Who are the Philistines 誰是培肋舍特人？

Philistines have appeared in many parts of the books of the Samuel and the Kings.  They are described as the biggest enemies of Israel.

However, there does not seem to be a country or group of people with this name in the modern world.  So who are they?

The word "Philistines" first appears in the Holy Bible in Genesis Chapter 10 when the descendants of Noah's sons are listed in detail.

Noah (諾厄) has three sons: Shem (閃), Ham (含), and Japheth (耶斐特).  It has been detailed in chapter 9 that Canaan (客納罕), the son of Ham, is cursed by Noah because Ham sees his father's naked body whereas Shem is praised as he gives his father a coat and walks backwards to avoid seeing his father's naked body.

After they survive the flood, they have children and each occupies one part in central Asia.  The distribution and descendants are described in detail in chapter 10.

Ham has four sons: Cush (雇士), Mizraim (米茲), Put (普特) and Canaan.  It says in verse 13 to 14: "Mizraim became the father of the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim (加非托爾人) from whom the Philistines (培肋舍特人) came."

And in verse 19, it states: "so that the Canaanite borders extended from Sidon (漆冬) all the way to Gerar (革辣爾), near Gaza (迦薩), and all the way to Sodom (索多瑪), Gomorrah (哈摩辣), Admah (阿德瑪) and Zeboiim (責波殷), near Lasha (肋沙)."

In gist, the Philistines seem to be arising from the descendants of Ham, son of Noah.  They occupy areas west and south to where the Israelites are located, including Canaan near Gaza.  This is in contrast with those derived from the blessed Shem.  From Shem there comes descendants Abram, who later gives Issac, and then Jacob, and the subsequent 12 tribes of Israel.

The map below from the Cork Bible Insitute nicely shows the distribution of the territories of the three sons of Noah based on the description in Genesis Chapter 10.

Distribution of the descendants of Ham, Shem and Japheth (http://www.biblebc.com/bbi/Courses/Genesis/Genesis_2003/chapter10.htm)

Photo credit:
Cork Bible Institute, Ireland.  The Book of Genesis Chapter 10.
(http://www.biblebc.com/bbi/Courses/Genesis/Genesis_2003/chapter10.htm)

天主的山曷勒布 (Horeb the Mountain of God)

曷勒布山 (Mount Horeb) 亦即是西乃山 (Mount Sinai), 當地稱 “Jebel Musa”，位於埃及西乃半島 (Sinai Peninsula) 南端，南面是紅海。在梅瑟時代，天主就是叫梅瑟到西乃山頂向他頒布十誡。

在列王紀上十九章，記述了一段很感人的天主在這裏安慰先知厄里亞的經過。

就在厄里亞在加羅默爾山戰勝假先知後，阿哈步回去告訴妻子依則貝耳，依則貝耳很生氣，說要殺死厄里亞。厄里亞忽然害怕起來，便向南逃走。到了猶大境內的貝爾舍巴 (Beersheba)，在一棵杜松樹下自怨自艾一番後，就睡著了。天主派天使給了他食物，讓他休息夠後，指示他繼續在曠野南行，經過四十天四十夜，亦即很長的時間，終於來到曷勒布山的一個山洞裏，得天主的顯現及鼓勵，並得到更多得指示及任務。

往西乃山(曷勒布山)上去 Walking up the Mount Sinai (Horeb)         (http://www.seetheholyland.net/mount-sinai/) 

以駱駝代步 Cameling up the Mount Sinai          (http://www.seetheholyland.net/mount-sinai/)

加曷勒布山高達 2,285米, 是位於以色列加羅默爾山的四倍有多。地質為花崗石 (granites) 及火山岩 (volcanics)等，石塊嶙峋，四周是山脈高峰，現時要登山必須步行或騎駱駝。相反加羅默爾山則是肥沃的土地，地質為石灰岩 (limestones) 及火石 (flint)，斜坡上有各類樹木，包括橡樹 (oak)，松樹 (pine)，橄欖樹 (olive)，及月桂樹 (laurel) 等。厄里亞從加羅默爾山到曷勒布山，須走過西乃曠野 (Desert of the Sinai), 是一段艱苦的旅程，也因此須要足夠的食物、休息及很長的時間。

加爾默羅山與厄里亞 (Mount Carmel and Elijah)

加爾默羅山(又譯迦密山)位於以色列北部，是一個高525米的山脈，高度比香港島的太平山頂（552米）還少一點。加爾默羅山土地肥沃，面對地中海。北部有以色列第三大城市哈發(Haifa). 加爾默羅這名字在希伯來語是「上帝的葡萄園」的意思。

加爾默羅山 Mount Carmel
(Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Carmel)

根據列王紀上編第十八章記載，先知厄里亞就是在加爾默羅山與假先知比試。

事情發生在大衛及撒羅滿為王及猶大(Judah)與以色列(Israel)分裂後，猶大及以色列已各經歷幾代國王。當時以色列由阿哈布(Ahab)為王。阿哈布娶了外邦人漆冬王 (King of Sidonians) 的女兒依則貝耳(Jezebel)為妻，並與她一起敬拜巴耳 (Baal)，包括立了偶像阿舍辣 (asherah) ，又殺害上主的先知。

厄里亞收到上主的話，要去見阿哈布。厄里亞找到阿哈布的家宰敖巴狄雅 (Obadiah)傳話，終於見到阿哈布。他斥責阿哈布背棄上主，歸順巴耳邪神。為證明上主是天主，厄里亞要求阿哈布召集全以色列人及巴耳的先知在加爾默羅山比試，看誰的神能不靠人點火而降火燃燒牛犢祭品。

經過戲劇性的一幕（列上第十八章二十一至四十節），民眾終於看到呼叫巴耳並不能降火，而厄里亞呼求上主則能降火時，都心服口服俯伏在地說：「雅威是天主，雅威是天主！」("The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”)

由於這件事，加爾默羅山代表了厄里亞成功彰顯上主是天主。後來受厄里亞激發的加爾默羅隱修士們 (Carmelite hermits)，就是首先在加爾默羅山聚居，成立他們的修會 (Carmelite Monastery)。

撒慕爾的身世及聖召 (The Birth and Calling of Samuel)

先知撒慕爾生於公元前第十一世紀辣瑪(Ramathaim)的厄弗辣因山地(Ephraim)，屬以色列十二支派之肋未支派(Levite)。父親名叫厄耳卡納(Elkanah)，母親是厄耳卡納的兩個妻子的其中一位，名叫亞納(Hannah)。

亞納未有生育，受到厄耳卡納另一名妻子培尼肋(Peninnah)的羞辱，因而感到難過，便到上主前許願，把未出生的男孩獻給上主，並向民長(Judge)暨大司祭(High Priest)厄里(Eli)哭訴。後來便懷孕生了撒慕爾。

撒慕爾約三歲斷乳後，母親亞納遵守諾言，正式把他獻於上主，讓他留在大司祭厄里那裏事奉上主。撒慕爾日漸長大，得眾人喜愛。

撒慕爾得到有關他的神職的召叫，是他仍被稱為「小撒慕爾」(young Samuel)的時候。當時厄里正日漸衰老，眼已看不清，而厄里的兩個兒子卻到處為非作歹。

一天晚上，小撒慕爾三次聽到有聲音叫他的名字，他也三次跑到大司祭厄里跟前，說：「你叫了我，我在這裏。」("Here I am.  You called me.")

厄里兩次打發了他，到第三次，才明白是上主的聲音，因此，便教他回說：「請上主發言，你的僕人在此靜聽。」("Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.")

撒慕爾向大司祭厄里報告上主的話Samuel reading to Eli about God's Judgement 
(by John Singleton Copley, 1780, Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, US)  

終於，當小撒慕爾再聽到上主的召叫時，便成功獲得第一個異象。之後『撒慕爾漸漸長大；上主與他同在，使他說的一切話，沒有一句落空。』("Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to go unfulfilled.") 因此全以色列都知道，『撒慕爾被立為上主的先知』(Thus all Israel .... came to know that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD."


Photo credit:
The Athenaeum.  (http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=20651)

Reference:
1 Samuel Chapter 1-3.

Physical State and Self-identity - Metamorphosis by Kafka

What would you do when you find yourself become a cockroach one day morning?

That's the beginning scene in Kafka's Metamorphosis.

"When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed."

Gregor, an industrious travel salesman, has been working hard to support a good home life for his parents and also planning to support his younger sister for a luxurious musical school study.

A sudden change in his physical state - his appearance, his habit, his food preference, his activity profile - brings a sudden halt to his life.  He has become valueless to the family and eventually a nuisance.  Like that of a cockroach.

Initially trying to avoid embarrassing his parents and sister, Gregor stays in the room and in the dark most of time.  Later on, he finds himself having got used to the dark environment also.  His food preference also changed to those of rotten food.

With time, the family finally considers Gregor has "changed" and therefore should not exit.  Despite the fact that, through Kafka's writing, we know that Gregor still has in the body of a cockroach, that of a loving son and brother.

The sad reality is that not only we are judged by others by our physical state, but also we judge ourselves by what and how we do among others.

Leavening in Bread Making

Adding yeasts to the flour and ingredient mixtures and leaving the mixture in the right temperature and moisture for some time has been a key action in bread making.  It is well observed that, with time, the mixture, or called the dough, will rise to double its original size and is about right for further shaping and proofing.

What gives rise to the doubling of the size is gas filled cavities inside the dough.  The process induced by the yeast is called fermentation - the yeast take action using the fermentable sugars contained in the mixture to give carbon dioxide and ethanol.

This process is also referred as leavening - a foaming action indued in doughs so that the final products will be softened and lightened up.

There are two main ways to introduce yeasts to the dough.

The traditional way is to use a starter - which is essentially a dough used in previous bread making kept to allow for the yeast to continue to grow inside the dough.  Since the ongoing fermentation gives an acidic property, the dough kept for such purpose is also called a sourdough.  The main food safety concern about keeping a sourdough is to ensure it is clean and not contaminated with molds.  The latter will give rise to terrible colour and smell and render the starter useless and even dangerous.

A more convenient way nowadays is to add prepared dried yeast obtained from grocery store and add directly, or priorly dissolved in water, to the flour mixture.   This saves the time and effort in keeping the dough.

Yeast may also be present in ingredients like unpasteurized beer, buttermilk etc.  But these are probably not very convenient for urban people like us.

The main issue about using yeast for leavening is time.  The yeast will time to act.   So for an ordinary loaf of bread with 500g of flour and 7 to 10g of dried yeast, the time required for rising and proofing may range from 1 to 3 hours, depending on the moisture and temperature of the environment.

To save time, one may also use chemical leavening agents to induce the foaming actions.  Bicarbonates is a common used chemical, usually in the form of commercially available baking soda.  Baking powder is a mixture with bicarbonates (baking soda) with flour.   The texture and tastes of the product may be different from that of the yeast-risen bread.

For completeness sake, I include here the physical method of leavening, primarily by the process of vigorous mixing or whipping - but the pre-requisite is the presence of the appropriate ingredients and/or physical condition.  For instance, mixing of steam and air in high temperature may hold the steam inside the food.  Mixing of solid butter and sugar crystal gives rise to creamy texture.  Vigorous whipping of cream and egg whites can also results in foaming action.  As they require specific ingredients (eggs, sugar, butter or other mild products), they seem to be less used in ordinary bread-making.

Making a potato bread

The name potato bread has actually little implication on what the bread is like.

Irish potato bread, also called potato farl, is a bread with mashed potato, milk, and butter kneaded with plain flour and baking powder.  It seems more like a pancake than a bread. 

Polish potato bread also contains mashed potato, together with egg, butter and sugar mixed with flour and yeast.  

Leftover mashed potatoes, even those with additional ingredients, have been used for making various forms of potato bread.

The potato bread I experimented recently is based on the recipe of Dick and James Strawbridge in their book on bread-making.   

The ingredients of this bread are as below:

• 500 g strong white flour
• 350 g grated potatoes
• 250 ml tepid water
• 10g dried yeast
• small amount of olive oil and salt

The flour mixture was kneaded for about 7 minutes and then left to rise for 2 hours.

It was then knocked back, cut into half, and shaped into a greased tin foil casserole dish.  Covered and allowed to prove for one hour. Then it was baked at 200C for 45 minutes.

So here is the potato bread for the week! 

It seems to go better with olive oil and vinegar than peanut butter. The grated potatoes add to the texture in addition to that of the chewy strong flour.  Perhaps a little more salt and some herbs, such as dill as suggested by the original recipe, should enhance the taste.  

Recipe from: Dick and James Strawbridge.  Breads.  Published in the Great Britain in 2013. 

The Ignatius Examen

In Ignatius Spirituality (依納爵靈修), Examen (意識省察）is another important way to pray to God.

Examen refers to the process of reviewing one's own experience, say, in the previous one day or half, identifying a grateful and perhaps also an ungrateful experience, clarifying and understanding the associated emotions, and based on these, praying to God.   There follows a plan for the way forward for the next day.

This may seem like what we are told when we were little, to reflect one's own doings in the day and find ways to improve oneself in the near future.

In the spiritual context, it is perhaps part of the process of opening to God one's deepest feelings and emphasizes the togetherness with God during the reflection.

For both the Examen and the Contemplation of Gospel, there are two essential requirements.

First, as they are both a form of prayers, one needs to invite the Holy Spirit to guide the prayer.

Second, the prayer involves a conversation, or called "colloquy", between one who prays and Jesus, or the Father, or Mary, or any of the saints.  Because of the conversational nature, there needs to be the elements of both speaking and listening.  The former is to express one's emotions accurately, and the latter to give time for silence for listening.

Reference:
1. Ignatius Spirituality.  The Daily Examen.  (http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/)

2. Wright VH.  Three ways to pray Ignatian.  At Days of Deepening Friendship.  (http://deepeningfriendship.loyolapress.com/2014/07/30/three-ways-to-pray-ignatian/)

3. 依納爵靈修空間 (http://www.ignatian.org)

Ignatius way of contemplative prayer

Attended a workshop recently and had the chance to walk through the Ignatius way of contemplative prayer.

In contrast to "meditation" （默想）, the Ignatius way of "contemplation" (默觀）emphasizes using imagination to go into the scenarios described in the gospel to experience Jesus as if a member actually present in that scene.   When one has his mind and heart are fully engaged in the scene, he is asked to pay special attention to his thoughts and emotions aroused by the presence.

The purpose of the process is to explore the meaning of the section of the gospel to one's own life.   In Ignatius tradition, it is the way to communicate with God in a personal way.  A pre-requisite is to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to lead one into the journey.

Although it is said to be best used in experiencing Gospel passages, some also considers those in the Old Testament can be well experienced through Ignatius Contemplation.

One piece of passage good for Ignatius Contemplation is Jesus curing the blind man as described in Luke 18:35-43.

Note: "Contemplation" may be used in some other spiritual tradition to refer to praying without thoughts and images.

Reference:
http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/what-is-ignatian-spirituality/

認出四位聖史之路加及若望 (Identifying the Four Evangelists - Luke and John)

路加福音則針對司祭的角度，不但一開始便詳細指出作書的目的，是為使『你認清給你所講授的道理，正確無誤』，並隨即從一位名叫匝加利亞 (Zechariah) 的司祭，預報若翰的誕生，拉開序幕。路加福音著重基督的犧牲和堅毅，因此以有翼的牛代表。

路加為聖母畫聖像畫
(an anonymous Russian painter before 1917; Wiki)

路加寫了路加福音及宗徒大事錄，他是聖保祿的好朋友，伴隨聖保祿出外傳教。在宗徒大事錄第十六章第十節，敘述忽然從之前的第三身轉變為第一身的『我們』，顯示作者路加也從這一刻起，成為保祿的旅伴。

路加本身是一位醫生，但也同是一位藝術家。路加被指是第一位聖像畫家，所畫的瑪利亞畫像被送到 Constantinople 的 Hodegon Monastery (or Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria. 因此，路加也經常出現在不同版本以「路加為瑪利亞作畫」為主題的藝術品內。

若望福音的作者若望，是十二宗徒之中年紀最小的，也是耶穌最愛的門徒。福音中有很多關於若望的記載。若望福音主要強調耶穌的神性及祂與天主父的關係，一開始便指出『在起初已有聖言(Logos)，聖言與天主同在，聖言就是天主。』若望的代表活物是飛鷹，既強也飛得高，代表飛往天庭。

St John in a ceiling painting in the sacristy of San Sebastiano
(Italian painter Paolo Veronese, 1555; Web Gallery of Art) 

若望也寫了默示錄。內容是他被放逐到愛琴海一座名叫帕特摩的海島 (the Island of Patmos)上，望見的神示而寫。

不禁在想，當時的若望是帶著什麼心情，怎樣的情緒，怎樣的 "psyche" 呢？

帕特摩上的聖若望
(Titan, 1547; National Gallery of Art in Washington DC)

References:

• Saint symbolism. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_symbolism
• Symbols of the Four Evangelists.  Sacred Destinations.  http://www.sacred-destinations.com/reference/symbols-of-four-evangelists
• St Luke painting the virgin. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Luke_painting_the_Virgin
• Web Gallery of Art. http://www.wga.hu
• National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. http://briggl.com/galleries/nationalgallery.php