Strength To Strength - Steadfast Chesed

On my livejournal blog, lil_tike_oon commented on the posted entry (Mafteach Shel Techiyah HaMetim) and linked article (The Commitment At Birth) noting this paragraph from the article:

It says, "Upon entry to this world, the child is touched by his celestial mentor and the candle, angel, Torah, and oath vanish from memory.

From this Talmudic passage three questions arise: Since we as adults have no memory of
this prenatal oath why were we led to accept it? And if, according to Jewish law, only the oaths of adults can create legal and binding obligations, then what was the point of having an unborn child swear? Lastly, considering that an oath usually serves as a guarantor to the truth of one’s words, why is the pure soul of the child not accepted as trustworthy without the oath?"

In part, her query was:

It is reported that the Shamanistic Elder will actually speak to the fetus at seven months to find out what the specific individual oath is. During “Rites of Passage” the child is told what the Elder ‘heard’ in conversation with the fetus. The Shaman is aware of this revelation given to the unborn. I wonder why in Judaism they never thought to do this and instead surmised that everyone's oath is the same.

My response to this idea is this: IMO and generally speaking, nobody else, even an elder, has the right to "tell" another person what his or her mission/oath is. This is because each person's "oath" is unique, unknowable and untouchable by any other individual soul.

Just for the record, I do remember my prenatal oath despite that most people don't. I was born remembering it and have never forgotten it.

Also, from the link: "Evidently, oaths function in the Bible as more than mere guarantees of truth-telling. They give the oath-taker added strength to attain what might otherwise be too difficult to accomplish."

Importantly, memory of the oath adds even more strength to accomplish one's mission.

all pathways to Hashem are steadfast chesed ... Tehilim 25:10

technorati tags: Torah kabbalah Judaism shechinah memory mind soul soul science soul development prenatal oath consciousness research consciousness science kabbalistic psychology psychology cognition science of mind science of memory