The Path Of The Righteous Man A Chabura On Miracles, Prophecy, and Pulp Fiction

Do you want to continue this theological conversation in the car, or in the jailhouse with the cops?

Shock And Outrage Should Be irected To! Aki"a #eisinger

and $uentin Tarantino

%&ekiel '(!)* and Prophecy

JULES

Yes ya did Brett. Ya tried ta fuck 'im. You ever read the Bible, Brett? BRE !i" s#asm$ Yes. JULES here's a #assa%e & %ot memori'ed, seems a##ro#riate for this situatio"( E'ekiel )*(+,. - he #ath of the ri%hteous ma" is beset o" all sides by the i"e.uities of the selfish a"d the tyra""y of evil me". Blessed is he /ho, i" the "ame of charity a"d %ood /ill, she#herds the /eak throu%h the valley of dark"ess, for he is truly his brother's kee#er a"d the fi"der of lost childre". 0"d & /ill strike do/" u#o" thee /ith %reat ve"%ea"ce a"d furious a"%er those /ho attem#t to #oiso" a"d destroy my brothers. 0"d you /ill k"o/ my "ame is the Lord /he" & lay my ve"%ea"ce u#o" you.he t/o me" E12 Y their %u"s at the same time o" the sitti"% Brett.

+s it ,eird to -uote a bible "erse before killing so.eone/ #hy or ,hy not/

:: : : : : : : : : : (

And + ,ill e0ecute great "engeance upon the. ,ith furious rebukes1 and they shall kno, that + a. the 2OR , ,hen + shall lay My "engeance upon the.34

#hat is Prophecy/
D 567C B8 A5 >:?5@ 9<=7 :8;; 56789 6:@C6 ><B6 ?:IC6 ?6;J 8C D8D 69@:<I F?I7 FG;HF E:D !E@B6: 4? ?7D

#hy/ L H?K F?69F :56=: 96<8F > ;7? D F<8F 6?M: DF: D86 6:9657; ?6;J F7<B; 865J ><B 8C D8D F8B FD6;@F E:D6 ,>5DF :@; 9D D;@7 8DFI C5:8 95F :56=:7 D8677 D6FI >5D ,5D7 5C F@6<@ F;B? FC5 8C; D6F6 5:79 6?M: 8C 69C5; ?;J97 D6F D8D >86C; ?;5; 6:8C ?;J97 68DF 9657F 8<; No, does the Ra.ba. understand the Oe.ara/ Rabbeinu Pissi. of Oeroni, rashot NaRan Qsu..ari&ed at dafyo.i3co3ilR GThe Ran e0plains instead that Rebbi Sochanan refers to a person ,ho not only prophesies for hi.self, but ,ho prophesies for the entire Te,ish people3 To .erit Nashe.4s presence on a personal le"el re-uires only that one be on a high spiritual le"el3 No,e"er, a Pa"i ,ho trans.its Nashe.4s ,ord to the entire nation .ost be highly respected by all3 %"en the si.ple people ,ho do not recogni&e the true "alue of ,isdo. and good Midos ne"ertheless respect physical po,er and ,ealth, and thus they ,ill listen to the Pa"i4s ,ords3 The Ran cites support for this e0planation fro. the Oe.ara in Ta4anis Q)UaR ,hich says that ,hen a Ta4anis is declared, all of the residents of the to,n gather together and one of the elders deli"ers ,ords of rebuke, and if there are no elders, a .an of physical stature deli"ers the rebuke3 The Ran adds that it is necessary for a Pa"i to be physical po,erful so that he not be afraid of the people to ,ho. he relates the prophecy3V No, does the Ran differ fro. the Ra.ba./ No, .ight they "ie, prophecy differently/ +s Tules fulfilling the role of a prophet at this point in the story/

Bathroo.s
"Much of Pulp Fiction's action revolves around characters who are in the bathroom or need to use the toilet !arantino's other films also feature this trope, though to a lesser e"tent#$%&'( )t *ac+ ,abbit -lim's, Mia goes to "powder her nose".literally she snorts co+e in the restroom, surrounded by a bevy of women vainly primping# /utch and Fabienne play an e"tended scene in their motel bathroom, he in the shower, she brushing her teeth the ne"t morning, but just a few seconds later in screen time, she is again brushing her teeth# )s *ules and 0incent confront /rett and two of his pals, a fourth man is hiding in the bathroom.his actions will lead to *ules's transformative "moment of clarity"# )fter Marvin's absurd death, 0incent and *ules wash up in *immie's bathroom, where they get into a contretemps over a bloody hand towel#$%%1( 2hen the diner hold3up turns into a Me"ican standoff, "4oney /unny" whines, "5 gotta go pee6"$%&7( )s described by Peter and 2ill /roo+er, "5n three significant moments 0incent retires to the bathroom $and( returns to an utterly changed world where death is threatened#"$%&8( !he threat increases in magnitude as the narrative progresses chronologically, and is reali9ed in the third instance: %#0incent and *ules;s diner brea+fast and philosophical conversation is aborted by an armed robbery while 0incent is reading on the toilet# <#2hile 0incent is in the bathroom worrying about the possibility of going too far with Marsellus's wife, Mia mista+es his heroin for cocaine, snorts it, and overdoses# '#During a sta+eout at /utch;s apartment, 0incent emerges from the toilet with his boo+ and is +illed by /utch#= W#ikipedia

QX a5 \: a; Y BH ^ _9 ^ ` I ^ cB a@ a8 YX YK _F ^ Y@ \ ?I \D c d F[ \7 ^ _F ^ _6 Y ?D ]: YF _ 9K _I Y 8C b _6 ]9D? aH Y8 `9 a; ^ YM _@ ^ `6 Y F7 a: Y7 _F ^ _ DM Z: ] F@ ZF ^ ` ?H \; ]; ^ _ FC ^ ]? YK _ 8D ^ \ X Y8 Z Q6[

"
6:<?M >I FI6C6 =68:@8 DM6:6 >:<I76 6:;H@8 X:?M 6@:DI ?76D6 F68D 67MC FI6C F:FI ,6:;H@8 W F7:7F DM: F@F #hy is it a proble. if a god goes to the bathroo./ #hy is it ,eird to ha"e i.portant things happen after a character goes to the bathroo./

Miracles
he bathroom door BURS S 32E4 a"d the 5ourth 1a" 670R8ES out, silver 1a%"um raised, 5&R&48 S&9 B331&48 S73 S from his ha"d ca""o". FOURTH MAN :ie... die... die... die...; :3LLY &4 3 5ourth 1a", same as before. 7e S6RE01 u"til he's dry firi"%. crosses his face. TWO SHOT JULES AND VINCENT Sta"di"% "e<t to each other, u"harmed. 0ma'i"% as it seems, "o"e of the 5ourth 1a"'s shots a##ear to have hit a"ybody. Jules a"d =i"ce"t e<cha"%e looks like, -0re /e hit?- hey're as co"fused at the shooter. 0fter looki"% at each other, they bri"% their looks u# to the 5ourth 1a". FOURTH MAN & do"'t u"dersta"d > he 5ourth 1a" is take" out of the sce"ario by the t/o me"'s bullets /ho, u"like his, 7& their marks. 7e dro#s :E0:. he t/o me" lo/er their %u"s. Jules, obviously shake", sits do/" i" a chair. =i"ce"t, after a mome"t of res#ect, shru%s it off. he" heads to/ard 1arvi" i" the cor"er. VINCENT ?hy the fuck did"'t you tell us about that %uy i" the bathroom? Sli# your mi"d? 5or%et he /as i" there /ith a %oddam" ha"d ca""o"? JULES !to himself$ ?e should be fucki"' dead ri%ht "o/. !#ause$ :id you see that %u" he fired at us? &t /as bi%%er tha" him. VINCENT .357. he" a look of co"fusio"

JULES ?e should be fucki"' dead; VINCENT Yeah, /e /ere lucky. Jules rises, movi"% to/ard =i"ce"t. JULES hat shit /as"'t luck. somethi"' else. =i"ce"t #re#ares to leave. VINCENT Yeah, maybe. JULES hat /as... divi"e i"terve"tio". You k"o/ /hat divi"e i"terve"tio" is? VINCENT Yeah, & thi"k so. hat mea"s 8od came do/" from 7eave" a"d sto##ed the bullets. JULES Yeah, ma", that's /hat is mea"s. hat's e<actly /hat it mea"s; 8od came do/" from 7eave" a"d sto##ed the bullets. VINCENT & thi"k /e should be %oi"% "o/. JULES :o"'t do that; :o"'t you fucki"' do that; :o"'t blo/ this shit off; ?hat @ust ha##e"ed /as a fucki"' miracle; VINCENT 6hill the fuck out, Jules, this shit ha##e"s. JULES ?ro"%, /ro"%, this shit does"'t @ust ha##e". VINCENT :o you /a""a co"ti"ue this theolo%ical discussio" i" the car, or at the @ailhouse /ith the co#s? JULES ?e should be fucki"' dead "o/, my frie"d; ?e @ust /it"essed a miracle, hat shit /as

a"d & /a"t you to fucki"' ack"o/led%e it; VINCENT 3kay ma", it /as a miracle, ca" /e leave "o/?

#hat is Tules4s attitude to,ards the e"ent/ #hat is eincent4s attitude to,ards the e"ent/ No, do they differ/ Na"e they had a philosophical disagree.ent yet/ 2ater333
VINCENT 8ood for you. Li%hte" u# a little. You bee" sitti"' there all .uiet. JULES & @ust bee" sitti"' here thi"ki"'. VINCENT !mouthful of food$ 0bout /hat? JULES he miracle /e /it"essed. VINCENT he miracle you /it"essed. & /it"essed a freak occurre"ce. JULES :o you k"o/ that a miracle is? VINCENT 0" act of 8od. JULES ?hat's a" act of 8od? VINCENT & %uess it's /he" 8od makes the im#ossible #ossible. 0"d &'m sorry Jules, but & do"'t thi"k /hat ha##e"ed this mor"i"% .ualifies.

a"id Nu.e, fOf MiraclesV fPothing is estee.ed a .iracle, if it e"er happen in the co..on course of nature3 +t is no .iracle that a .an, see.ingly in good health, should die on a sudden! because such a kind of death, though .ore unusual than any other, has yet been fre-uently obser"ed to happen3 But it is a .iracle, that a dead .an should co.e to life1 because that has ne"er been obser"ed in any age or country3G No, does eincent define a .iracle/ #hy doesn4t this e"ent -ualify/ No, is eincent si.ilar to Nu.e/

JULES :o"'t you see, =i"ce, that shit do"'t matter. You're @ud%i"% this thi"% the /ro"% /ay. &t's "ot about /hat. &t could be 8od sto##ed the bullets, he cha"%ed 6oke i"to 2e#si, he fou"d my fucki"' car keys. You do"'t @ud%e shit like this based o" merit. ?hether or "ot /hat /e e<#erie"ced /as a" accordi"%AtoA7oyle miracle is i"si%"ifica"t. ?hat is si%"ifica"t is & felt 8od's touch, 8od %ot i"volved.

Ra" Sosef o" Solo"eitchik, >mergence of >thical Man f#hat is a .iracle in Tudais./ The ,ord G.iracleG in Nebre, does not possess the connotation of the supernatural3 +t has ne"er been placed on a transcendental le"el3 GMiracleG Qpele, nesR describes only an outstanding e"ent ,hich causes a.a&e.ent3 A turning point in history is al,ays a .iracle, for it co..ands attention as an e"ent ,hich inter"ened fatefully in the for.ation of that group or that indi"idual3 As ,e read the story of the e0odus fro. %gypt, ,e are i.pressed by the distinct tendency of the Bible to relate the e"ents in natural ter.s3 The frogs ca.e out of the ri"er ,hen the Pile rose, the ,ind brought the locusts and split the sea3 All archaeologists agree that the plagues as depicted by the Bible are "ery closely related to the geographical and cli.atic conditions that pre"ail in %gypt3 Behind the passages in the Bible ,e .ay discern a distinct intention to describe the plagues as naturally as possible3 The Bible ne"er e.phasi&es the unnaturalness of the e"ents1 only its intensity and force are e.phasi&ed3 The reason for that is ob"ious3 A philosophy ,hich considers the ,orldWdra.a as a fi0ed, .echanical process go"erned by an unintelligent, indifferent principle, .ay regard the .iracle as a supernatural transcendental pheno.enon ,hich does not fit into the causalistic, .eaningless .onotony3 +srael, ho,e"er, ,ho looked upon the uni"ersal occurrence as the continuous reali&ation of a di"ine ethical ,ill e.bedded into dead and li"e .atter, could ne"er classify the .iracle as so.ething uni-ue and inco.prehensible3 Both natural .onotony and the surprising ele.ent in nature e0press Oods4 ,ord3 Both are regular, la,ful pheno.ena1 both can be traced to an identical source333 +n ,hat, then, does the uni-ueness of the .iracle assert itself/ +n the correspondence of the natural and historical orders3 The .iracle does not destroy the obgecti"e scientific ne0us in itself, it only co.bines natural dyna.ics and historical purposefulness3 Nad the plague of the firstborn, for instance, occurred a year before or after the e0odus, it ,ould not ha"e been ter.ed G,ith a strong handG QbeWyad ha&akahR3 #hy/ Ood ,ould ha"e been instru.ental in a natural children4s plague3 Set Ood acts gust as the ,orld ruler3 On the night of Passo"er Ne appeared as the Ood of the cos.os acting along historical patterns3 The inter"ention of nature in the historical process is a .iracle3 #hether Ood planned that history adgust itself to natural catastrophes or, "ice "ersa, Ne co..ands nature to cooperate ,ith the historical forces, is irrele"ant3 Miracle is si.ply a natural e"ent ,hich causes a historical .eta.orphosis3 #hene"er history is transfigured under the i.pact of cos.ic dyna.ics, ,e encounter a .iracle3G No, does Tules define a .iracle/ No, is it different than eincent4s definition/

Th2%S
here's a #assa%e & %ot memori'ed. E'ekiel )*(+,. - he #ath of the ri%hteous ma" is beset o" all sides by the i"e.uities of the selfish a"d the tyra""y of evil me". Blessed is he /ho, i" the "ame of charity a"d %ood /ill, she#herds the /eak throu%h the valley of the dark"ess. 5or he is truly his brother's kee#er a"d the fi"der of lost childre". 0"d & /ill strike do/" u#o" thee /ith %reat ve"%ea"ce a"d furious a"%er those /ho attem#t to #oiso" a"d destroy my brothers. 0"d you /ill k"o/ & am the Lord /he" & lay my ve"%ea"ce u#o" you.- & bee" sayi"' that shit for years. 0"d if you ever heard it, it mea"t your ass. & "ever really .uestio"ed /hat it mea"t. & thou%ht it /as @ust a coldblooded thi"% to say to a motherfucker 'fore you #o##ed a ca# i" his ass. But & sa/ some shit this mor"i"' made me thi"k t/ice. 4o/ &'m thi"ki"', it could mea" you're the evil ma". 0"d &'m the ri%hteous ma". 0"d 1r. .B* here, he's the she#herd #rotecti"% my ri%hteous ass i" the valley of dark"ess. 3r is could by you're the ri%hteous ma" a"d &'m the she#herd a"d it's the /orld that's evil a"d selfish. &'d like that. But that shit ai"'t the truth. he truth is you're the /eak. 0"d &'m the tyra""y of evil me". But &'m tryi"'. &'m tryi"' real hard to be a she#herd. Jules lo/ers his %u", lyi"% it o" the table. 2um#ki" looks at him, to the mo"ey i" his ha"d, the" to Yola"da. She looks back. 8rabbi"% the trash ba% full of /allets, the t/o RU4 out the door.

#hat has changed in Tules4s recital of %&ekiel '(!)*/ #hat has Tules beco.e/