c. 1999 Religion News Service
(Rabbi Rudin is national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.)
UNDATED _ My addiction to all-news TV networks set me wondering how the events of the Jewish festival of Shavuot (May 21-22) might have been covered if television had existed in biblical times.
Shavuot means”weeks,”and the holiday comes seven weeks and one day after Passover. It celebrates the awesome moment when God gave the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai and the Jewish people established a lasting covenant with God. Shavuot entered Christian liturgy as Pentecost and marks the birthday of the church.
Had there been TV back then, viewers would have been flooded with images of 600,000 former Hebrew slaves wandering in the Sinai wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. TV correspondents would have sought interviews with Moses, the slaves’ charismatic leader. Unfortunately, Moses would have been a poor news source. He stuttered and would have been impatient with the endless questions from the media.
I can imagine the rest of the scenario:
When reporters asked Moses just where he was leading the slaves, his response was always the same:”The Promised Land.”Because Moses refused to appear on Sunday morning talk shows and late-night gab fests, his brother Aaron frequently substituted as a spokesperson. The easily accessible Aaron provided better sound bites than the aloof and taciturn Moses.
Once Moses embarked on what the media called”Moses’ mysterious mission”atop Mount Sinai (3M in TVspeak), the news networks were abuzz with speculation about his motive in living on a mountaintop for 40 days. One TV anchor, citing”unimpeachable sources,”confidently informed his audience that Moses had”severe psychiatric problems and needed a rest.” Another reporter breathlessly announced that Moses and his wife were having”marital problems and the couple was in a trial separation.” The disturbing reports about Moses created divisions and doubts among the Hebrew slaves. Rebellion was in the air, and to meet that ominous threat Aaron held daily televised press briefings to reassure the public. Although Aaron was a superb spin doctor, the people became more bewildered and angry.
Reporters interviewed families in their tents and discovered a sense of abandonment among the former slaves.”Where is Moses and his God?”was a constantly heard complaint. Another lament was:”Why did we cross the Red Sea and leave Egypt only to bake in this Godforsaken wilderness?” Then came a TV news director’s dream: A rebellion broke out featuring the construction of an idol in the form of a golden calf. The networks filled their programs with continuing background information about calves, idolatry, gold, and the inexplicable absence of Moses. One newscast opened this way:”The Hebrew slaves, marooned in a bleak wilderness and apparently abandoned by their idiosyncratic leader, have turned to idol worship. Aaron, Moses’ brother, has approved the making of a golden calf. His surprising action represents a significant break with Moses’ leadership.” The monotonous TV weather programs (“hot and hotter in the Sinai”) and sports reports (“The 12 Hebrew tribes have organized into a professional rock-throwing league”) were dramatically interrupted when at last Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying two large stone tablets containing Hebrew verses.
It was great television: the stern leader glaring at the rebellious people dancing as they worshipped their golden calf. Moses’ return was carried live, and the TV cameras caught the climactic moment when an angry Moses hurled the tablets to the ground. And then came the best visual of all: Moses forcing the people to melt the golden calf and making them drink the bitter metallic liquid. These vivid scenes were continuously rebroadcast for several days, creating unforgettable television.
Naturally, the TV networks clamored for”exclusive”interviews with Moses, but he refused all requests. Instead, he angrily went back up the mountain and remained there for another 40 days. Only this time there was no rebellion or sense of abandonment. People knew why Moses was there: to bring God’s word to the people whose mission it was to faithfully follow the divine commandments.
The second return of Moses from Mount Sinai with the new set of tablets was also carried on live TV as a momentous historic event with wall-to-wall coverage. One TV commentator called it a”majestic occasion when heaven and earth, God and humanity, were joined through the remarkable efforts of Moses.” Because the networks were grateful for the extraordinary Shavuot story, they honored Moses with the”Media Personality of the Year”award. But the Jewish people went even further and called him”Moshe Rabaynu: Moses, Our Greatest Teacher.” Happily, the latter title is eternal unlike the now forgotten media award of so long ago.
DEA END RUDIN
