Scholar Says Moses Likely on Ayahuasca

[Expat98]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

Revelation at Sinai was 'mind-blowing'
By DAVID BRINN

"What a long, strange trip it's been" may be known as a catchphrase conjured up by The Grateful Dead to describe their mind-expanding experience with psychedelic drugs in the 1960s. But a Hebrew University professor of psychology claims that it may also be an appropriate title for the journey experienced by Moses and the Israelites when they wandered in the desert for 40 years.

Writing in the British scholarly journal Time and Mind, Prof. Benny Shanon claims that Moses and the children of Israel were likely under the influence of natural psychedelics found in the Sinai Desert when cataclysmic events like the receiving of the Ten Commandments took place.

He writes that two naturally existing plants in Sinai have the same psychoactive components as one of the most powerful psychedelic substances in existence, the Amazonian brew Ayahuasca.

"One plant is Peganum harmala, harmal in Arabic, the other is acacia, shita (plural, shittim) in Hebrew; they contain betacarbolines and DMT, respectively," Shanon wrote in the study.

Shanon, who admitted that he had partaken of the Ayahuasca brew about 160 times while in the Amazon in 1991 and at later locations and times, wrote that he "experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations."

After extensive research into Biblical texts, he concluded that several key episodes in the life of Moses exhibited features that were prominent symptoms of the Ayahuasca experience.

"These episodes include Moses's first encounter with the Divine and the theophany at Mt. Sinai, traditionally regarded to be the most important event in all of Jewish history," he wrote.

Shanon, whose main focuses of research are the phenomenology of human consciousness and the philosophy of psychology, also wrote that the burning bush episode was likely the result of psychedelic hallucinations as well.

"In advanced forms of Ayahuasca inebriation," he wrote, "the seeing of light is accompanied by profound religious and spiritual feelings."

While in the Torah there are no indications of the use of the Peganum harmala, there is clear evidence that the second plant - acacia - was most valued, according to Shanon.

"From it were made the tabernacle and the ark in which the Mosaic Tablets of the Law were guarded. The acacia tree was also regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians," he wrote.

"In the Bible we discover clear indications that psychoactive plants were highly valued in ancient Israelite society.

Taken together, the botanical and anthropological data on the one hand, and the biblical descriptions as well as later Jewish hermeneutics on the other, are, I propose, suggestive of a biblical entheogenic connection," concluded Shanon.

"Admittedly, the smoking gun is not available to us. However, so many clues present themselves which, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, seem to cohere into an intriguing unified whole," wrote Shanon, adding that his research had been conducted in a way similar to that of an independent detective's investigation.

[Expat98]

Originally Posted by Expat98

While in the Torah there are no indications of the use of the Peganum harmala, there is clear evidence that the second plant - acacia - was most valued, according to Shanon.

"From it were made the tabernacle and the ark in which the Mosaic Tablets of the Law were guarded. The acacia tree was also regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians," he wrote.

I thought this part was interesting. I had never heard this before, but yes indeed, the ark which contained the stone tablets was made out of acacia wood (a DMT-containing plant)! Talk about symbolism!

"They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high."
-- Exodus 25:19

[Bajeda]

Biblical Entheogens:a Speculative Hypothesis (B Shanon 2008)

Abstract
A speculative hypothesis is presented according to which the ancient Israelite religion was associated with the use of entheogens (mind-altering plants used in sacramental contexts). The hypothesis is based on a new look at texts of the Old Testament pertaining to the life of Moses. The ideas entertained here were primarily based on the fact that in the arid areas of the Sinai peninsula and Southern Israel there grow two plants containing the same psychoactive molecules found in the plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew Ayahuasca is prepared. The two plants are species of Acacia tree and the bush Peganum harmala. The hypothesis is corroborated by comparative experiential-phenomenological observations, linguistic considerations, exegesis of old Jewish texts and other ancient Mideastern traditions, anthropological lore, and ethnobotanical data.





Here are some highlights from the article. It makes for some good reading, although it starts off a bit pedantic and I am not enthused about the use of public Internet resources as citations at times where primary research would have been preferable. The small detractors don't make the paper any less worth reading in my opinion, they just make the article feel less polished and scholarly.

Originally Posted by Pg 55

Empirically, my work is based on the interviewing of a large number of persons coming from different locales and contexts of use as well as on my own extensive experience with this brew. (I have partaken of it about 160 times in various locales and contexts.) Theoretically, this research project presents a systematic comprehensive charting of the various facets of the Ayahuasca experience and offers a novel theoretical framework to conceptualize them from a cognitive psychological perspective. The results of these investigations are reported in my comprehensive monograph The Antipodes of the Mind (Shanon 2002a) as well as in Shanon (1998a, 1998b, 2002b, 2003a, 2003c). One main finding of my research is that, indeed, Ayahuasca visions exhibit significant inter-personal commonalities that defy socio-cultural variations.

Much of the theoretical speculation concerning the use of psychoactives within the context of emerging religions of the book (focused on Judaism in this instance) is based on the cognitive-psychological analysis of Ayahuasca use found in Shanon's book. I find the parallels drawn between the traditions and rituals of Ayahuasca use observed in distinct and disparate geographic locations and periods of time to be one of the most interesting aspects of the article, but the background research used to help formulate Shanon's theory is contained mostly in the book with only mention to the conclusions drawn in this specific article. I haven't read the book, but it looks like a good read, and if someone were to read it a book review in the forums would be much appreciated.

The book is titled The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience and was written by the same author as the article, Benny Shanon. There are some excellent (and extensive) reviews on Amazon, and you can look inside the book via Amazon's website or books.google so its worth checking out if this sort of thing interests you.

Originally Posted by Conclusion

By way of conclusion, let me summarize the line of argumentation presented here. In the southern regions of the Holy Land and in the Sinai peninsula there grow two plants containing the molecules that together constitute the key ingredients of one of the most powerful psychedelic substances in existence, the Amazonian brew Ayahuasca. One plant is Peganum harmala, harmal in Arabic, the other is Acacia, shita (plural, shittim) in Hebrew; they contain betacarbolines and DMT, respectively. In the Bible, there are no indications of the use of the first plant, but there is clear evidence that the second plant was most valued. From it were made the taber nacle and the ark in which the Mosaic Tablets of the Law were guarded. The acacia tree was also regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians. Nowadays, traditional Arab and Bedouin healers employ both plants in their curative practices. Likewise, Jews throughout the Middle East use harmal in various forms for medicine and sorcery.

In the Bible we discover clear indications that psychoactive plants were highly valued in ancient Israelite society. Remarkably, severalkey episodes in the life of Moses exhibit features that are prominent symptoms of the Ayahuasca experience. These episodes include Moses’ first encounter with the Divine and the Theophany at Mt. Sinai, traditionally regarded to be the most important event in all of Jewish history. Later Jewish rabbinical and mystical texts lend further support for the present entheogenic hypothesis.

Taken together, the botanical and anthropological data on the one hand, and the biblical descriptions as well as later Jewish hermeneutics on the other, are, I propose, suggestive of a biblical entheogenic connection. Admittedly, the smoking gun is not available to us. However, so many clues present themselves which, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, seem to cohere into an intriguing unified whole. I leave it to the reader to pass his or her judgment.

The conclusion provides a basic summary of the evidence (in not much detail), but gives you the gist of where Shanon is coming from with all this. The biblical passages analysed are too long to copy here with their respective analyses, but I recommend taking a look at the article if this sounds interesting. Even if the biblical exegeses are hard to swallow at times, Shanon makes a good case on other points that help to bolster his admittedly speculative argument, and the article as a whole made for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for the informative comments and links

[Expat98]

Thanks. The book reviews on Amazon are very intriguing. This looks like a MUST read.

[Expat98]

The professor and author in question, Benny Shannon, has responded to the news articles regarding his work:

The Guardian ran two articles on my work concerning the putative use of psychoactive plants in ancient Israel (Moses saw God 'because he was stoned - again', March 6; Face to Faith, March 8). Your news report conveys a picture very different from the one I present in the scientific journal Time and Mind, which is devoted to the history of culture and consciousness. Your report contains words and sentences I have neither written nor uttered, some introduced in quotation marks as if coming from me. Terms such as "drug", "trip", "high" and "stoned" are ones I have nothing to do with and which I do not condone.

Moreover, your first report suffers from some basic misunderstandings of my crucial arguments. For instance, the Amazonian brew ayahuasca is made out of two plants, each alone incapable of inducing any psychoactive effect. The remarkable finding is that in the Near East there grow two plants with the very same molecules contained by the two Amazonian plants. You mention only the tree (not bush) Acacia, but it is crucial for this to be conjoined with the bush Peganum harmala

I must stress that the use of psychoactive plants I have encountered in the Amazon is always embedded in religious and/or medicinal rituals. In traditional Amerindian societies the rituals were very strict and directed by a specialist (a shaman or healer), and demanded prior preparation. Remarkably, similar preparation is specified in the book of Exodus in conjunction with the Mount Sinai theophany. The plants were universally regarded as sacred, even divine, and held to be the source of true knowledge and the very foundation of the cultures in question. Their consumption is a lifelong engagement - not, as you state, mere "dabbling"). In fact, scholars nowadays call these plants and the preparations made out of them "entheogens" (that is, generating the Divine within).

Psychoactive agents are not good or bad in themselves; rather their value depends on their usage. Note that, in both the Jewish kiddush and the Catholic mass, wine (not water or milk) serves as a sacrament. Would we associate these rituals with alcoholism?

I would like to assure you that I have the deepest respect for Moses, the Jewish tradition and religious faith in general. As stated in my book The Antipodes of the Mind, the most important effect the experiences with ayahuasca have had on me as a person was making me understand the dimension of the holy.

I agree with Rabbi Pete Tobias (Face to Faith) that the spiritual, cultural and historical import of the biblical events, and of their associated texts and religious messages, is not diminished by their association with psychoactive plants. The plants are just instruments which induce higher sensitivity, greater insight, spiritual sentiments and creativity. However, what will be created depends on the person at hand. The indigenous users of ayahuasca repeatedly stressed that what an individual will experience with the brew and what he or she will learn from it utterly depends on the intellectual and ethical standing of that individual. As I stated in the radio interview Tobias cites, it takes a Moses to bring the Torah.

Benny Shanon is a professor of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem msshanon@mscc.huji.ac.il

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/26/religion

[rxbandit]

It is important to note that most acacia's do not contain DMT or DMT in any high quantity. For example a common acacia in that region is the gum acacia, which is responsible for gum arabic which is used as a stabilizer and binder in medicine. It is also used or was used for ink production among many other things. The number of acacias that actually contain DMT in high concentration are few and a good number of those species are only found naturally in Australia.

If Moses were to consume acacia he would have to either chow down on a large volume of bark or likely make a stew of some sort. Honestly I wouldn't make a wood stew or eat twigs. As for the syrian rue the beta carbolines are only present in the seeds and roots in any feasible quantity. There is no tradition in the area of brewing the roots or bark of these two plants together, although it could have been a custom that died out with the Roman invasion. But it would seem unlikely that a man would harvest seed's or brew bark or even stumble across the right species of acacia in proximity to syrian rue.

There have been many books comparing the mystical experience to the psychedelic experience, including the famous good friday experiment. All of them have made successful comparisons between the two. Other places in the bible that similar visions occur it is obvious that these other people were not in a position were they could of consumed anything. So do all mystical experiences have to be induced by drugs...

In our culture their are a fair number with mental illness that cause auditory and visual hallucinations, is it not possible that in those time they also had schizophrenics and the lot? I also dislike that the other has taken Ayahuasca so many times. He seems like he has an emotional investment or at the very least is projecting his personal feeling of importance regarding the experience. I do not see a very convincing case at the moment but he has seemed to make a big stretch... If you go looking for something as he has, you will often find what your looking for, if its their or not. Also interpreting a text that has been mis properly translated time and time again may not be the best source, especially when its not all that clear.

I would take this article with a bit of skepticism... although it could be possible, I doubt we will ever know.

[Expat98]

Originally Posted by rxbandit

If Moses were to consume acacia he would have to either chow down on a large volume of bark or likely make a stew of some sort. Honestly I wouldn't make a wood stew or eat twigs. As for the syrian rue the beta carbolines are only present in the seeds and roots in any feasible quantity. There is no tradition in the area of brewing the roots or bark of these two plants together, although it could have been a custom that died out with the Roman invasion. But it would seem unlikely that a man would harvest seed's or brew bark or even stumble across the right species of acacia in proximity to syrian rue.

Think about Moses's history though. He was adopted into the Egyptian royal family and grew up as a grandson of the pharaoh. As far as I know, there is no evidence that the Egyptians knew how to make ayahuasca. But magic played a very important part in Ancient Egypt, and Acacia trees are found in Egypt, and I assume that syrian rue is also. It's not impossible that ayahuasca was a secret tradition that died out when they were conquered by the Romans, as you said. If the Egyptians did use ayahuasca then it's plausible that Moses, as a grandson of the pharaoh, may have had access to the ayahuasca ceremonies and may even have seen how it was made. If so, it then becomes easy to see how he may have later made it for himself up on the mountain where he saw God. If he had taken ayahuasca previously in Egypt, this could also help explain how he got the revolutionary idea to lead his people out of slavery.

I know this is all conjecture. I am just throwing it out there as food for thought. I just think it's interesting to think about...and I still find it really interesting that the Bible specifically instructed them to construct the ark of the covenant from acacia wood.

You asked, "Do all mystical experiences have to be induced by drugs?" My answer is, no, absolutely not. Mystical experiences are entirely possible without drugs. And I don't think that most of the people who have played key roles in history did so because they were influenced by drugs.

By the way, this is only tangentially related, but I will mention it anyway: I just posted another thread that discusses how ayahuasca/DMT tends to induce spiritual experiences in which one communiucates with other life forms, spirits, or entities that are separate from oneself. So if "God" appeared as a vision and was communicating with Moses, this does sound a lot like an ayahuasca experience (which I guess is Prof. Shannon's point).

[Bajeda]

While I share your incredulity rxbandit, I don't think the acacia element of Shanon's argument is too far-fetched.

For instance, he mentions that the ark of the covenant was supposed to be made out of shittal, a type of acacia. Some scholars have argued that acacia tortilis was the variety used, and that it apparently contains some level of dmt. There are additional varieties of acacia and other psychoactive plants indigenous to the Middle East or in a close enough region that they could have reached there through trade. I wouldn't be surprised it if were possible to make ayahuasca brews in the region during that time.

I don't know much about the anthropology of psychedelic use in the Middle East, but would suppose that if you focused your research on the mystical sects of the religions of the book (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) there is a better chance of finding something useful, as those religions also discouraged or forbade use of most psychoactives.

An funny thought came to mind looking at this thread again. Supposing that the theory that the Torah was compiled later on from multiple sources is true, perhaps it was just that the people writing the parts of the Torah took DMT and harmala to help "envision" what went down with Moses. That could explain the conclusion reached by Benny's exigesis without meaning that Moses (assuming he exists or isn't an amalgamation of multiple personalities) was tripping when he communicated with god.

[rxbandit]

fair enough. Perhaps syrian rue was the burning bush lol.

Anything is possible but it is impossible to know for certain. I just have a problem with the widely adopted speculation of everything significant being linked to drugs, this could be the case but usually there is little evidence.

[allyourbase]

its highly unlikely that the jews were enslaved by the egyptians, as has been widely noted by a number of theological scholars. some have put their slavery as far away as samarkand (makes genetic sense as the hebrew peoples are caucasian) but from what swim understands the vast majority of scholars think they were slaves to the people of old babylon, as their religion is wholly based around babylon, with babel being the first city founded in the book of genesis, and the similarities between the state religion at the time and what evolved to be the jewish faith (monotheistic et cetera). this too, seems to point them toward that region, as what eventually evolved into zoroastrianism developed from ancestor worship related shamanism. even the hebrew name for hebrew script is zoroastrian, theirs translates to words of fire, whereas the zorastrian scriptures are occasionally called the symbol of fire. both are thought to represent the sun, which is as radiant and enduring as the god's of these respective faiths. zorastrianism as it stands today was not fully realized until after the events described in the bible, but the foundations for this faith were there, and there seems little doubt that theyre cut from the same cloth so to speak.

edit: it should be noted that there is historical evidence of the interplay between these two cultures and faiths, as at the end of the babylonian occupation the then king of babylon, a zorastrian, encouraged both the return of the hebrews to israel and the rebuilding of their temple

unrelated but humerous note: circumscision evolved as a way to cheat the tribes of isreal out of each other's victory trophies. just as early settlers and the indian nations took scalps, so the hebrew tribes took the foreskins of their enemies.

[psyche]

I'm with rxbandit about these sorts of links being made too easily. There doesn't seem to be much real evidence to make historical assumptions. Just a speculation of the use of the those certain psychoactives at that time, which isn't even sure, and the similarities of a mystical experience to the effects of DMT. While many indian religion's and cults have evolved from the use of these plants, it is too tempting to draw conclusions too easily. I don't know much about the subject, but this is my opinion just based on the arguments posted.

How about the theory(?) about magick mushrooms growing on the island where John wrote the apocalyptic books? Anyone heard of it, and how strong is the evidence there?

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by psyche

I'm with rxbandit about these sorts of links being made too easily. There doesn't seem to be much real evidence to make historical assumptions. Just a speculation of the use of the those certain psychoactives at that time, which isn't even sure, and the similarities of a mystical experience to the effects of DMT. While many indian religion's and cults have evolved from the use of these plants, it is too tempting to draw conclusions too easily. I don't know much about the subject, but this is my opinion just based on the arguments posted.

If you are interested in the argument, you might as well at least read the actual article itself. Reading the news report or the posts here won't adequately convey the intricacies of Shanon's argument without much getting lost in translation, as is wont to happen with most writings of a culturally anthropological nature.