Q:
If the mann was known even to the nations of the world then why isn’t the mann mentioned in any literature other than our own?
A:
You must know that in the ancient times you didn’t have what you call a free press. Even today’s free press is very far from free. Because if you’ll try to write a letter to the New York Times complaining about some of their editorials it won’t be published. Unless you’re a very important personality and you have pull. Otherwise, there’s no such thing. The New York Times prints only what it sees fit to print. If there’s an Orthodox rally—I once attended an Orthodox meeting. It was very orderly. There came in a Mizrachi boy and he tried to make trouble. So there was no quarrel they just picked him up, two burly ushers picked him up and quietly carried him outside.
The next day it was reported in one of the inside pages: “Fist fights at Orthodox rally”. That’s how they described the rally. Again and again from different mass meetings they play down the number that attended. When delegations came to complain to the editor he said, “No, Mr. so and so, that’s our editor of Jewish affairs, whatever he says goes.” And there was no chance of changing it. So if you have such wickedness, such repression of the truth today, in the ancient times surely.
And in the ancient records you have to know the only ones who were in charge of the records were the king and the priesthood. There was no such thing as independent recording of events. And the kings and the priesthood recorded only one thing—what was for their benefit. And therefore they recorded a pack of lies about themselves. They never said a word that was to their discredit.
And that’s why Sancheirav when he made a great campaign in Eretz Yisroel and he conquered a number of towns, so that’s described at great length in the Sancheirav steles, in the inscriptions. At great length! We have them in the museums. But it doesn’t say what the outcome of the campaign was! After all he was coming against Eretz Yehudah and the main city was Yerushalayim, so why isn’t that mentioned? Nothing is said about the outcome of the campaign.
We know what the outcome was. It was a disaster. At the gates of Yerushalayim, Sancheirav’s hopes were destroyed and he fled in ignominy. And when he came home he was slaughtered; he was killed by one of his sons. But the defeat at the gates of Yerushalayim is not mentioned in the inscriptions of Sancherav at all.
Because they never mentioned their defeats. That’s one principle. You have to know how to read these inscriptions. If you’re a tamim and you stand in front of a wall and decipher the hieroglyphics and you think what it says there is toras emes, so you’re a dupe. They’re writing only what they wanted you to believe.
And they never would say anything about the glories of another nation.
So how could you expect these liars, these selfish crooks, to be truthful? Are they going to write what happened to the Bnei Yisroel at Kriyas Yam Suf and by Matan Torah and about the yeridas hamann? Certainly not.
Now, we have certain indications of certain things when it happens to creep in in some unnoticed way, but that they should write about it b’feirush, openly and intentionally? It’s out of the question. Nothing that redounds to the benefit of any other nations was ever reported by them. And therefore you will seek in vain to find an honest account of what happened in antiquity.
And you should know even the Greek writers, even. Josephus tells us that all the Greek writers were tremendous liars. He mentioned them by name: Thucydides, Herodotus. All of them were liars. And he proves it from their own words. Each one spoke about the ones before him and they said they were great prevaricators. So you could believe them about that. He has a whole list of famous Greek historians who were big liars.
And Tacitus, the Roman historian, we know he was a wicked liar. Tacitus said that among the Jews it’s considered a virtue to disobey parents. A whole list of lies, ridiculous lies. Some of them are copied over in Rejoice o’ Youth as an example of the ‘truthfulness’ of ancient writers.
So, you’ll look in vain to find in the inscriptions of ancient people anything except their own boasts.
February 1978
