When Moses prepares the second set of tablets, however, the information our parashah provides moves in a different direction: “He was with God 40 days and 40 nights he ate no food and drank no water and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments” (34:28). The writing is supposed to be God’s, not Moses’s. The new set of tablets was to result from cooperation between Moses and God: “The LORD said to Moses: ‘Carve two stone tablets like the original ones, and I shall write down on the tablets the words that were on the original tablets you broke’” (34.1). God then directed Moses to replace the tablets. Moses shattered them before any Israelites saw them (32:19). The Israelites never had the opportunity to acquire direct knowledge of what was written on these tablets. The tablets were God’s work the writing was God’s writing, inscribed into the tablets.” These verses indicate that the wording of the Torah’s laws, or at least of the Ten Commandments, comes directly from God. descended the mountain, with two tablets of the covenant in his hand. Exodus 31:18 tells us that God “gave Moses two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone written with the finger of God.” This verse teaches that the words on the tablets were heavenly in origin. This week’s parashah contains a fine example of this tendency to bolster both views. The Torah seems to want us to find value in both ideas as we contemplate where our religion comes from. While the Torah’s own descriptions of revelation at Sinai sometimes support the presumption that the Torah’s wording comes from heaven, at several points these same texts hint at the participatory model. But I don’t this think assumption is correct. Most people assume that pre-20th-century Jewish texts endorse only the first of the two possibilities: the Torah’s wording comes directly from God the role of Moses and the Israelites at Sinai was merely to receive passively, not to participate actively in the creation of Torah. They propose a participatory model of revelation: the words we find in the Torah are human responses to God’s command. Several 20th-century Jewish thinkers-for example, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Franz Rosenzweig, and Louis Jacobs-endorse the second possibility. Or is the Torah itself the result of human-divine collaboration? If that is the case, the tradition the Torah inaugurates may allow some change, at least by those Jews of each generation who accept the Torah and live by its commandments. Before Oysterhead’s debut performance of the song on 10/24/01, Trey noted that Band of Gypsys is one of his all-time favorite “power trio” albums.Where does our Torah come from? Did all the words of the Torah come from heaven, so that the Torah is a perfect divine work? If that is the case, then the tradition the Torah inaugurates is one that human beings should accept in its entirety without introducing any changes. While Phish seems content with their one performance of the song, “Them Changes” re-emerged in the repertoire of Oysterhead they performed the tune five times on their fall 2001 tour, each time during the encore. Closely resembling the live Jimi Hendrix-led versions, “Them Changes” seemed a perfect fit for Phish, but they have thus far shelved the song after this single appearance. The single performance of “Them Changes” on 11/30/97 saw Page shine on vocals, and Trey engage in a particularly inspired solo. “Them Changes” provided the title track for Buddy’s first solo album, but it is far better known for having appeared on the immensely popular Jimi Hendrix album Band of Gypsys. On the final night of a memorable three-show run in Worcester, Phish dipped into the repertoire of classic blues rock and drummer Buddy Miles, performing his best known 1970 hit “Them Changes.” Buddy Miles is perhaps best remembered by his stint in the late 1960s as the drummer with the Jimi Hendrix-led Band of Gypsys.
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