Read the Conclusion and Goddess in Dura Appendix inThe Hebrew Goddess, by Raphael Patai. Copy and paste the following questions to a new e-mail, answer them, then send to the Mystery School with the following subject line: Heb Gds Concl. from ________ (your magikal name).

1. Name seven female numina not mentioned in this book.

2. The religion of the _______________ and _____________ was never without at least a hint of the ______________ in its ________- _______________.

3. What three Jewish groups have retained an essentially male image of God?

4. What three Jewish groups have kept a mystical-mythical doctrine of God and the Shekhina?

5. What remained unchanged in the view of the relationship between God and man?

6. Where is Dura Europos?

7. T/F The Second Commandment prohibits all depictions of humans and animals.

8. Whom does Good enough say the representation of a female on the walls of the Dura Europos synagogue resembles?

9. Whom does Patai claim is represented in the mural?

Essay: Describe in a few sentences your reaction to this book. Has it shocked you that the Jews have always had a female representation of God? Has your opinion changed in any way? Explain briefly.

Presvytera Deborah writes:  To me, this book made sense out of a lot of strange, convoluted explanations given by conservative Christians and Jews. But it’s sort of another “close but no cigar” kind of thing; the concept of the balance between male and female, both in God and in humans, is only extended to sexuality (which, admittedly, is an improvement over the typical Western mindset toward sexuality, but doesn’t take the idea of balance any further). This book made me hungry for more understanding of the balance between the male and female; I hope to find it in esoteric things.

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