On the Hevel Level - A Blog About Nothing

“If you press this button, someone on the other side of the world – someone you don’t know will die and I will give you $250,000 dollars”.  This was a line from a Twilight Zone reboot I watched as a young teenager.  The gist of the episode was that a strange man showed up on the door step of a struggling couple’s run-down apartment and left a box with a mechanical button and the dark offer for the woman.  The man told her he would return the next day.  The woman told the husband about the strange visit.  The husband responded that she should have nothing to do with it, regardless of their financial struggles.  After a sleepless night the wife gave in and pushed the button.  The stranger returned the next day and traded her a bag of cash for the magical box back and told her, “Don’t worry, I will be sure to give the box to somebody far away that you don’t know.” We interact on a regular basis with the nameless and...

On our wedding video, there is a clip where my wife’s grandpa offered me marriage advice. “Don’t complain when she brings you burnt toast in the morning, just consider it burnt offerings!”  It’s debatable if what passed for humor or good advice in his day, has stood the test of time.  There is, however, a concept in his statement that points to a reality that goes much further back than the time of our grandparents.  There was a day when the word worship might cause a mouth-watering Pavlovian response, because food was being talked about. In Ancient Israel, the idea of worship or sacrifices was synonymous with "barbecue".  A main activity at the temple was animal, grain and drink offerings prepared on the front porch.  A whole burnt offering was enjoyed by God alone.  This was done by completely cooking it.  The word ola  refers to “rising up” as the sacrifice ascended to God in the form of smoke.  Most other sacrifices were shared meals ...