From Symbol to Signal

By: Jonathan Seidel

Medieval Allegorisation

Medieval philosophy was entrenched with two various versions of metaphysical speculation: the rationalists and the mystics. Both were vastly relevant in the middle ages. Rationalism was inspired by the islamic schools following in Aristotles’s footsteps and the mystics influenced by gnostic spirituality incepted the christian churches. Maimonides was of the former and Nahmanides of the latter. Metaphysics  vocalised allegorical secrets breeching the narrational veil. 

There is simply no denying the external effect of philosophy on Judaism. Judaism is a rule/law based system. An action-oriented structure that seconds metaphysics. Classical texts mention metaphysical notations with mystical affiliations. Though if Kohelet is considered the first philosopher then some form of existentialism is the first genuine Jewish philosophy. Rabbinic Judaism voided metaphysical speculation but it did express metaphysical notations without explaining them. The allegories are ideological but are not a systematised philosophy. Their uncertain explanation buttresses the potential possibilities. 

The ancient world was filled with symbolism. Symbolism was a method of explaining the world with pictures or codes to denote the reality. To take an example, Maimonides figuratively interprets many stories with parables. Maimonides believes allegories are poetic to a deeper truth. The esoteric liturgy encases a multi-interpreted possibility. The meaning buried beneath the allegory signifies a critical message. The allegories are narrational. They educate mystical potentialities. It is the esoteric fictionality that precludes rational investigation. The symbolic manifestation demonstrates a coordinated valuational system. Allegories synchronically envelop an overlapping to bridge the rabbinic mind. The diverse teachings are unified in a semiotical manner. 

The transition from mysterious parables to philosophical and mystical truths emboldened an unveiling over the fable secret. The rabbinic mind was uninterested in systematised philosophy but did so in correlated organismic compilation. Theological discourse is thematic and tutorial. The secrecy to homiletical audience furthers the arcane messaging. The inspiring speeches were signals to the people, narrated in a comprehensive manner that was deduced in the Middle Ages as a scholastic abstraction. 

Allegories are narrated in sermonic phraseology. The educational aspects denote a depth of divine circuitry. Narratives contain emotion and action, encouraging visual apprehension. The narratives are linked with exegetical formulation, footnoted to the core of religiosity. They omit the genus and maintain a surface gaze. The stories motivate a valued based conclusion about the world. The characters chosen are to resonate with the reader. Allegories project a valuational core caged by the simplistic plot. 

The semiology is constructed in narrational excellence. The episodic format isolates each storyline into its unique category. It is tied to a certain program with a specific code. The signal underlining the narrative is awaiting to be unveiled. The allegories are folklore central to Jewish philosophy. They are the hidden keys to the gates of the Jewish castle. The folklore is indebted to the generations of Jewish wisdom and Jewish identity. 

The Middle Ages upended this secrecy. This wondrous mystery with public exposure; an intellectual exercise to unravel the veiled. The goal of understanding and revealing the hidden were central to the philosophical game. The philosopher is not merely a ponderer but a solver. He is a scientist discovering the unknown. The allegories are the exact opposite of the philosopher’s goal. The allegories hide information. They are undisclosed in riddles. To be covered with esteem. Whether intentionally for illiteracy or for ignorance, these stories were reconfigured narrationally to avoid the bullet point idea. To salvage those ignorant, the sages composed a story to methodically meld with the rhythmic melody of the hidden pulse strumming away. 

Narratives are exegetical with multiple layers of interpretive creativity. The encased objective is multi-varied, elastic in its spatial coverage. The narrative hints to the target but is formulated in a semiological effort to connect to the structural framework of the higher entity. A narrative’s flexibility rides on its bidirectional status as a phenomenological hermeneutic. The individual approaches the story concluding with an empowered message, enabling the sign to remain intact while deducing the sign’s prowess. The subjective element explodes with divergent solutions while the objective centrality furthers its ageless mystery. 

Allegories were either esoteric lessons reserved for the elite. Only the enhanced were allowed to know such information. The masses were confined to riddles and enigmas. The kabbalists studied the secret for themselves. Only the true greats were elevated sufficiently to comprehend and internalise these truths. The masses were not on the level to attain these truths. They were taught narratives to quench their spiritual demotion. On the other hand they were exoteric ideals for the masses limited by intellect. The rationalists also saw the narratives as riddles for truth. The rationalists reached a sufficient level to comprehend the secrets. The masses were unable to understand with their limited intellect. The narratives were designed to lead them to the secret. The kabbalists presented a spiritual frame to unveil the hidden. Special individuals could understand. There was an ontological difference between the sages and the masses. The sage was significantly greater and could penetrate the deep secrets. The rationalists posed an intellectual frame to reveal the mysterious. Brilliant people could understand. There was a pragmatic difference between the sages and the masses. The sage was significantly smarter and could penetrate the deep secrets. Only in the hassidic age did the esoteric strands transition to more exoteric understanding. Yet, even hassidically, an elevated sage teaches the secrets to the masses. The individual did not disclose the secret himself. If the allegories suppress supernal truth, science cannot reach that matrix.

Unveiling the hidden gem is speculative. It produces an abstract arbitrary truth. Yet, its narrational product dwells in the hermeneutical asset. Wisdom is for the the knowledgeable not the elite. People are puppeteers of their own volition, strings entangled in fate. Exoteric formulations wish for mass understanding. The narrative is not a form of subjugation or inferiority. Using the four sons at the seder, esoterically the answer to the masses is the one who can’t speak. The narrative is a replacement, an alternative to the truth that is incomprehensible. Exoterically, teaching the child the basic idea allows him to use the information to probe deeper. The individual has limitless capability. Warren Buffet reads eight hundred pages a day enhancing his mind. We grow smarter by engaging ourselves. It is our drive not the teacher’s educational method that warrants our brilliance. Can one learn for themselves, alone amass knowledge? Absolutely! The divergence demonstrates the clear philosophical perception of transitional knowledge. Is it received or learned? Is there exclusivity to a certain classist hierarchy or is it all-attainable with some effort? 

Technically, the esoteric strand is ultimately attainable but on a metaphysical level. This spiritual vortex does not emit normative standards. Discretion of who is included is decided by others. Judgement for cultic entrance is arbitrary. The exoteric medal is a group who autonomously chose this path. It does not require external interference. There may indeed be an exclusivist fundamentalism but anyone can attain the intellectual charm to enter.   

The allegory is translated by everyone. It is the masses’ method of connection. The narrative is the bedrock of the encased ideal to be explored and revealed through interpretation. The riddles are not to scare people but to ease the journey and characterise the value in a projected visualised manner. The subjective element exoterically emboldens a variety of possibilities and growth in perpetual analysation of the narrative. The arrival at some philosophical truth is daring but the valuational reward post-exploration is foundational and developmental. It is the individualistic journey to the formidable result.    

The exoteric frame pushes to explain the sign. The symbolism is a crutch for the designated value. Semiotics are to present straightforward statements but hide the truth. The truth is still to be comprehended by the masses. The Bible is replete with semiological examples that the masses were aware of. The semantic verses couch the background but the people are knowledgeable. The people are protecting the sacred internality. The Middle Ages thwarted Jewish secrecy by revealing all our cards in a daring game of Texas Hold'em. The river card turned face up and each player showed his hand. It was a debate of who had the better hand. This open dialogue obstructed the special knowledge of the people. The sanctified nature of the sign was exposed to mediocrity and bullying. 

Allegories safely hid their gems and presented parables to maintain their secrecy and beauty, untainted and impregnable. Only the traditional key can access the precious gem. Exoteric sanctioning is fully comprehensible with the traditional key. Shouting out the gem’s hiding-place loses its prowess. Context is important. The key establishes a coherent sequence to explain. Projecting the gem to the public out of context distorts its sacred nature. 

Though the exoteric model is an autonomous venture it requires some heteronomy. One must be knowledgeable of the bedrock of Jewish culture. It is not necessarily something taught by a teacher but by a parent. More or less living and breathing as a Jew. It is not about reading texts but infusing the orality of the people. That which stands behind the text, the undergirding principles hammered in the psyche of the Jewish child. The traditional key is not a text but a trans-generational oral transmission. The key is not just intuition but a directional analysis of the texts. A proper phenomenological view engulfed in the mythic nature of the people. The serene sensation of identification and care. 

The gem is for the people to discuss amongst themselves. It is the oral discourse of the lore that is precious to the Jew. The medieval reactionary disclosure, betrayed the insular organismic poetry. Allegories are internally mechanistic imbibing a heritage. The Jewish values are intrinsically bound and employing them to defend against religious attack bleaches their purity. The Maimonidean allegorical proposal is a single conclusion to the written archives. The oral nature is symbolically hidden in the halls of the religious castle. The allegories are not only narratives couched in truth but pathways to the truth. The written extract is limited in its articulation of the unlimited oral formulation. The written transition misses the oral perfection. The sermonic poetry posits a coherent valuation, yet book culture has nearly corrupted oral standardisation. The written text is synchronically melded to unveil beyond it the semantic statements. The narrative is flushed and the undergirding core is revealed. It is the not the definition of the narrative but its deduced interpretation.