Rabboisai!
I've been idle for a long time, both here and blogging in general, but I've gotten the itch to scribble a little again, so let's see how far it goes......
My life has been sort of in flux lately.... Nisht Ahin Un Nisht Aher..... Still wishing I was ignorantly Frum...... but since when do fantastical dreams of this sort come true?
Anyway, what has prompted me to write, is that a friend of mine has kept on mentioning the infamous "Exodus Decoded". When someone else mentioned it to me, I decided to do some Chazara, and watch it again. I figured to do it B'Kibuth Chaveirim, so if you have the time to watch it, please do so. If you don't but have some thoughts on it, please leave your comments, whatever they may be. They're greatly appreciated. I'm going to put up some links here, and once I've done some of my own work, I hope to post soon with my conclusions.
A brief introduction to those who may not have heard or watched the "Exodus Decoded" before. The Exodues Decoded is a film created by a Jewish Canadian filmmaker by the name Simcha Jacobivici. It was aired on the History channel in 2006. Jacobivici's two main theses are: equating the Hyksos (Semitic invaders who ruled parts of Egypt for a few centuries, then were eventually expelled by the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom) with the Israelites of the Bible; and showing that a sequence of events initiated by the explosion of the Santorini volcano could account for the Ten Plagues.
I do not hold out high hopes, as I remember watching it and researching Jacobivici's claims, and not one stood up to scrutiny. I'm not even alluding to the fantastic sequence of events which he purports to have occurred as a result of the Santorini volcano. Even the more modest claims about equating the Hyksos with the Hebrews, and interpreting some paintings and hieroglyphics as supporting a presence of what can be recognized as Israelites/Hebrews in Egypt don't hold water. But we shall try once more.
Here is a link to the video "Exodus Decoded"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-528811169418537170#This is a link to a very thorough discussion, including posts by Jacobivici himself. I found this to be the best single site on the topic. Though haven't read it since researching this a year ago
http://www.heardworld.com/higgaion/?page_id=119And here is another link, the title says it allhttp://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2006/09/debunking-the-exodus-decoded.aspxI haven't even watched the video this second time around, so I will get to work on this, and will try to come up with any relevant information. Then I hope to discuss my impressions, especially if I am to come to any new conclusions.Have fun!
