a challenge in reading any story, or legend that appears to have such a negative quality to look for its inner meaning through its symbols, direction, sounds, and connections.
When you build a tipi in the Lakota culture, you start with 3 poles - these three poles triangle in a star - then 7 more poles are added - these represent the directions (west, north, east, south, above, below, and center) fire is at the center - this makes 10 poles, then 2 more are added - etc. Building a tipi is nothing less than re-creating or replicating a world. The "pshat" is building the tipi and a place of shelter - the "derash" is everything that is represents in terms of a cycle of knowledge and our connection in the world and universe. Hope this makes sense to others and builds on what I see as the importance of both.
In another thread I saw a discussion about the sabbath and the seven days of the week - the knowledge, as far as I know, is in the number seven and the completion of a cycle of events.
In Hawaiian legends a giant force known as Kamapua'a (a demi god who manifests as a pig) and another force known as Pele (the volcano goddess) have many raging battles and love affairs. The legends are graphic, but the inner meanings (the derash) is what we must ultimately understand. Their relationship is the merging of heaven and earth - the yin and yang of forces - in one story Pele (the volcano goddess) falls asleep and in her dreams travels to the island of Kauai (Pele goes into a deep trance and moves her thoughts and energy to her third eye - this is the sixth island in the chain of seven islands) - many ways to see the same story.
I tried to use some examples other than religious to show that the deeper level of meaning (in Hawaii we have 4 levels of meaning) the deepest is referred to as the "huna" (which means sacred not secret) of the story .... I grew up with these stories, but only much later did they take on new meanings to me .... well just my few thoughts to share .... aloha nui, pohaikawahine
When you build a tipi in the Lakota culture, you start with 3 poles - these three poles triangle in a star - then 7 more poles are added - these represent the directions (west, north, east, south, above, below, and center) fire is at the center - this makes 10 poles, then 2 more are added - etc. Building a tipi is nothing less than re-creating or replicating a world. The "pshat" is building the tipi and a place of shelter - the "derash" is everything that is represents in terms of a cycle of knowledge and our connection in the world and universe. Hope this makes sense to others and builds on what I see as the importance of both.
In another thread I saw a discussion about the sabbath and the seven days of the week - the knowledge, as far as I know, is in the number seven and the completion of a cycle of events.
In Hawaiian legends a giant force known as Kamapua'a (a demi god who manifests as a pig) and another force known as Pele (the volcano goddess) have many raging battles and love affairs. The legends are graphic, but the inner meanings (the derash) is what we must ultimately understand. Their relationship is the merging of heaven and earth - the yin and yang of forces - in one story Pele (the volcano goddess) falls asleep and in her dreams travels to the island of Kauai (Pele goes into a deep trance and moves her thoughts and energy to her third eye - this is the sixth island in the chain of seven islands) - many ways to see the same story.
I tried to use some examples other than religious to show that the deeper level of meaning (in Hawaii we have 4 levels of meaning) the deepest is referred to as the "huna" (which means sacred not secret) of the story .... I grew up with these stories, but only much later did they take on new meanings to me .... well just my few thoughts to share .... aloha nui, pohaikawahine