Moses and Aaron (Moses und Aron)

And when Moses saw that the people were naked

for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies,

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.

And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them,

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side,

and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp,

and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses:

And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

Act 1 Scene 1: The Calling of Moses.

Only one

infinite

omnipresent

unperceived

and inconceivable God!

Here lay your shoes aside. You have gone far enough now;

You stand on holy ground. Be God's prophet!

God of my fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

who reawakened their great thoughts in my own mind,

O God, ask not Thy servant to be Thy prophet.

I am old, I ask Thee let me tend my sheep in peace.

You have seen your kindred enslaved, the truth you have known,

so you can do nothing else:

You must set your folk free!

Who am I to combat the power and force of that blindness?

United with God in oneness, to Him joined, from Pharaoh torn loose!

What will give them proof of my mandate?

The name of one holy!

The Infinite will set them free; They shall no longer perish in bondage.

No one will believe me!

Before their ears you shall do wondrous things.

And their eyes will recognise you.

And by your rod will they behold you, and admire your wisdom;

By your hand they will believe your power, and feel in the Nile waters what their blood commands them.

But my tongue is not flexible.

I can think, but not speak.

Even as from this, in darkness,

ere the light of truth fell thereupon,

will you perceive My message in everything.

Aaron will be enlightened; He shall be your mouth!

From him will your own voice then issue, as from you comes mine!

And your people will now be blest, for this I promise to you:

Your folk are the chosen ones before all others.

They are the folk of the one God alone.

They are thus to know Him and give Him alone their worship.

Also they will undergo all hardships

that have, in millennia, ever come to be conceived.

And this I promise to you:

I shall conduct you forward,

to where, with the Eternal Oneness, you'll be a model to every nation.

Now be gone hence!

Aaron nears you in the wasteland.

You soon will see him approach and greet him.

Of this you are to inform him.

Proclaim it!

Scene 2: Moses meets Aaron in the desert.

O son of my father, O son of my father, brother in spirit,

are you sent by mighty. Through whom the Only One is to speak, now hear me and Him,

God? And tell me what you perceive.

My brother,

did the Almighty One give you me as His vessel,

to pour forth eternal grace on our brothers?

Grace is granted through recognition.

O happy folk, to have one god alone to belong to,

Others live within a people, only

against whose forces no other power prevails. - Only in fantasy, but God the Almighty exists apart from men.

O vision of highest fantasy,

how glad it is, that you have enticed it to form. How can fantasy thus picture the unimageable?

Love will surely not

weary of image forming. - Folk set apart to know the ever unseen One,

Happy is this folk to revere its God so! To reflect on greatness unimagined.

To love forever with a thousand time more devotion.

Chosen is this folk, one God alone

than all other earthly peoples for their many godly beings.

Folk, chosen by the Only One,

Folk, chosen by the Only One, can you worship what you dare not even conceive?

Dare not?

Not conceived, because unseen, because invisible

because infinite, because eternal, because ever-present, because all-powerful.

The one God is almighty.

Thou punisheth sins of the father on his children and children's children.

Punish? Are we able to originate what thou demand'st as outcome? O righteous God:

Thou rewardest those who are faithful...

to Thy commandments! O righteous God: Thou hast directed how everything must befall.

How good Thou art! Then who is rewarded? The one who could or...

the one who could not want things otherwise? Thou hearest the pleas of beggars,

takest up the offerings made by the good. - O almighty God, do the offerings of beggars then buy Thee, who Thyself made them poor?

Purify your thinking.

Free it from worthless things,

Let it be righteous,

no other reward is given your offerings.

Only an Almighty God could such a weak,

and downtrodden people have chosen

to exhibit all His might and His great wonders to them,

and to teach them, in Him alone to believe.

Almighty One!

Law of thought irresistible forces fulfilment.

Release them from Pharaoh's harsh bondage.

Scene 3: Moses and Aaron bring God's Message to the People.

I saw him, just as a fiery flame sprang forth and called him!

He threw himself on his knees and concealed his face in the sand.

He then went forth. In the wasteland.

He passed by my house like a luminous cloud, even so came he by.

He floated rather than walked. Hardly indeed did he touch the ground,

and quickly passed from my sight.

I called him, but he didn't notice me, or pause, and then I heard it said.

A god had commanded that he meet his brother, Moses, in the desert.

Moses, he who murdered the guard?

Moses! He ran away! We then suffered the wrath of Pharaoh! Moses! Now returning, will he stir rebellion?

Are we now bound to serve a new god? Moses! Another god: Other offerings!

He will be our protector!

The olden gods also protected us.

And if one of them failed, you could turn to another.

O ask not the gods, then, impossibility's fulfilment.

The other gods only helped our oppressors... - Stronger than our other gods? - This god will come to our aid.

I think he must be a lovely God, young and handsome and glowing like Aaron. The newest god perhaps will be stronger than Pharaoh?

If we are to judge him by this Moses then blood offerings will be needed. The new god also will not help us!

The new god helps us not! Blood offerings! Blood offerings!

Blaspheme not! There are gods who only punish, and those who only favour.

Many often must be appeased; Blood offerings!

Others can be won over forever. Blood offerings!

He makes me so glad! My heart is swelled with joy! - You soaring God, high in the heights of the heavens, higher than other gods... - If He aids, if He shields us from Pharaoh's men and also from his false gods...

O holy, worshipful God, be Thou revealed in all Thy glory. Then He shall be our God and the God of Israel,

- I serve in love of Thy greatness. - Of false and powerless images. - Whom we serve, to whom we make offerings.

A loving God - heed not the liars - He reveals himself in glory - A soaring God he lifts us to Him.

Heed not the lying ones! He will free us!

The gods don't love us! We will love Him!

Who is this would mightier be than Pharaoh's gods are?

We want to make offerings! Leave us in peace now! We want to worship!

Continue working!

Lest it become harder!

He shall make us free!

See Moses and Aaron! Moses' powerful head! Moses, his rod in his hand, moving slowly -

He's waiting or is he moving?

Moses waits! No, he's moving slowly! Moses waits! He moves! Moses waits! No, he moves!

Mighty his whitened head, and strong is his arm! His powerful head! See!

Aaron, a young man no more, moves along with a light step -

Far before him, and yet stands close to him! No he goes before! Is Aaron at Moses' side now? In front or behind him?

They are moving, but not in space!

Are nearer - are farther - are higher. Are deeper Have vanished wholly!

See Moses! See Aaron! They have arrived!

Bring you good tidings, word from the mighty new god?

Come you to lead us, once more to make us hopeful?

We yearn to give him gold, goods, and living offerings!

Take, do not ask us. Self love compels us, forces us to make offerings,

not only for his favour; Giving itself is pleasure, the highest favour!

The Only One, infinite, All-powerful One

the Omnipresent One, invisible, inconceivable. He's chosen you before all other people...

demands no offering from you: He wants not a part, for everything's wanted... and gives you alone His...

unbounded holy favour.

On your knees then, to give Him worship!

Worship? Whom?

Where is he? I see Him not!

Has He gentle or angry mien? Are we to love Him or to fear Him?

Where is he? Point him out?

We want to kneel!

We want to bring beasts for Him, and gold, grain and wine!

All will go to your God almighty, if we are His people,

if He is our God and if He guards us well.

But then where is He? Point Him out!

Close your eyes.

Stop off your hearing.

For in this way you shall hear and see him!

No living man otherwise perceives him!

Can He never be seen?

Is He never visible?

He, your most mighty of gods, cannot show Himself before us?

But the righteous shall see Him.

I saw how He gleamed! He must be our god! You soaring God!

Then why need the murderer ever fear him?

Who sees Him not is forsaken!

Then we must all be forsaken, since we still see him not! Ha ha ha!

Keep away with your new god, with this almighty one!

Through him we do not want our freedom!

Keep far away, like your god! The all-present deity!

We fear not, nor love we your god!

So little does he give reward or chastise!

Through him we do not want our freedom!

Almighty One, now my strength is exhausted,

and my thought becomes powerless in Aaron's word!

Silence!

The word is mine and the deed!

The word is mine and the deed!

Aaron! Aaron, what're you doing? What's happening, Aaron?

This rod leads you:

Look, a serpent!

Flee! The serpent grows! It's twisting!

See, it's turning against the people!

In Moses' hand a rigid rod:

The law.

In my own hand the most supple of serpents:

Discretion.

Now stand so, as it commands!

Move! Go farther back!

Come this way! Go that way! Move! Take other places!

We are helpless. It has us in bonds!

Know then the might, that this staff

imparts to the leader!

A marvel has filled us with terror: The rod changed to a serpent, shows Aaron as lord of this people. - How great is the might of this Aaron!

Is Aaron the servant of Moses?