MOSES, WHAT A DUDE

You thought those cartoons about Muhammad were risque? Well, this
time around it's Moses who is the object of ridicule. Famous prophets
could really use a good libel lawyer these days.

The slander against Moses is that he was a stoner -- a totally baked,
sandal-wearing proto-hippie. Or so says Benny Shanon, a psychology
professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Mr. Shanon is an expert
on plants that, when eaten, produce hallucinatory effects. In a new
article, he suggests that certain foliage found in the Sinai and
Negev deserts functioned as hallucinogens.

Mr. Shannon has himself consumed hallucinogens, and says he
recognizes some of Moses's experiences as described in the Bible. The
story of the burning bush is apparently a textbook instance of a
far-out trip. Because time passes differently when you are on
hallucinogens, it's no surprise the bush appeared to be on fire yet
not really burning. Nor is it a surprise, says Mr. Shanon, Moses
heard a disembodied voice coming from the freaky fire.

As for the thunder- and fire-filled encounter with God at Mount
Sinai? Again, Mr. Shanon believes it was the greatest psychedelic
moment in history.

Of course, the drug hypothesis is impossible to prove. Then again,
the Biblical version of events is also, in a literal sense,
impossible to prove. No one will ever know exactly what happened at
Sinai, but that is precisely the point. These are matters of faith.
Some people demand more certainty than that, so they strive to find
scientific explanations for the unexplainable. This usually results
in the sort of silliness that Mr. Shanon is indulging in.

Happily, no one is rioting or calling for Mr. Shanon's beheading. If
anything, Jews are amused. Surfing the Israeli press, there's no
shortage of wiseguys making jokes about the "two tablets" Moses
received from God.

The things they never taught us in Sunday school ...